Gemma Chan has said that fans of Humans have tried to turn her off by pressing her under the chin, mimicking her synth character in the sci-fi drama series.
The actress plays Anita/Mia in the hit show – which returns on Thursday for a third series – a lifelike robot that lives among humans.
She said: “I’ve had people ask to record voicemail messages in Anita’s voice, and I’ve had people come up and try to turn me off, pushing the bit under the chin.”
In the series, synths are activated or deactivated with a light touch under the chin.
Chan added that “it is a bit odd” and “quite an invasion of personal space”.
The new series of the programme, also starring Katherine Parkinson, Tom Goodman-Hill and Emily Berrington, is set a year after the dawn of consciousness, as a decimated and oppressed synth population fights to survive in a world that hates and fears them.
The synth family – Mia, Niska (Berrington) and Max (Ivanno Jeremiah) – continue to battle for their right to survival, while Joe (Goodman-Hill) Laura (Parkinson) and their children struggle to come to terms with the cataclysmic events of the last series.
Joe and Laura’s daughter Mattie (Lucy Carless) unleashed a code that gave hundreds of millions of synths the ability suddenly to think and feel, while more than one hundred thousand human lives were lost.
Laura joins The Dryden Commission, a special Government body put together to establish what is to be done with synths, and meets Dr Neil Sommer, a charming scientist with whom she develops a strong personal connection.
Sommer will be played by Humans newcomer Mark Bonnar.
Humans airs on Thursday at 9pm on Channel 4.
