The Walking Dead actor Seth Gilliam, who plays Father Gabriel on the show, has detailed how he found the initial fan backlash to his character to be “somewhat upsetting.”

Gilliam - whose most famous role previous to the AMC drama was as Ellis Carver in The Wire - first appeared in season five depicted as a coward who wasn't liked by the show's lead character Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln).

It was only towards the end of last season where fans became much more attuned to the character, and while season seven has seen him become one of Rick's most trusted allies, Gilliam told us during the show's UK press tour how the initial backlash he received was, at times, quite tough to bear.

The Walking Dead Season 7 Episode 12 Promo

He said: “I've kind of let go of the popularity contest thing that gets tied into the show. At first, I was taken aback by the amount of negative response I got as the character so it was somewhat upsetting for me. Then I found the tide had turned when my character sermonised over an unarmed man and shot him in the face,” he added in reference to season six episode, 'Not Tomorrow Yet.'

The most shocking Walking Dead moments Show all 10 1 /10 The most shocking Walking Dead moments The most shocking Walking Dead moments Sophie's a walker (season 2, episode 7) Much of season two's opening half is spent looking for Sophia, the missing daughter of Carol (Melissa McBride). Turns out she was locked up in Hershel's barn as a zombie all along. The most shocking Walking Dead moments Shane reanimates without being bitten (season 2, episode 12) When Carl (Chandler Riggs) guns down a deranged Shane (Jon Bernthal) to protect his father, the shock arrives when he manifests into a walker despite not being bitten; turns out everyone's infected with the virus and will turn whichever way they die. The most shocking Walking Dead moments Axel's bullet to the eye (season 3, episode 10) A character introduced in the show's prison arc, Axel is a reformed prisoner who strikes up a friendship with Carol - until he's gunned down mid-sentence. The most shocking Walking Dead moments Carl kills Lori after she gives birth (season 3, episode 4) Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) goes into labour at the very moment a zombie siege breaks out at the prison. Unfortunately, she doesn't make it through the procedure with her son Carl being the one to put a bullet to her head. The most shocking Walking Dead moments The Governor slays Hershel (season 4, episode 8) The Governor makes his dramatic return for a showdown at the prison after he captures Michonne (Danai Gurira) and Hershel (Scott Wilson). Rick reaches out, attempting to reason with him - but The Governor starts a war when he proceeds to decapitate poor old Hershel instead. The most shocking Walking Dead moments "Look at the flowers" (season 4, episode 14) In a standout episode from the show's fourth season, Carol is forced to take drastic measures when young teenager Lizzie murders her sister Mika in the belief that she'll live on as a zombie. Realising Lizzie's depraved mind would endanger those around her, Carol puts a gun to the young girl's head and, telling her to "look at the flowers," pulls the trigger, fighting back the tears. The most shocking Walking Dead moments Carl's bullet to the eye (season 6, episode 9) Season six returned from its mid-season break in typically dramatic fashion when an iconic moment from the graphic novels came to life: Carl takes a bullet to the eye. The most shocking Walking Dead moments Beth is killed (season 5, episode 8) Upon being kidnapped, Beth (Emily Kinney) is taken to Grady Memorial Hospital managed by Atlanta Law Enforcement. Forced to reside there against her will, the group - including Rick and Daryl (Norman Reedus) - eventually find her - only for her to be accidentally shot in the head by her captor. The worst thing? Her sister Maggie (Lauren Cohan) had just arrived outside. The most shocking Walking Dead moments Negan kills Abraham Season seven opened in brutal form as we discovered it was Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) at the opposite end of Negan's baseball bat. "Suck my nuts," the soldier growls as the Saviours' leader brings Lucille raining down on his head until nothing remains but a pulpy mess. The most shocking Walking Dead moments Negan kills Glenn Negan decides to punish the group once more after getting clocked round the face by Daryl. Without expectation, he thwacks Lucille round the head of poor Glenn. With his eyeball popping out of his head, he manages: "I'll find you, Maggie before Negan proceeds to finish the job ending the former pizza delivery boy's life.

Gilliam continued: “I find that if you're playing a character with the hopes of being liked, you're already lost; people are going to have their response. Hopefully, they'll understand what moments you want them to. I realised that long before I got on the show.

"The size of this show is what was somewhat offputting - the amount of the response. But I realised very early on as an actor that you can't act wanting to be loved - you have to be true to the character and the story."

Elsewhere, we spoke to actor Norman Reedus about his views on 'Easy Street,' the song used by The Saviours to torture his character, Daryl.