Ashley Benson thinks her schoolmates were "jealous" of her success

She shared: "Kids can be mean and jealous. At the time, it wasn’t cool to be on TV. Every week, I was working on commercials and all the kids would see me.

"I got bullied and hated it. But I was really proud, and it made me more determined to get on a TV show. My parents said if I did, I could be home-schooled. So I tried and tried and tried, and when I did, it was the best day of my life.”

Ashley "wasn't prepared" for life on the soap when she first joined the cast.

But looking back on that time, she now appreciates that it was an invaluable experience.

The actress - who played the part of Abigail Deveraux on the show - told the April edition of Cosmopolitan magazine: "You film three episodes a day. It was crazy to be thrown into that environment at a young age. I wasn’t prepared for it.

"I thought we’d do a couple of takes here and there, but you only get one take. So it made me learn to memorise my lines quickly. I was completely intimidated."

These days, Ashley is determined to surround herself with positive people.

And she's been keen to keep in touch with her close friends throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

She shared: "I need to be surrounded by positive people. I have an amazing core group.

"That’s the best thing that’s come out of quarantine, having this very solid foundation of friends who have my back, and I have theirs. It’s really nice to have that support for all of us."