BOLTON actress Helen Flanagan insisted she is not a bimbo and revealed she has been damaged by fame.

In an interview with a national newspaper, the 22-year-old said she has shed buckets of tears after critics branded her brainless and dumb, targeting her with hateful comments and criticism.

She said: “People want to make me out as this brainless airhead with big boobs.

“It really grates and hurts so much. I can be a bit ditzy and dizzy but I feel very misunderstood. How dare people say I am stupid?”