Ofcom has ruled on an episode of ‘Emmerdale’ that led to over 100 complaints from viewers, deciding not to investigate the show.
A number of viewers contacted the broadcasting watchdog after the episode, which saw Rhona Goskirk raped by her husband Pierce Harris, on their wedding day.
However, as the attack was actually heavily-implied, rather than shown explicitly, Ofcom has ruled that an investigation is not necessary.
An Ofcom spokesperson has said (via Digital Spy): “We took into account that the broadcaster had issued a warning and the scene was limited.
“It was also the culmination of a long-running storyline, and so was likely to have been in line with what most viewers were expecting.
“‘Emmerdale’ is known to have covered many challenging social issues.”
Speaking ahead of the episode, Zoe Henry, who plays Rhona, admitted that she had doubts about whether the scenes wild even make it to transmission.
She said: “When we rehearsed it, which we don’t normally, I did air my concerns about how brutal some of the stuff we were doing was. I asked: ‘Are we going to be able to show all of this?’
“Our director said: ‘We can’t half-tell this story. You can’t cut it down or make it less brutal, because what he’s done is brutal and awful. If we don’t tell it properly, then we’re not doing our jobs right’. So that’s why it’s so awful to watch.”
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- Rape Crisis services for women and girls who have been raped or have experienced sexual violence - 0808 802 9999
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