TV watchdog Ofcom has received almost 300 complaints over a shocking scene in last week’s Coronation Street.
In Friday night’s edition of the ITV soap, Weatherfield resident Yazmeen Nazir finally snapped, after months of mental, emotional and physical abuse at the hands of her husband, Geoff.
Towards the end of the episode, Geoff put Yazmeen down once again in a long speech, describing her as “a shell of a woman” and “a husk”, before pondering whether he should “do the world a favour” and kill her, while brandishing a knife.
At that moment, Yazmeen then smashed a wine bottle and plunged it into Geoff’s neck, after which the credits rolled.
While many fans – and the organisation Women’s Aid – have heaped praise on the gritty and hard-hitting scene, others were left unimpressed, with 278 making official complaints to Ofcom, suggesting the violence broke their TV guidelines.
As is standard procedure, Ofcom has said they will assess these complaints before deciding whether to take the matter any further and launch an official investigation.
HuffPost UK has contacted ITV for comment.
Watch the scene in question – which contains content that may be upsetting to some viewers – below:
Coronation Street producers worked closely with domestic abuse charities to ensure that the storyline between Yazmeen and Geoff played out both sensitively and accurately.
The soap has repeatedly consulted with real-world organisations while dealing with more sensitive issues, including sexual abuse and suicide in recent years.
ITV boss Kevin Lygo recently claimed the soap was coming close to running out of episodes, having halted production as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, with enough currently banked to keep it on the air until next month.
If you, or someone you know, is in immediate danger, call 999 and ask for the police. If you are not in immediate danger, you can contact:
- The Freephone 24 hour National Domestic Violence Helpline, run by Refuge: 0808 2000 247
- In Scotland, contact Scotland’s 24 hour Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline: 0800 027 1234
- In Northern Ireland, contact the 24 hour Domestic & Sexual Violence Helpline: 0808 802 1414
- In Wales, contact the 24 hour Life Fear Free Helpline on 0808 80 10 800.
- National LGBT+ Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0800 999 5428
- Men’s Advice Line: 0808 801 0327
- Respect helpline (for anyone worried about their own behaviour): 0808 802 0321