Coronation Street has issued an apology after Monday night's depiction of Bethany Platt's court case. It all centres around the drawing which the court artist did.
In the UK, artists are prohibited from sketching people in court as part of the 1925 Criminal Justice Act. The artists have to make notes during the hearings and then draw their impressions from memory.
A Coronation Street spokesperson said yesterday: “In last night’s episode we showed a court artist at work sketching Bethany during her trial. We accept this wasn’t a true representation of court procedure and we apologise for including it.
“The artist was solely used to illustrate the passing of time, and we devoted multiple scenes to the fact that Bethany’s anonymity is a priority for the court. We repeatedly focused on details regarding screens and video links, and support for victims throughout the court process, which we hope would encourage anyone watching to recognise the fact they would be in a safe place when giving evidence.“
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Oh for goodness sakes! People make a profession out of being offended! It's just a tv show, it's not real and in no way does it reflect real life!
ReplyDeleteI think this is a fair complaint though, it was an oversight by the Corrie team.
ReplyDeleteIt was a slip up by whoever checks on court procedures in the storyline and it might raise concerns about anonymity. However, the main thing for me as a viewer was that the shots of the artist at work were very distracting. I couldn't understand why we were watching a hand drawing a sketch. There's a court stenographer taking notes (probably) but we didn't see anyone typing. It was only when I read the article that I realised it was to show time passing. It jarred and didn't get the point across. We could have seen Gary shifting uncomfortably in his seat or Sarah looking at her watch and shaking her head in disbelief.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I never took it as a sign of time passing. They could have used the old cliche of a shot of the clock.
ReplyDeleteReally? Complaining about a court procedure not being true to life? C'mon...it's a television program that doesn't exactly mirror real life...It's turning into the Street of Sorrow lately, all of the coincidences, kidnappings, fires, etc etc etc. It's meant to entertain and it hasn't been doing that as of late. Matters not as I won't be watching anymore. Coronation Street will be lucky if it lasts after the older cast leaves. I don't find that I care about the residents anymore. I'll tune in again in a couple of months. Until then thanks for all of the blog updates, and have to say enjoy all of the interaction between the fans of Corrie. Tarrah then
ReplyDeleteMaybe they’ve been watching too much American television and forgot what country they are in. Artists are still allowed in many US courts, cameras are not.
ReplyDeleteThis is minor in the scheme of things. Please, please get rid of Michelle crying every 5 minutes. It has been going on ever since she was married to Steve. I can't take it anymore!
ReplyDeleteIt seems minor in the big picture but they were very careful to get it all correct so that if anyone watching was going through something similar they could see that there is a chance that they could get help. Having the trial go properly gives potential witnesses an idea of what to expect i.e. testifying via video link if they want to, so telling them there's anonymity and then showing a court artist could scare someone off. I agree ITV should have caught this one. It wasn't necessary for storyline purposes and they could have conveyed time passing other ways.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind when they take artistic license for some things because yes, it's tv it's not real life but when you're trying to say you've done all this research and you want to get it right, and then you don't because of an oversight, then it should be noted.
Too many Australian scriptwriters. They get it wrong all the time and use Australian colloquialisms.
ReplyDeleteAs well, the BBC article quotes "But I'm concerned over their mistake. A court artist must always draw from memory and must not draw victims."
ReplyDeleteDrawing victims is the error, and the concern is that those watching that may reconsider getting help or testifying.