Coronation Street cleared over male rape story complaints

Ofcom has dismissed over 200 complaints about the David and Josh male rape storyline on Coronation Street.

An Ofcom spokesperson said: “This storyline tackled a sensitive and challenging subject, which we appreciate was uncomfortable viewing for some. However, we considered that ITV took extensive steps to ensure it was handled sensitively and carefully. These included working closely with a victim support group, and repeatedly signposting the help available to anyone affected by sexual violence.

“We also considered that, although the offender’s violent intentions were clearly implied, the scenes were neither explicit nor graphic. Finally, we took into account that clear warnings were broadcast before both episodes.”

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A matter of age

I can't help but feel that the surge of complaints regarding the Bethany Platt grooming storyline are unreasonable. I've blogged in the past about the rising numbers of younger viewers watching Coronation Street and setting up their own fan accounts, primarily on Instagram. I've also seen pages set upon on Facebook and Twitter, and even on YouTube were 'edits' and reviews are made. It's this younger generation that are increasingly becoming less self-aware of the dangers of the internet, because they have been brought up into a generation where technology is everywhere and is part of everyday life.

The roots of Bethany's story were when she started vlogging about beauty products at Nathan's request. To him, this was free promotion of his 'tanning salon', which is an obvious front to hide the horrors happening in the flat above. To Bethany, she was becoming a popular social media star overnight and was enjoying this - much to Nathan's delight as this meant she put further trust in him.

To the younger generation of fans who are forever creating new pieces of content on Instagram, it is so easy for them to fall into the wrong hands, and this is Coronation Street's response to that, to make the viewers who idolise Lucy Fallon as Bethany Platt, realise the harsh reality of life online.

What angers me is that older fans, who are definitely of a pre-internet time and are mature enough to understand the dangers of the online world are criticising the storyline, saying that it is unbearable to watch and not relevant, almost as if producers are taking the story too far. These are the people watching the programme through rose tinted glasses! They think that Bethany is stupid for believing Nathan's lies, but that's because they have never been in the same situation as her and never will be either. The younger fans however are worryingly more likely to be exploited online, and Coronation Street is giving this horrible scenario the exposure it deserves, to raise awareness of what is only going to get worse if action against grooming is not taken.

It always upsets me when people complain to Ofcom because they simply "do not like" a storyline, especially when its a storyline that is highlighting a major issue from today's society. If we don't talk about this, who will? And it's almost always a matter of age. I see no problem whatsoever with Corrie running such a story, and I have no doubts that it will have been a major talking point in some households where children find themselves using the internet frequently. This storyline has the ability to change and save lives!

Rant over! You can find me over on Twitter @MichaelAdamsUk

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Ofcom Investigates Corrie Grooming Story Complaints

An Ofcom spokesperson told Digital Spy this week: "We are assessing 25 complaints objecting to violence / sexual tone of child grooming storyline before deciding whether or not to investigate."

Ofcom is the communications regulator in the UK. The scenes that have been complained about happened in the week of episodes which ran after the 9pm post-watershed slot. Bethany was forced to sleep with three different men in Nathan's flat. 

Although the story aired during the later TV slot and viewers also being warned about the scenes prior to transmission, 25 viewers were still outraged enough to make official complaints to Ofcom.

Read our blogger Ruth's post: In Defence of the Grooming Story

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Coronation Street is the most complained about soap

Coronation Street is the most-complained-about soap of the past year – with 1,204 complaints.


Digital Spy report that viewers sent complaints about Corrie to Ofcom more times in the 12-month period ending March 2017 than any of its rival soaps.

In total, Coronation Street attracted 1,204 complaints (up from 154 during the previous year) – although this has been skewed slightly by the fact that a large percentage (around 40%) came from one single episode – 473 over Eva Price's racially-insensitive "more roots than Kunta Kinte" 

Despite the controversy, Ofcom did clear the comment, saying that it "reflected the foolishness, and lack of sensitivity and cultural awareness, of her character".

"For her to speak in this thoughtless fashion without understanding what she was referring to, or that it might cause offence, was likely to have been consistent with the audience's expectations of her character," the report added.

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Ofcom reject complaints about Corrie's Todd and Billy bed scene

170 people complained about Todd and Billy's bed scene which was aired the other night on Coronation Street.  Actor Daniel Brocklebank, who plays Billy the vicar Mayhew in Corrie, took to Twitter after the episode aired, to hit back at homophobic abuse.

Ofcom, the UK’s broadcast regulator, has dismissed those 170 complaints.

Ofcom said: “We considered a number of complaints objecting to two male characters kissing in this episode, but won’t be investigating. Our rules do not discriminate between scenes involving opposite sex and same sex couples. Also the scenes were not in any way sexually explicit. For these reasons they were not scheduled inappropriately and did not exceed generally accepted standards.”

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Coronation Street 5th most complained about programme in 2014

Coronation Street was the 5th most complained about telly show during 2014, says a report issued by communications watchdog Ofcom this week.

Coronation Street came fifth on Ofcom’s list, with a gay kiss attracting many of the complaints.

However, the regulator did not investigate the complaints because it makes no distinction between kisses between same and opposite sex couples.

Top 10 most complained about TV programmes in 2014:
1. Big Brother, Channel 5 - 3,784 complaints
2. Celebrity Big Brother, Channel 5 - 1,874 complaints
3. Cutting Edge: Going to the Dogs, Channel 4 - 1,805 complaints
4. Benefits Street, Channel 4 - 967 complaints
5. Coronation Street, ITV - 367 complaints
6. The X Factor, ITV, - 360 complaints
7. EastEnders, BBC 1 - 316 complaints
8. Emmerdale, ITV - 243 complaints
9. Sky News (20/07/14) - 205 complaints
10. Channel 4 News - 193 complaints

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Ofcom investigates Coronation Street subtitle blunders

From The Mirror this week there was a story that Coronation Street has come under fire over blunders in its subtitles. Ofcom has received complaints about recent wrongly spelled and sloppy subtitling on the soap.

Recent mistakes, according to reports, have seen the famous Rovers Return called the 'Ravers Return', while Betty's hotpot was misspelled a 'bowel of hot pit'.

Businessman Dev Alahan was spelled 'Div', while when another character was talking about a woman named Nancy, it was replaced with 'Nazi'.

Meanwhile, during a scene when Tracy Barlow appeared to be talking quickly, the subtitling simply read: “Tracy yaps on about her hair.”

Ofcom had previously received complaints about the subtitles last year, and had pledged to crack down on mistakes.

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