Coronation Street hit with Ofcom complaints over murders, hair and chicken

Having delighted viewers for more than 62 years, Coronation Street has a sizable following of devoted viewers.

If you don’t know Roy Cropper or that the factory on the cobbles is named Underworld, you must have been living under a rock. Numerous actors from the show have even become internationally famous thanks to it.

However, a few things have occasionally offended viewers over time, resulting in hundreds of Ofcom complaints. Even while the serial is renowned for its timely plotlines and capacity to spread awareness, some of the scenes have obviously been too much for certain viewers.

Numerous incidents have generated hundreds of complaints in recent years, including gruesome murders, hair comments, roast chicken feasts, and fatalities on wedding days.

Here, we look back at some of the Coronation Street scenes and stories that have received the most criticism.

Pat Phelan’s murder of Luke Britton

However, some viewers would be shocked to learn that Luke’s murder got the greatest criticism during Phelan’s deadly rule over Weatherfield.

Luke informed Phelan that he intended to report his discoveries to the police after finding evidence linking Phelan to the disappearance of his close buddy Andy.

However, when he challenged Phelan about his theory, it resulted in a violent fight between the two men, with Luke putting Phelan out cold on the ground.

In the episode, Phelan chased Luke in a fast-moving automobile chase before shooting him and setting his car on fire. As a result, Ofcom received 662 complaints. Fans of the soap opera claimed the scenes were too bloody to air before the watershed at 9 o’clock.

“Pat Phelan is well established as a monster, and his evil deeds won’t have come as a surprise to viewers,” an ITV representative said at the time in defense of the scenes.

Pat Phelan makes Andy Carver kill Vinny

As the heartbreaking Phelan murder narrative went on, Ofcom received an additional 541 complaints. Viewers were horrified when abductor Phelan made Andy Carver shoot another captive, Vinny Ashford, before killing Andy in a closed workshop.

According to the MEN, Phelan had been imprisoning Andy in a cellar for months and wouldn’t let him leave until he had killed his old pal Vinny in scenes compared to the Saw horror film series about a lunatic who gathers a bunch of captives for cruel games of life and death.

Andy was in shock when Phelan said, “I need you to do one more thing for me. I want you to murder him. But shortly after, Andy also became one of Phelan’s victims.

Eva Price’s hair roots remark

Fans loved Barmaid Eva, but in August 2016, the character received 473 Ofcom complaints for making a racially inappropriate remark.

The actor, Catherine Tyldesley, spoke as the role during a scene at Audrey’s salon “Compared to Kunta Kinte, I am more rooted. That is just something my mother used to say; I have no idea who that person is.”

Viewers of Corrie voiced their displeasure with the allusion to the protagonist of the book Roots: The Saga Of An American Family to Ofcom.

The TV watchdog later apologized, saying the remark “reflected the ignorance, lack of compassion, and lack of cultural awareness of her character.”

Geoff Metcalfe fed Yasmeen Nazir her beloved pet chicken

When Corrie’s abuse narrative was modified, 359 fans expressed their displeasure. Yasmeen was made to eat her own pet for dinner by Geoff. Another horrible turn happened after months of abhorrent treatment.

Charlotte Bronte, Yasmeen’s pet chicken, was killed by Geoff, who then had her consume the animal. Yasmeen lost track of time while cleaning the chicken coop, so she exacted revenge by killing Charlotte and plating her up for Yasmeen to eat for dinner, which left Geoff furious.

He then toasted Charlotte, to the horror of Yasmeen, who threw up and fled to the restroom.

Evelyn Plummer’s comments about Hope Stape’s therapy

In response to a comment made by Evelyn Plummer on Coronation Street, Ofcom received more than 200 complaints. Regarding the sequences in which the figure, played by Maureen Lipman, is seen, the broadcasting watchdog was alerted.

The ITV soap opera received negative feedback when Tyrone Dobbs’ grandmother discussed “play therapy.” Evelyn was attempting to assist Tyrone and Fiz Stape as they dealt with Hope’s most recent offense, which involved setting fire to the apartment Tyron lived with his new girlfriend Alina Pop.

Tyrone was urged by Evelyn to persuade Fiz to see reason, emphasizing that Hope required “professional help.” She uttered: “She has had play therapy, touchy-feely nonsense, and new age, but she need a long-term solution. Show her what is good and bad.”

Rana Habeeb dies on her wedding day

When Rana Habeeb passed away on the day she was supposed to marry Kate Connor, her fans were heartbroken. Many viewers thought that by implying that gay relationships end tragically, it was disrespectful to the LGBTIA community.

Ofcom evaluated the complaints before determining not to look into them. A spokeswoman at the time stated: “We took into consideration criticisms that this plotline inaccurately depicted LGBT couples.

“In our opinion, the character’s premature death was characteristic of this soap opera’s dramatic plotlines and would not have exceeded the expectations of the majority of viewers,”

Billy Mayhew takes drugs in church

After witnessing vicar Billy Mayhew using class A drugs in church, viewers of Coronation Street filed more than 200 complaints. Billy and his brother Lee sneaked into Billy’s church in the episode to get their fix.

At the very conclusion of the episode, Lee leaned against the pews and remarked, “This must be how paradise feels.” When the narrative was criticized at the time, Corrie executives responded by saying it would show the “extremely terrible side” of Billy’s drug use decisions.

A later statement from an Ofcom representative to Mirror Online stated: “While we realize that some viewers may have been offended by these sequences, we discovered that drug use was not really depicted on screen.

We also made sure that the plot did not glorify drug usage and that it was clear that the character would pay for his actions.