Some soap storylines haven’t gone down well with fans (Picture: ITV/Shutterstock/BBC)
Soaps like Coronation Street, Emmerdale, EastEnders and Hollyoaks often tackle difficult topics and sensitive storylines, but every so often fans feel they’ve taken things too far.
Last month, 850 horrified Emmerdale viewers reached out to broadcasting regulator Ofcom to complain about vile Tom King’s (James Chase) abuse of pet dog Piper, making it one of the most complained about stories in soap history.
Soap boss Laura Shaw spoke out about the storyline, insisting that they should have used an ‘ugly dog’ and revealing that she expected the outrage from viewers.
‘I don’t think having such a cute dog has helped. Whenever you put any pet in danger on Emmerdale everyone goes up in arms about it. Did I expect it? Yes.’
She continued: ‘Piper will certainly have a future role in the story. I’m joking about it but it’s research-led. One of the things we found is that that’s one of the things that abusers will use, they use a family pet, people you love, they’ll use them as weapons against you.
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‘So this is all based on research, I promise you it’s not just us being mean to the dog for the sake of it.’
Continuing dramas rarely refuse to shy away from difficult or controversial storylines, which, as well as garnering them a lot of respect, can also lead to a lot of backlash.
Clutch your pearls, because what follow are the most complained about soap storylines of all time.
Ronnie’s baby swap – 13,400 complaints
The titan of all controversial storylines, the moment that saw Ronnie Mitchell (Samantha Womack) swap the body of her dead baby with Kat Slater’s (Jessie Wallace) newborn son Tommy, has never been forgotten.
Very quickly, national outrage was sparked by plot, with 13,400 horrified viewers making their anger known officially to the BBC and over 1,000 directly contacting Ofcom.
The show reacted swiftly, completely re-writing the story and cutting it short. Not long after the now infamous New Year scenes aired, actress Sam quit the show to rest the long suffering character of Ronnie.
All of that said, Ofcom eventually cleared the soap, explaining that while the scenes on their own could be perceived as offensive, they were within the boundaries in the wider context of a show known for tackling tough issues.
Karen’s anti-vax rant – 684 complaints
Karen has always been opinionated, but this was too far for fans (Picture: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)
During the Covid lockdowns, the soaps had a balancing act over how much they should address what was going on.
With characters constantly standing metres apart and the usually bustling pubs and shops closed, it was hard not to.
When EastEnders returned to our screens after a pandemic induced hiatus, there was discussion amid the residents and the writers decided that there needed to be two sides to an argument over vaccines. …read more
Source:: Metro
