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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Entertainment
Kate Lally

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

Coronation Street has been entertaining fans for more than 62 years, with a massive fanbase who watch the show religiously.

You'd have to have been living under a rock to not know who Roy Cropper is, or that the factory on the cobbles is called Underworld. And the soap has even launched many of its stars to global stardom.

Over the years, however, a few things have offended viewers, at times leading to hundreds of Ofcom complaints. While the soap is known for its topical storylines and raising awareness, some scenes have clearly been too much for some people.

READ MORE: Coronation Street's Faye declares love for former co-star after Merseyside day out

From grisly murders to hair comments, roast chicken dinners, to wedding day deaths, a number of episodes have racked up hundreds of complaints in recent years.

Here we take a look back at some of the most complained-about Coronation Street scenes and storylines.

Pat Phelan's murder of Luke Britton

Luke sealed his own fate when he told Phelan he was onto him (ITV)

Phelan's murderous reign over Weatherfield racked up complaints on more than one occasion, but some viewers may be surprised to hear Luke's killing received the most.

He had stumbled across evidence that Phelan was implicated in some way in the disappearance of his good friend Andy - and Luke told Phelan he planned to go to the police with his discovery.

But when he confronted Phelan about his theory, it ended in a bloody brawl between the two men with Luke knocking Phelan unconscious on the ground.

Ofcom received 662 complaints over the episode, which showed Phelan hounding Luke in a high-speed car chase, before shooting him and setting his car on fire. Soap fans said the scenes were too violent to be shown before the 9pm watershed.

At the time a spokesperson for ITV defended the scenes by saying: “Pat Phelan is well established as a villain, and his evil actions won’t have come as a surprise to viewers.”

Pat Phelan makes Andy Carver kill Vinny

Andy was kept captive for months before meeting his cruel end (ITV)

Ofcom received a further 541 complaints as the harrowing Phelan murder storyline continued. Horrified viewers were not happy when kidnapper Phelan force his prisoner Andy Carver to shoot fellow captive Vinny Ashford before shooting Andy dead in a disused factory.

Phelan had been holding Andy prisoner in a basement for months - and refused to let him go until he had murdered his old friend Vinny in scenes compared to the Saw horror film franchise about a madman who rounds up a group of victims for sadistic games of life and death, the MEN reports.

Phelan told a horrified Andy: “I need you to do one last thing for me. I need you to kill him.” But then Andy became another of Phelan's victims, too.

Eva Price's hair roots remark

Barmaid Eva was a firm favourite with fans, but in August 2016, a racially insensitive comment the character made racked up some 473 Ofcom complaints. During a scene in Audrey's salon, the character - played by Catherine Tyldesley - said: "I have more roots than Kunta Kinte. No idea who that is, by the way, just something my mum used to say."

Corrie viewers were unhappy about the reference to the character from the novel Roots: The Saga Of An American Family, and made their feelings clear to Ofcom. The TV watchdog later cleared the comment, saying it “reflected the foolishness, and lack of sensitivity and cultural awareness, of her character.”

Geoff Metcalfe fed Yasmeen Nazir her beloved pet chicken

Yasmeen didn't realise where the chicken meat had come from (ITV)

Some 359 viewers complained when Corrie's abuse storyline saw twisted Geoff made Yasmeen eat her own pet for dinner. After months of horrific treatment came another cruel twist.

Geoff killed Yasmeen's pet chicken Charlotte Bronte and then made her eat the bird. Geoff was left angry when he realised Yasmeen had not made his dinner because she lost track of time cleaning the chicken coop and then exacted revenge by killing Charlotte and plating her up for Yasmeen to eat for dinner.

He then raised a toast to Charlotte, while a horrified Yasmeen spat out her mouthful and ran to the bathroom.

Evelyn Plummer's comments about Hope Stape’s therapy

Coronation Street fans were not happy with Evelyn's remarks (ITV)

Ofcom received more than 200 complaints over a comment made by Evelyn Plummer on Coronation Street. The broadcasting watchdog was contacted about the scenes featuring the character, played by Maureen Lipman.

Viewers of the ITV soap complained when Tyrone Dobbs' grandmother gave an opinion on "play therapy". It came as Evelyn tried to help Tyrone and Fiz Stape deal with their daughter Hope's latest crime - starting the fire at the flat Tyron shared with new girlfriend Alina Pop.

Evelyn urged Tyrone to make Fiz see sense, pointing out that Hope needed "professional help". She said: "She’s had play therapy, touchy, feely rubbish, new age, but she needs something long-term. Teach her right from wrong."

Rana Habeeb dies on her wedding day

Rana died on what should have been the happiest day of her life (ITV)

Fans were left devastated when Rana Habeeb died on what should have been the day of her wedding to Kate Connor. Many viewers also felt it was offensive to the LGBTIA community, by suggesting gay relationships end in tragedy.

After assessing the grievances, Ofcom decided not to investigate. At the time, a spokesperson said: "We considered complaints that this storyline negatively portrayed gay relationships.

"In our view, the untimely death of the character was typical of this soap's dramatic plotlines and would not have exceeded most viewers' expectations."

Billy Mayhew takes drugs in church

Billy and Lee took drugs in church in prewatershed scenes (ITV)

Coronation Street was hit with more than 200 complaints from viewers who were angry after seeing vicar Billy Mayhew take class A drugs in church. The episode saw Billy and his brother Lee slope into Billy's church to get their fix.

Slumped down against the pews, Lee said right at the end of the episode: "This must be what heaven feels like." At the time, Corrie bosses responded to criticism over the storyline, saying it would portray the "very negative side" of Billy's decisions to use drugs.

An Ofcom spokesperson later told Mirror Online: "While we understand that some viewers would have been upset by these scenes, we found that drug-taking was not actually shown on screen.

"We also took into account that the storyline did not glamorise drug use, and made clear that the character would face the consequences of his actions."

Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV and the ITV Hub

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