‘Coronation Street’ Boss Defends Yasmeen And Geoff Abuse Scenes

Coronation Street producer Iain MacLeod has spoken out after fans claimed they "couldn't watch" the gut-wrenching abuse scenes between Yasmeen Nazin and Geoff Metcalfe.

Geoff's controlling behaviour towards Yasmeen has seen a slow build up since the characters married last year on the ITV soap, after the radio DJ (played by Ian Bartholomew) tricked Yasmeen (Shelley King) into tying the knot.

Over the months, Yasmeen became a shell of her former self - isolated from her from her friends and family, constantly belittled and taken advantage of, both emotionally and financially.

But as the storyline has gone on, some viewers have switched off, claiming the scenes were "too hard" to watch.

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When she finally snapped last Friday and slashed her husband's throat with a broken wine bottle, 276 Ofcom complaints were made.

"Can't even watch the yasmeen and Geoff storyline on corrie it actually upsets me," one wrote as the bottle scene aired.

While another penned: "Please can this storyline end soon," another wrote. "So uncomfortable to watch Yasmeen being tortured by Geoff. Now have to turn off when they are on screen".

But in response, MacLeod told Digital Spy that it "would be wrong" to "sanitise" domestic abuse in order to make the storyline more palatable.

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"Some of the reaction has been difficult to hear, as a lot of people have been in touch with myself, Shelley [King] and Ian [Bartholomew] to say how closely it has mirrored their lives," he said.

"That's always very sobering, but I am glad it means we have told the story with some authenticity. It's really connected with people.

"Twitter just blew up on Friday after Yasmeen attacked him. It seems to have really struck chord with the audience."

Conceding that it was "at times a very tough watch," the ITV producer added that representing the realities of this painful human experience was an essential.

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"People have been saying that they didn't have any idea that this goes on, which is partly why we told the story," he added. "Emotional abuse isn't necessarily something you see on TV very often.

"It felt that to water it down or to sanitise it, or to do a half-hearted version of it, would be wrong and slightly insulting to people who have been through it in real life. We were aware it would be challenging, but the audience reaction tells us that we got it right."

Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7.30pm on ITV.

Topics: TV News, Coronation Street, TV Entertainment, Corrie, ITV, domestic abuse,

Joanna Freedman

Joanna is a journalist at Tyla with a particular interest in highlighting women's issues and telling inspiring first person stories. She's also their resident foodie, and loves covering exciting new beauty launches, too. Contact her at [email protected].

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