‘Coronation Street’ faced a backlash from certain viewers on Thursday (6 July), after a scene aired before the watershed showing one character apparently snorting drugs.
The scene in question featured drug-dealer Rich sniffing an unseen substance, while sitting in a car with Robert Preston.
Following this, Rich passed Robert a bag of cocaine, heavily implying this is what he’d been seen snorting.
Given the scene aired before the watershed, many soap fans took to Twitter to complain that it was inappropriate for the timeslot.
However, as more media outlets began to report about the supposed backlash, others took to Twitter to suggest that viewers were being a little oversensitive.
The scene aired less than a week after it was revealed that ‘Corrie’ would be facing an Ofcom investigation, again relating to a pre-watershed scene.
However, while the scenes in question, relating to Bethany Platt’s ongoing grooming storyline, originally aired after the 9pm watershed, they were later repeated in an early-morning timeslot, sparking five viewer complaints to the TV watchdog.
A spokesperson for Ofcom said: “We’re investigating whether this Saturday morning omnibus episode contained scenes that were unsuitable for broadcast at that time.”
Earlier this year, despite complaints from viewers, Ofcom explained why controversial scenes in which abuser Nathan Curtis plied 16-year-old Bethany with alcohol would not be subject to scrutiny.
“We concluded the content was neither graphic nor violent, and took into account Coronation Street’s established role in covering challenging or distressing social issues,” they said in a statement at the time.