Soap chiefs to tackle male rape storyline
CORONATION Street is to tackle the sensitive issue of male rape for the first time in its 57-year history.
The subject matter was turned down by BBC bosses for EastEnders five years ago, after being considered too difficult to cover in a pre-watershed soap.
But early next year, Weatherfield’s David Platt will find himself the victim of the serious sexual assault after getting drunk on a night out with handsome new arrival Josh.
While the attack itself will not be shown, David – played by Jack P Shepherd – will wake up the next morning in Josh’s bed and realise he has been drugged and assaulted.
The soap will show how his feelings of shame and disgust make him wrestle to decide whether or not to report the crime.
An estimated 12,000 men are raped in the UK every year, and more than 70,000 are sexually abused or assaulted. Corrie bosses are working closely with local charity Survivors Manchester to ensure the plot is portrayed accurately.
One insider revealed: “There won’t be any sexually explicit scenes, what has happened to David will be implied by his reaction and behaviour when he wakes up the next day and starts to remember some of what happened.
“With Josh still on the street, David struggles to deal with the shame of what has happened to him. This is a big storyline for Jack and everyone is determined to get it right.”
Seemingly charming personal trainer and mechanic Josh, who will be played by an unknown actor, arrives on the cobbles next month.
The desperately dark storyline is unlikely to please lifelong Corrie fan Sir Michael Parkinson, who last month moaned that the flagship ITV series had become “more horror than soap”.