Acid attack on Emmerdale sparks copycat horror fear
EMMERDALE fans reacted with fury yesterday after pre-watershed acid attack scenes in the family soap opera left them feeling “physically sick”.
Some blasted show bosses for making the horrific form of assault appear an easy way to exact revenge.
Thursday night’s Emmerdale first saw drug dealer Simon McManus, played by Liam Ainsworth, throw acid in victim Ross Barton’s face, leaving him screaming in agony.
In later scenes, viewers were left sickened when Ross, played by Michael Parr, revealed his horribly burned face.
Finally, a doctor told traumatised Ross his face may never fully heal.
Media watchdog Ofcom received more than 220 complaints.
Last night ITV defended the shocking scenes and stressed they were heavily researched beforehand.
But viewers have hit out at the soap – with some saying the issue of acid attacks was being trivialised.
Several fans fumed on Twitter that the scenes should not have aired before the 9pm watershed, with some fearing it could generate “copycat” attacks.
Ryan Love wrote: “Seriously cannot believe Emmerdale just did that. Too soon for an acid attack at 7pm.”
Angry John Clayton said: “What’s the world coming to when you are showing this type of material before 7.30pm? You do know some people tend to copy things they see on TV.”
Another upset fan, Lisa Boulton, said: “I couldn’t watch – poor Ross.”
An Ofcom spokesman said: “We are assessing the complaints under our broadcasting rules before deciding whether or not to investigate.”