Coronation Street boss has spoken out about the story which has us all gripped...
With Yasmeen now in prison for attacking her husband Geoff Metcalfe who has been abusing her for months on end, Coronation Street viewers are up in arms.
Only us at home and Yasmeen’s plucky granddaughter Alya know the real truth that Geoff is a cruel and evil man who has done unspeakable things to his innocent, cowed and controlled wife.
But fans are going to have to wait till the end of the year to see horrid Geoff get his comeuppance.
Coronation Street producer Iain MacLeod has revealed there’s still a way to go with this hard-hitting storyline.
"The timelines have been shunted due to the lockdown but I think it's fair to imagine that it will be this year," said Iain. "It’s going to get tougher for Yasmeen over the next few months."
The story exposing the harsh truths of domestic abuse and coercive control have seen harrowing scenes of Geoff locking Yasmeen in a box and going out, causing fall outs with her friends; demanding her to clean night and day; and monitoring her every move on CCTV – and much, much more besides.
"It's a very tough watch but to sanitise it or give a half hearted version would be wrong and insulting to people have gone through it. We aware it would be challenging but I think we got it right," added Iain.
With this in mind, the Coronation Street boss is keen to write the correct end to the story which was extensively researched to ensure it hit the right tone and conveyed a strong message about domestic abuse.
"The form of Geoff’s comeuppance is in discussion. The key thing is to impart the right message. For the sake of the people it has impacted we have to tell the right ending with some positivity," said Iain.
In upcoming episodes we will see Alya fight for justice for her innocent nan – who has yet to fully accept she was abused herself.
"Yasmeen is in a world of trouble," said Iain. "We are quite keen to show that while she attacked him, we didn't want to short-circuit her psychology and complex emotions. This came from research – even if you finally have snapped, it doesn't mean that you don't still have this insidious character under your skin. It's a slow road for her to see it was abuse."
One thing is for sure, the bell WILL toll for Geoff who will not get away with what he has done.
Said Iain: "Typically abusers of this type do not get better so it would be dangerous to redeem Geoff. I would never want to give any real abusers in the world an opportunity to say: ‘well look at Geoff, he can change his life around.’
"It would be a dangerous position to say that the abuser in the story is better when in most realities they aren't."
Coronation Street will temporarily air a reduced schedule of three episodes a week. Watch on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7.30pm on ITV.
