Coronation Street viewers praise 'uncomfortable' storyline

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Coronation Street's Aaron Sandford did the unthinkable in Friday night's episode.

Aaron Sandford and Amy drunkenly kiss in Coronation Street.
Aaron Sandford and Amy drunkenly kiss. (Image credit: ITV)

Coronation Street took a turn for the sinister on Friday night (March 3, 2023) as shocking events unfolded between Amy and Aaron Sandford.

Earlier on in the Coronation Street episode Amy and Aaron end up back at her flat playing drinking games. One thing soon led to another, and the pair kissed, but Amy pulled away, consumed with guilt.

After Amy went to bed in a drunken stupor, Aaron followed her upstairs and the pair kissed again. But the exchange was again halted by Amy, who began to feel unwell. Later, it was revealed that Aaron continued to have sex with Amy without her consent.

As expected, Coronation Street fans have had an emotive response to the storyline, which explores the theme of sexual abuse, rape and consent. 

'Tough watch last night, scenes were dark & really uncomfortable, huge respect to you for taking on this very strong storyline, thank you was amazing. #corrie,' wrote one viewer on Twitter.

'Don't watch #Corrie anymore but for every person saying "not Aaron, he's so likeable", there'll be twice as many girls & women who've met an Aaron,' said another concerned fan. 

While another said, 'Me sat watching #Corrie waiting for Jacob to burst through the door and beat up Aaron. It’s always the quiet ones.'

And another wrote of the topic, 'After watching Corrie I bet a majority of women are having horrible flashbacks about a time when it happened to them. Back then it was our own fault for getting too drunk. Look after yourself, ladies. #Corrie.'

Coronation Street worked with The Schools Consent Project to tell tackle the issue as accurately and sensitively as possible. You can find out more about the organisation here.

Coronation Street airs hour-long episodes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8 pm on ITV—see our TV Guide for full listings. You can also catch up on episodes on ITV Hub.

Lauren Hughes
Freelance writer

Lauren is the former Deputy Digital Editor at woman&home and became a journalist mainly because she enjoys being nosy. With a background in features journalism, Lauren worked on the woman&home brand for four years before going freelance. Before woman&home Lauren worked across a variety of women's lifestyle titles, including GoodTo, Woman's Own, and Woman magazine. After starting out working for a local paper in Yorkshire, her journalism career took her to Bristol where she hunted out stories for national papers and magazines at Medavia news agency, before landing a job in London working as a lifestyle assistant.

A big fan of adventure, Lauren is also a keen travel writer and loves sharing tips on where to find the best places to eat, drink, and be merry off the beaten track. Lauren has written a series of travel guides for London hotels and loves sharing her insights into a destination's cultural and culinary offerings. If you need a recommendation on any UK destination, she's more than happy to help. At the weekend, you'll usually find her hanging out with her pet cat (or anyone else's pet she can get her hands on), escaping to the countryside, or devouring a good book.