Top 10 Controversial Soap Storylines

#10: The Weatherfield One

Coronation Street (1960-)


Like most soap characters, Deirdre Barlow has always been unlucky in love, but never more so than when she attached herself to Jon Lindsay, who turned out to be a confidence trickster. Lying to her time and time again, including about being a pilot, he used Deirdre as a cover for various crimes he was committing. Eventually, this led to her getting hit with an 18-month prison sentence for fraud. It was all so outrageous that it triggered a real-life campaign to have Deirdre, dubbed the Weatherfield One exonerated. Of course, this being soap land, Jon is eventually brought to justice and Deirdre goes free but not before Tony Blair and William Hague both weighed in on the issue.

#9: Helicopter Crash

Emmerdale (1972-)


The last thing you expect when youre going for a walk in the Dales is for a helicopter to land on you, but thats exactly what happened during this dramatic 2015 event on Emmerdale. It wasnt just a helicopter crash, though; through an elaborate set-up, some gas canisters exploded, rocketing into the air and hitting the helicopter, which crashed in the middle of a wedding right after an adulterous revelation. But though this is par for the course where big soap events are concerned, ITV was hit with over forty Ofcom complaints all because the fake crash seemed to resemble a real one that had happened two years earlier up in Glasgow.

#8: Buried Alive

EastEnders (1985-)


Being buried alive is a fear many people have, which was why it was so distressing when EastEnders went there back in 2008. Max Branning had been getting up to no good with his daughter-in-law, so as revenge, his betrayed wife Tanya drugged him, dragged him out to the woods, and buried him alive in a shallow grave. The scenes were so vicious that, in a rare incident, Ofcom actually upheld public complaints. The BBC was found to have breached multiple broadcasting codes, with Ofcom saying that the distressing nature of the burial was not justified by the context. Max survived this, but an internal BBC investigation agreed with Ofcoms ruling.

#7: Acid Attacks

Emmerdale (1972-)

Like the helicopter, some people thought this storyline also hit too close to home and shouldnt have happened. There were over 300 complaints as Ross Barton was attacked in the street with acid, and the show covered the fallout from this crime. Ross went on to get addicted to painkillers, and the entire saga was miserable all around, not to mention coming in the aftermath of many real-life acid attacks in the UK. The big concern, though, was that the attack had happened pre-watershed. Five years later, Coronation Street would do its own acid attack storyline, with Ryan getting it thrown over him. Clearly, ITV didnt learn its lesson, because this was also hit with complaints.

#6: Knife Crime

Coronation Street (1960-)

In 2023, Corrie decided to do a bullying storyline, with Liam Connor getting targeted by Mason and his gang. But things took a serious turn when Mason pulled out a knife. The storyline was already dark because of the extent of the harassment Liam was getting, but bringing the potential for knife crime into the equation was a step too far, especially before nine oclock. Though its a very relevant topic and something more and more people are worried about, particularly with young men, there were over a hundred complaints. We now have Adolescence to delve into this issue, but if that had aired on television, it certainly wouldnt have been in Corries time slot.

#5: Pet Chicken

Coronation Street (1960-)

As cruel and unusual punishments go, this was up there as one of the most evil and sadistic things ever done in a soap. In this episode, Geoff Metcalfe was so angry about being served a vegetarian curry to eat that he sent his wife Yasmeen to bed then butchered and cooked her beloved pet chicken, Charlotte Brontë. Only after shed eaten it did he reveal that it was HER chicken, and she promptly threw up, while he revelled in the torment hed caused. This WAS a storyline about coercive control, but many thought it was a step too far especially for the time of day.

#4: Downs Syndrome

Emmerdale (1972-)

This highly contentious storyline began on Emmerdale in 2020, following Laurel Thomas and Jai Sharma as they have their unborn child screened, revealing that it has Downs syndrome. They then decided to end the pregnancy, prompting outcry from both fellow characters and from the public. Disability campaigners accused Emmerdale of perpetuating the idea that a life with Downs syndrome isnt worth living. Show bosses defended the storyline, since there was already a character with Downs syndrome on the show, and said that the issue was sensitively portrayed. But perhaps some things arent in the purview of teatime soap operas and should be left alone.

Jai = Jay

#3: Ben Mitchell

EastEnders (1985-)

Another contentious issue, in 2022, EastEnders wanted to tackle male sexual assault, and did this by having series staple Ben Mitchell be violated by Lewis Butler. Yet again, viewers thought the scenes were far too graphic to appear before the watershed, despite being an important topic. Unlike other controversial storylines, it at least wasnt handled poorly by the show, with the long aftermath of the attack affecting not just Ben but everybody in his life. He takes a long time to even admit what happened and begin to recover especially when Lewis remains in his life and Bens marriage to Callum is threatened.

#2: Nat & Georgia

Brookside (1982-2003)

One of Channel 4s first-ever shows was, of course, a soap to rival ITV, and it took the form of Brookside, set in Liverpool. Though it made its name throughout the 90s for doing plots so absurd they made Walford and Weatherfield look like normal places to live, one storyline was worse than all the others: the incestuous siblings. Brother and sister Nat and Georgia Simpson were at it the whole time, eventually getting caught by their younger brother. It was SO shocking that Channel 4 itself had to apologise, and finally the Simpsons were written out but not before everybody watching at home was scarred for life.

#1: The Baby Swap

EastEnders (1985-)

The most controversial soap storyline of all time is, of course, the infamous EastEnders baby swap. This plot began in 2010 when Ronnie and Kat gave birth on the same day, only for Ronnies newborn son to pass away shortly after. Ronnie elaborately sneaks into the pub to swap her baby with Kats baby Tommy, leaving Kat to grieve. It goes on for far longer than it should have, with Ronnie leaving Walford and coming back before she actually returns the baby. There were over a thousand complaints to Ofcom and 13,000 to the BBC directly, with viewers extremely distressed by the whole thing. The Beeb was later cleared of breaking any broadcasting rules.


Let us know in the comments if you think the Ofcom complaints were justified for any of these.