Coronation Street’s most complained about storylines after latest Ofcom row – from eating pet chicken to racism claims

: "Pat Phelan is well established as a villain in a long line of murderous Coronation Street villains, and his evil actions won’t have come as a surprise to viewers.

"The programme is always careful to limit the violence shown to a minimum to convey the drama and tell the story. We have responded to Ofcom."

Double cross murder – 541 complaints 

Phelan's crime spree started causing outrage in 2017 when he forced hostage Andy Carver to kill Vinny Ashford in order to gain his freedom.

Andy followed through with the deadly order and was then killed by Phelan in grime scenes that shocked the nation and led to 541 complaints.

Several complaints compared the two-part storyline to horror film Saw - which is about a twisted serial killer Jigsaw who gets victims to play games often involving removing their own limbs.

Other viewers said the storyline was "too dark" and that Phelan was "Corrie's answer to the Grim Reaper".

Ofcom chose to investigate the scenes but concluded that they didn't break any broadcasting rules.

Kunta Kinte 'joke' – 473 complaints 

Catherine Tyldesley's character Eva Price and Corrie were slammed when the hairdresser made a racist comment saying "I've got more roots than Kunta Kinte!"

The reference is to a character from the novel Roots: The Saga of an America Family, which was based on the ancestor of author Alex Haley.

It led to 473 people getting in touch with the Ofcom for the "casual racism" in the "unacceptable" scene. Many other viewers voiced their horror about it on Twitter.

One angry viewer posted: "Whoever wrote this and approved the script - shame on you! Comparing hair to a slave?"

Soap bosses apologised for the comment after seeing the reaction from Brits.

An ITV spokesperson said: "We apologise if this dialogue has caused offence."

Pet chicken dinner trick – 359 complaints

The storyline of Yasmeen Nazir's abuse at the hand of partner Geoff Metcalfe raised important awareness of coercive control.

But many viewers thought it was taken too far when the villain tricked Yasmeen into eating her pet chicken during an episode aired in 2020.

He killed and cooked the bird after being furious that he had been presented dinner with no meat - and didn't tell Yasmeen that it was Charlotte until she had started eating.

The TV watchdog received 359 for the "uncomfortable" and "cruel" episode following it's broadcast.

It wasn't the first time viewers had complained about the domestic abuse storyline and many fans of the ITV soap switched off.

Yasmeen's bloody revenge – 304 complaints

In 2020, Yasmeen finally found the willpower to fight back against abuser Geoff and attacks him with a broken bottle.

She resorts to violence when the brute threatens her with a knife, and stabs him in the neck with the broken glass.

It was a culmination of enduring months of Geoff's abuse and the episode ended with the cruel man twitching on the floor.

Straight after the episode 276 complaints were made at the watchdog with a further 28 received in the aftermath of the story.

Viewers were unhappy with how violent the episode was, with some taking to Twitter to share their shock.

One person wrote: "I'm struggling to remember a more disturbing half hour of soap."

'Tragic' ending for LGBT wedding - 236 complaints

In 2019, viewers were left unhappy when the soap killed off Rena on her wedding day to Kate Connor.

The lesbian was crushed when the factory roof collapsed before the pair could tie the knot.

Fans claimed it was harmful to the LGBT+ community as it suggested all gay relationships had to end in tragedy.