Pat Phelan strikes again.
There was a time there (yesterday) when we wondered whether Pat Phelan would ever stop killing people.
His rampage around Weatherfield has literally been going on for months now with threats, blood, and sometimes actual bodies flying around left, right, and centre.
It’s far from the days of mild affairs and slice-of-life dramas that Pat was raised, clearly.
As it turns out though, many viewers have been less than impressed with the high levels of violence present in the show as of late.
Just last week, it was revealed that the soap has received 662 complaints about the scenes involving Phelan and his murder-spree.
Similarly, a few months back, Coronation Street producers were forced to defend their Phelan storyline saying that seeing as Pat has “already been established” as a villain, his actions shouldn’t really be that shocking.
They said:
“In addition the programme is always careful to limit the level of violence actually shown to a minimum to convey the drama and tell the story.
“And, of course, one day, Phelan will get his comeuppance and justice will be done.”
It does seem though that all of this hasn’t been enough to sway the opinions of many viewers because they are still fairly unhappy with the levels of violence being portrayed before the watershed.
… And are probably just a bit pissed off that this story has been dragging on for so long too, to be honest.
Many fans took to Twitter today to complain about the show, with a few saying that they hadn’t even bothered watching recently due to the story being portrayed.
@itvcorrie I refuse to watch Eastenders as it seems to glorify violence and criminality. Afraid Corrie seems to be going the same way. No longer enjoyable. Too much serious crime being screened. Very disappointing.
— Colin Stewart (@AcciesColin) January 25, 2018
Ive turned off twice this week. Barely watched since last thursday
— Miss.May (@missmay47) January 25, 2018
Its had its day now…..this storyline is just 😴 So OTT & dragged on for years 🙈 @ITV @itvcorrie
— bettyboo82 🗽💪💜 (@Bettyboo821) January 25, 2018
@itvcorrie Am concerned about levels of violence on the show. Murders and serious assault etc. Not a good example for anyone particularly young folk. No longer enjoyable to watch. Let’s get back to enjoyable family entertainment in Best Corrie tradition.
— Christine Stewart (@Acciechristine) January 25, 2018
As well as this, bookmakers in the UK have recently slashed the odds on the soap literally being taken off the air due to the amount of complaints it’s been getting from viewers.
The Daily Star reports that bookies are now offering odds of just 5/1 of ITV cancelling Corrie.
Not long ago, those odds stood closer to 250/1.
We can probably go ahead and assume that this will not be happening anytime soon, but the fact that bookies are offering odds means that people are at least talking about this issue a lot.
However, some people are still of the opinion that Coronation Street “pushing the boundaries” of TV can only be a good thing.
Well done @itvcorrie for getting gritty. It's good to push the boundaries and be 21st century in its story lines no matter how harrowing that may be. #corrie
— Mel Neale (@melmagtilly) January 25, 2018
it's been just over 8 years since I started watchin @itvcorrie and I was hooked from the very first episode I saw. thankq for creating such an incredible show which resulted in me finding my idol, Ali King who has impacted my life on so many different occasions over the years✨💛
— dee (@kingsbritton) January 25, 2018
Why aren’t you doing a side story of Anna and Phelan in prison – they can really go to town on each other from their separate prisons – call it Corrie cell2cell 😜😜
— Angie Morland 🇮🇱🇬🇧 (@Kfirette) January 25, 2018
Alright Angie, calm down.
