Furious ‘Coronation Street’ fans have threatened to boycott the ITV soap following Sally Metcalfe’s guilty verdict.
Viewers were left stunned on Monday evening (26.11.18) when Sally – played by Sally Dynevor – was found guilty of fraud, money laundering and bribery after being framed for the crimes by dicey Duncan Radfield (Nicholas Gleaves).
‘Corrie’ viewers were so angered by the gross miscarriage of justice that some have now taken to Twitter to slam the storyline and demand Sally’s freedom by starting a Twitter trend to #FreeSally – in what is similar to the ‘Free Deirdre’ campaign which was launched back in 1998 when Deirdre Rachid (also Barlow) was wrongly imprisoned for fraud.
One Twitter user ranted: "I know it’s just a soap and I shouldn’t get so annoyed but this Sally storyline in Corrie is just ridiculous and is actually making me so mad. Just set her free it’s a joke!! #freesally #corrie (sic)"
Another enraged viewer said: "#Corrie The Sally guilty storyline is so horrible, that I am boycotting Coronation Street until Sally is released! Great story writing by the scrip writers, but sick and twisted story lines in the name of drama! #sadTV (sic)"
One user couldn’t help compare the plights of Sally and Deridre – played by the late Anne Kirkbride – and even suggested making shirts which insist Sally be freed immediately.
He wrote: "This is like Deirdre all over again, we need tee shirts. (sic)"
The ‘Free Deirdre’ campaign had such an impact that even the UK Prime Minister at the time, Tony Blair, vouched for the character, insisting she was not guilty of credit card fraud after being swindled by her conman boyfriend Jon Lindsay and stating that "anyone with eyes in their head" could see she was innocent.