Ofcom receives 74 complaints over Gerry’s Emmerdale death

Ofcom received 74 complaints after Emmerdale’s Lachlan White brutally bludgeoned Gerry Roberts to death in last night’s (17.05.18) double bill.
Viewers contacted the UK communications regulator following the two episodes, which saw evil Lachlan – played by Thomas Atkinson – bash his pal Gerry (Shaun Thomas) over the head with a huge stone.
An Ofcom spokesperson told BANG Showbiz: "We received 74 complaints."
While the impact of the stone hitting poor Gerry was not shown on screen, viewers watched on as the hapless character lay under a pile of rubble after calculated Lachlan made the B&B collapse on top of him.
He then refused to get help for his so-called best friend but looked as though he may not deal a final blow to his pal in hard-hitting scenes.
However, Gerry desperately called for help which made Lachlan’s mind up for him.
Shaun has since admitted he was "pretty upset" when show bosses told him they were going to kill his character off.
He said: "It was a shock because I was only meant to come here for two episodes in the prison scenes with Lachlan and then I ended up staying here for a year and a half.
"So I really got used to being around everybody and making a connection with everybody. And then to be told that it would be coming to an end it was pretty upsetting."
This comes after Ofcom received more than 200 complaints from 183 ‘Coronation Street’ viewers in response to the episode on March 16, when Josh Tucker (Ryan Clayton) spiked David Platt’s (Jack P. Shepherd) drink before sexually assaulting him.
However, Ofcom later dismissed the complaints, saying that while the scenes were "uncomfortable viewing for some", they didn’t break any broadcasting regulations.
A spokeswoman for the watchdog explained: "This storyline tackled a sensitive and challenging subject, which we appreciate was uncomfortable viewing for some.
"However, we considered that ITV took extensive steps to ensure it was handled sensitively and carefully. These included working closely with a victim support group, and repeatedly signposting the help available to anyone affected by sexual violence.
"We also considered that, although the offender’s violent intentions were clearly implied, the scenes were neither explicit nor graphic. Finally, we took into account that clear warnings were broadcast before both episodes."