Emmerdale bosses confirm which recent storyline was 'universally slammed'

As Emmerdale’s 50th anniversary approaches the show’s bosses have been reflecting on the audience’s reaction to storylines that have previously aired. Executive producer Jane Hudson and producer Laura Shaw reveal that one story in particular caused a massive reaction.

‘My proudest story is any story that gives a voice to a viewer who has been silenced through guilt, shame, or fear,’ Jane says.

‘For example, Vinny (Bradley Johnson) suffering domestic abuse from his father, Victoria (Isabel Hodgins)’s rape, and Laurel (Charlotte Bellamy)’s decision to have a termination after the diagnosis that the baby has Down’s syndrome.’

Jane says that Laurel’s story provoked very strong feelings. ‘Laurel’s termination received the most reaction. It was very negative before the episode aired, but then very positive once it had aired. People heard we were doing it and slammed us for it without having seen the show.’

In the story which aired in 2020, Laurel battled with the decision over whether to go ahead with her pregnancy after learning that her baby had Down’s syndrome. When she decided to have a termination, there was quite a backlash.

‘We had some death threats thrown at us,’ Jane says. ‘I remember getting one message saying: “You are going to hell and so is your child.”’

Balancing the negative response, the team knew they were reaching other people who would be helped by the story. ‘I was massively proud of that story because there are so many women and men who live in shame, guilt, and fear they can’t speak out over what is fundamentally their right to choose,’ Jane says. ‘If one person stops having suicidal thoughts, then we have helped them.’

Laura recounts a message she received that underlined how important it was to sometimes tell difficult or challenging stories.

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‘After the episode aired, someone sent me a private message on Instagram and said “This happened to me 12 years ago, I have never told anyone and then I walked into my work to find everyone talking about Emmerdale. I admitted for the first time that I had also had a termination.” It gave me goosebumps.’

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