Ofcom rejects 170 complaints about ‘raunchy’ Coronation Street gay kiss

Broadcast regulator Ofcom has yet again rejected complaints about a gay kiss on Coronation Street.

In an episode of the soap earlier this week, gay vicar Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank) passionately kissed Todd Grimshaw (Bruno Langley) after the pair checked into a hotel together.

Despite some fans praising the scene, other viewers took to Twitter to blast the show for its “sickening” scenes before watershed, and more than

“Homosexual scenes in #Corrie tonight were sickening. Most now tolerate this practice but we don’t need it rammed down our throats,” one fan wrote.

Another angry viewer added: “#Corrie let’s hope they finish during the adverts! No more gay action please!”

After an organised complaints campaign, 170 people filed a complaint with broadcast regulator Ofcom, claiming the scenes were “inappropriate” to air before the watershed

But an Ofcom spokesperson said: “We considered a number of complaints objecting to two male characters kissing in this episode, but won’t be investigating.

“Our rules do not discriminate between scenes involving opposite sex and same sex couples.”

Meanwhile, an ITV spokesperson said: “We approach the portrayal of homosexual relationships in the same way as heterosexual relationships, and we carefully consider all scenes in our soaps, and their suitability for pre-watershed audiences.

“We do not believe that the content of [the episode] was inappropriately scheduled, or exceeded generally accepted standards for content broadcast at this time.”

Sadly, this isn’t the isn’t the first time the show has been criticised for featuring a gay kiss.

Earlier this year, Ofcom rejected 67 complaints about another kiss between Todd and Billy.

An airing on July 8 attracted 26 complaints citing ‘Generally accepted standards’, while an airing on July 11 attracted a further 41 complaints about standards.

There were 6 additional complaints categorised as ‘Religious/Beliefs discrimination/offence’, presumably also referring to the storyline.

• Dec 31 2024

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