Shelley King says 'Coronation Street' took "a risk" carrying on her coercive control plot following Geoff Metcalfe's death - but it would be "morally wrong" not to follow the story after the abuse ended.
Shelley King
While evil Geoff - who was played by Ian Bartholomew - finally met his maker in December after abusing his wife Yasmeen Metcalfe (Shelley) for months, she is still suffering as he leaves everything to his son Tim Metcalfe (Joe Duttine), and the 65-year-old actress has insisted it was vital for real-life victims for the plot to continue.
When asked how important it is to show that even when the abuse stops the torment doesn’t, she said: "It is hugely important, I discussed it at length with the producer and the story editor and all of us knew how important it was.
"Having taken the risk, and it is a risk in a soap, to carry on a storyline for the amount of time that we have, it wasn't an easily accepted one at first, not only because of the horror if it, but also because traditionally soaps don't spend that much time exploring one subject.
"Soaps are a moral compass and 'Coronation Street' deals with these huge stories brilliantly, but this one has been going for three years, having spent that amount of time on research and commitment it would be morally wrong to not follow her story after the abuse ends."
'Coronation Street' have teamed up with UK charity Surviving Economic Abuse - which is dedicated to raising awareness of economic abuse and transforming responses to it - for the latest part of Shelley's hard-hitting plot, and she hopes carrying on the storyline will help victims' friends and relatives understand more about what they are dealing with.
She added: "People who have been through court cases, have started to move on with their life, the mental scars don’t go away.
"It is important to show the full picture for all the women and men who have shared their stories with us.
"Hopefully it will help their friends and relatives understand that this thing doesn't go away just because the other person has somehow left your life."