Coronation Street will reportedly introduce a controversial storyline involving character Toyah Battersby, which has prompted criticism from some viewers and a former cast member
Former Coronation Street cast member Vicky Entwistle has criticised producers over a controversial storyline involving one of her character’s daughters.
It was reported just last week that the ITV show will revisit the sexual assault of Toyah Battersby (played by Georgia Taylor). The character was raped by Phil Simmonds (Jack Deam) on her way home from a night out in 2001, with her having been attacked and left for dead by the assailant.
The storyline proved controversial at the time and Phil was later sent to prison. It was recently claimed that the incident will be referenced in an upcoming storyline that has already been criticised by some viewers of the soap opera.
It’s been reported that viewers are set to discover that Toyah ended up pregnant after being raped and that her baby was stillborn. It’s been claimed that the new storyline will also reveal that she buried her child in a park. Toyah reportedly “fears her secret will be discovered” as the land is set to be dug up.
The rumoured storyline has already attracted criticism, including from former cast member Vicky, 55. The actor is known for having played Toyah’s mother Janice Battersby on the ITV soap opera from 1997 until her departure in 2011.
She took to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Wednesday to address the alleged storyline. Vicky tagged her former on-screen husband Bruce Jones, now 71, who played Les Battersby, in the post on the platform earlier this week. Vicky wrote in her recent tweet: “Well we tried to make our moments as real as they could possibly be, didn’t we?! [Bruce] I guess we failed. Who knew digging up dead babies would become the highlight of ITV’s tea time slot!!!”
The former cast member later suggested that producers were “rewriting history” with the storyline. She made the remark in reply to a fan who asked in response to her initial tweet: “It’s way after teatime & why isn’t this real?!” She isn’t the only person to have questioned the potential storyline, with some viewers suggesting that it wouldn’t have happened. One person responded to Vicky’s first tweet: “Such a ridiculous and unnecessary storyline.”
Another said: “Not liking this story – especially as those of us old enough remember that there was no way Toyah could be pregnant. Gruesome.” Whilst a third follower wrote earlier this week: “Totally agree with you [Vicky]. This is such a ridiculous story as Toyah had a pregnancy test at the time.”
