'Violent' Emmerdale warned by TV watchdog

English soap opera Emmerdale has come under fire from TV watchdog Ofcom for showing too much violence on screen.

Ofcom issued a statement to "remind" broadcasters to limit violent content after receiving a number of complaints about the Yorkshire Television show.

Viewers complained about four episodes, broadcast at 7pm in September last year, featuring businessman Tom King being kidnapped with his ex daughter-in-law Sadie by villain Cain Dingle.

Viewers saw Cain's plan to extort money from Tom's family brought to a climax, as he appeared to shoot Sadie with a shotgun in the stomach at close range.

ITV said it regretted the fact that 37 viewers judged the violence inappropriate but said it had reached an "appropriate balance between dramatic entertainment and offence".

Viewers were warned of a "violent and bloody climax" before the concluding broadcast, it said.

But Ofcom found the violence breached the broadcasting code. It said: "During the concluding episode transmitted on September 21, Cain shot Sadie in the stomach at close range causing a large blast effect injury to her which was visible and in close-up.

"The resulting emotive shock of the blast was significantly portrayed by the actors and there was a substantial amount of blood."

The watchdog added: "Whilst this shooting later transpired to have been elaborately faked by Cain and Sadie, it appeared completely real to the audience at the moment of broadcast and it was, in Ofcom's view, an unsuitable level of violence to portray in a programme before the watershed at a time when children were likely to be viewing."