Soap opera storylines could become subject to ethical debate before transmission

MORE than one million Irish viewers couldn’t take their eyes of this scene last week when Coronation Street serial killer Richard Hillman threatened to make his wife Gail Tilsley the next victim.

But soap opera storylines should be subject to ethical debate before transmission, parent and health representatives warned yesterday.

The National Congress of Catholic Secondary Schools (NCCSS) and the Rape Crisis Network (RCN) have questioned the inclusion of sexual abuse, gay relationships, murder scenes and abortion and drug abuse issues in programmes shown before the 9pm watershed.