Samaritans take 33% more calls after Hayley death

Calls to the Samaritans increased by almost one third following the suicide of Coronation Street character Hayley Cropper.

The charity, which advised the producers on the storyline, had said Hayley’s death from a drugs overdose could cause a risk of copycat suicides.

On Monday night 10.6m viewers saw Hayley take an overdose after giving up her struggle with incurable cancer — 2m more than last Monday’s episode.

Julie Hesmondhalgh, who joined the soap in 1998 to play the show’s first transsexual, endeared herself to fans with her on-screen romance with cafe owner, Roy, played by David Neilson.

Samaritans chief executive Catherine Johnstone said the charity was pleased the Coronation Street production team acted responsibly by consulting with it about the controversial storyline.

“Our two decades of experience of advising the media about issues surrounding the portrayal of suicide led to Hayley’s death and the devastation of her partner, Roy, being handled in a sensitive way.”

The Samaritans’ contact details were included at the end of the episode.

“Our initial results show that calls to our helpline between 5pm yesterday [Mon] and 5am this morning [Tues] were 30% higher than during the same period last week, although these are only partial figures.”

While the increase may have been the result of the soap’s storyline, the charity is aware that such calls are heavier than usual at this time of year as Christmas bills arrive.

* Anyone with cancer concerns can call the Irish Cancer Society freefone line on 1800 200 700 to speak to a specialist cancer nurse.