EMMERDALE has been hit with further Ofcom complaints following Jai and Laurel’s decision to abort their Down’s Syndrome baby.
While some were in tears over the heartbreaking moment the couple went through with it, others were furious about one of the show’s most controversial storylines of the year.
On December 10, 16 viewers wrote to the television regulator to express their concern over the scene.
It was followed by another 15 the night after.
ITV and Emmerdale have already been criticised by charity MENCAP for “causing distress”.
At the end of November, viewers saw Laurel and Jai told at their first pregnancy scan that there were irregularities with the foetus.
A doctor then broke the news that the scan and Laurel’s age suggested the baby could have a chromosomal disorder like Down’s syndrome.
Viewers have since seen Laurel consider an abortion, with the upsetting scenes initially sparking 265 official complaints to the TV watchdog.
Mencap warned the soap to “stop” the storyline, and that it backed the call made by the “learning disability community”.
“The @Emmerdale storyline is causing much distress amongst people with #DownSyndrome and their families and carers,” shared MENCAP.
More than 30,000 people signed a petition that demanded the plot was axed, but Emmerdale bosses have insisted that they won’t be doing this.
On social media the Emmerdale Twitter account has shared several posts which read: “If you have been affected by issues raised in tonight’s episode you can go to http://itv.com/advice for support information #Emmerdale.”
Producers of the series said they consulted with “medical professionals, charities and parents with lived experience”.
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