Actor Ian Bartholomew has revealed that he realised he was controlling after playing villain Corrie‘s Geoff Metcalfe.
Viewers have been horrified at the storyline that has seen Geoff abuse wife Yasmeen with coercive control.
Some have even vowed to boycott after finding it too difficult to watch scenes such as Geoff locking claustrophobic Yasmeen in a box and leaving her to scream in terror.
Geoff has cut her off from her friends and family, taken control of her finances and forced her to stay inside cleaning at all hours to keep the house up to his impossible standards.
And it’s not just viewers who have been affected, even actor Ian has had pause to question his own behaviour in light of the storyline.
Read more: Coronation Street viewers disgusted as Geoff kills Yasmeen’s beloved chicken Charlotte
He told the Mirror: “It’s made me think – I do that, I can be sharp. I don’t take it anything like as far as Geoff does but I know that I can be quite controlling and quite dismissive of other people.
“It has made me change my behaviour at home. I like to think I’m less judgmental now.”
In Friday night’s episode evil Geoff killed Yasmeen’s favourite chicken Charlotte and forced her to eat her in a vile act of manipulation and abuse.
And Ian says things are only set to get worse – as Geoff realised he has begun to enjoy the power he exerts over Yasmeen.
He added: “He’s now becoming not just manipulative but mean and nasty and intentionally so. Killing her chicken is a turning point, because he starts to enjoy his cruelty in some twisted, perverse way.”
The scenes were so bad that Corrie had to step in and reassure fans that the chicken who played Charlotte in the soap was alive and well.
Read more: Coronation Street confirms Shona is back as Julia Goulding returns to filming
Speaking after the horrific scenes were aired, actress Shelley King, who plays Yasmeen, confirmed the chicken had been spared.
Shelley said: “The chickens became a very important part of Yasmeen’s transference of affection, of love, she started off not liking them but when Sherif abandoned them she felt part of them.
“She embraced them, she loved them, and she fed them, and they became part of her family. And not only did she feel that loss but she ate it and I think that’s a hugely traumatic experience to go through. It was truly despicable.
“But they’re not dead so I have to console myself with that – we’re all actors.”
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