When Yasmeen Nazir was left shaken after being mugged last night, she found comfort in the arms of her partner Geoff Metcalfe…
But unsettled Coronation Street viewers believe Geoff is the very person who put Yasmeen in danger in the first place.
In fact they believe he set up the mugging!
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As the ITV soap starts exploring a storyline about coercive control, Geoff’s behaviour has become increasingly worrying as he continues to belittle her and isolate her from her family.
On Wednesday (June 26), he once again shamed her over the dinner party earlier in the week, this time complaining that her hangover meant they couldn’t go on a walk as planned.
In a moment of petty rage, he tipped a drink over Ryan Connor’s mixing desk at Speed Daal and allowed Yasmeen to think she was to blame for it.
Read more: Coronation Street fans divided as Sarah Platt turned violent towards Gary Windass
Feeling upset after the incident, Yasmeen left the restaurant with the day’s earnings only to be dragged into a nearby alley and mugged by a hooded man – until unlikely heroine Tracy Barlow came to her rescue.
As Yasmeen was left shaken by the attack, Geoff used it to exert even more control over the grandmother of two.
Preying on her fears, he insisted that he accompany her from now on so she’s never alone…
When she refused, he set about convincing her – by following her in disguise and leaving her feeling threatened and scared.
But fans didn’t just believe he was behind her stalking, they are convinced he was behind the mugging too.
One wrote: “OMG I thought he set up Yasmeen’s robbery. Slow controlling tactics, saw it months ago.”
Another added: “I totally thought that he staged the mugging!”
A third said: “Wait, was it Geoff who attacked Yasmeen?
“Anyone else think Geoff set that mugging up on Yasmeen?” asked one more.
Geoff organised the robbery? #coronationstreet #corrie
— Mancunian_s (@RedRith) June 26, 2019
What’s going on with Geoff then? I Wonder if he paid the mugger? I don’t think theirs one decent bloke on Coronation Street isn’t it time they had a baddie female on #Corrie & stop giving the guys a raw deal, even Tracy’s gone soft
— Tabitha (@ingham_tabitha) June 26, 2019
https://twitter.com/brocher83/status/1143968323727757312
https://twitter.com/d_n_g_x/status/1143970553826615296
https://twitter.com/DanaScruby/status/1143970956857270273
#coronationstreet OMG I thought he set up Yasmins robbery. slow controlling tactics saw it months ago…
— colabottlelover (@mummynotpaymore) June 26, 2019
Is Geoff in on the mugging for the money 💰🤔#Corrie
— Mary (@mary_pippin1) 26 June 2019
Many other fans were distressed to see the beginning of the coercive control storyline, with one saying: “I have an uneasy feeling that a psychological abuse storyline is starting with Geoff and Yasmeen.”
Another said: “I am really disliking Geoff. He is so creepy. And what he is doing to Yasmeen is awful.”
Others thanked the soap for raising awareness, tweeting: “Thank you for raising awareness of coercive control with the Yasmeen and Geoff storyline. More people need to be aware of the cruel control mechanisms used by men like this.”
The ITV soap has been working with abuse charities, including Women’s Aid, to raise awareness of coercive control and show the reality and damaging effects of non-physical domestic abuse.
Corrie producer Iain Macleod said: “It’s common for people to think abusive behaviour has to be physical – but you can damage someone profoundly without laying a finger on them.
“Many thousands of people feel trapped in relationships with someone who claims to love them but who is actually taking them apart piece by piece, isolating them from friends and family and locking them in an invisible prison of fear and insecurity.
“Often, the abusive behaviours accumulate and intensify over time so that you don’t realise it’s happening – it’s an insidious type of brainwashing.
“I hope this story will help anyone going through similar experiences in the real world by highlighting that feeling undermined, belittled, controlled or intimidated by your partner is never okay.
“The old ‘sticks and stones’ adage is just plain wrong – words CAN be instruments of torture and manipulation.”
Coercive control became a crime in 2015.
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