Don't leave her this way

Shelley King on why viewers should stick with Yasmeen’s domestic abuse storyline

Corrie has long been the soap that can make us laugh, but right now, one storyline has viewers’ blood running cold. Geoff Metcalfe’s coercive control of his wife Yasmeen has been the backdrop for some of the most shocking scenes of recent years.

But for Shelley King, who plays Yasmeen, there is little in Geoff’s actions that comes as a surprise. Conversations with survivors of abuse have been a sobering reminder that this kind of behaviour is happening every single day.

‘People have begun to stop me in the street when I’m shopping,’ Shelley tells us, ‘not to ask for autographs or selfies, but to discuss their problems or the problems of people close to them.

‘They’ve gone on to talk about their own experiences, and some of them are even more horrific than what we’ve seen Geoff force on Yasmeen. And the charity Women’s Aid have come into the building and I’ve spoken to several women, and one man, who have been through this.