Coronation Street’s David Platt set for harrowing male rape story line
New character Josh is set to rock the cobbles with his arrival later this month (January)
By Joshua Haigh
One of Coronation Street’s most beloved characters is set to be at the centre of a male rape story line.
The ITV soap is set to follow in the footsteps of Channel 4’s Hollyoaks later this year when it tackles the tough issue of male rape in a harrowing storyline that’s set to rock the cobbles.
According to reports, the storyline will see David Platt get drunk with new character Josh on a night out, only for him to wake up the next morning and discover he has been drugged and sexually assaulted.
Producers want to focus on the stigma surrounding male victims of sexual assault, and viewers will watch as David struggles to cope with his feelings of shame and total shock.
Josh will arrive on the cobbles this month (January 26th), when the heartbreaking storyline is set to kick off.
According to The Mirror, Coronation Street is working with local charity Survivors Manchester to make sure it presents the storyline senstively and appropriately to viewers.
Hollyoaks star Gary Lucy was the first to tackle the issue of male rape almost 20 years ago back in 2000 when his character was sexually assaulted.
The actor recently returned to the series, where viewers saw him struggle to cope when he inadvertedly spotted the man who had attacked him all those year ago.
Coronation Street airs weekday evenings on ITV.
If you’ve been affected by rape or sexual abuse and need to speak to anyone, call Rape Crisis on 0808 802 9999