Trailer: Yasmeen Strikes Back
These are the dramatic moments when Coronation Street’s Yasmeen Metcalf watches in horror as her abusive husband collapses with a neck wound after she lashes out at him in a moment of terror.
As she realises what she has done she stares helplessly at her husband lying on the floor with blood pouring from his wound. Terrified and shaking Yasmeen dials 999 and tells the operator "I’ve just killed my husband."
Has she killed him? Will anyone believe she acted in self defence after months of abuse?
Millions of viewers have seen Yasmeen Metcalfe’s coercive control abuse storyline unfolding on screen. Geoff has isolated her from her friends and family, stolen money from her, chipped away at her confidence, belittling her, locking her in a magicians box and even forcing her to eat her own pet chicken. He also set up CCTV surveillance cameras in the house without her knowledge
In recent scenes Yasmeen discovered that Geoff had been using an escort agency and she went to the police to access information about his background under Clare’s Law.
In next week’s episodes Geoff continues to abuse Yasmeen depriving her of food after she discovers she has a sexually transmitted disease and he lays the blame at her door. When they are invited on a night out by Sally and Tim he forces Yasmeen to wear a dress he bought for an escort.
Back at home he locks a distraught and upset Yasmeen in the house, before returning and goading her by eating food in front of her.
Shelley King says:
"He has a bottle of wine on the table and food, he doesn't offer her anything. All she wants is to eat something and hug him. She wants him to forgive her. She is not thinking coherently, she hasn’t eaten for two and a half days properly. What she does is react like a wounded cornered animal she just wants it all to stop, she defends herself she doesn't attack him but it is him who ends up bleeding on the kitchen floor."
Shelley added that these were the hardest scenes she has had to film during this storyline:
"There have been many very difficult scenes throughout this storyline but just the technical aspect of a scene like this means that something you see that just plays out for three minutes might take the whole day to film. During that time you have to concentrate and stay in the moment. Ian and I are very close, we are great friends and we understand each other. During the day and a half that we concentrated on the portrayal of that horror we had to keep in the moment, barely talking outside the scene. It was also a closed set. You have to contact so many things in yourself, when you have three minutes filmed over a day and half you have no recovery time and you can't afford to joke and laugh. Every single person on set understood and were amazing and were concentrating on making those moments happen."
The episode which airs on May 1st will leave viewers wondering if Geoff’s reign of terror is finally over, but will Yasmeen pay the price for lashing out at her abuser?
If you or someone you know is at risk from domestic abuse please visit our advice pages for organisation and charities that can offer help and support.