Emmerdale slapped with Ofcom complaints as viewers fume over ‘horror movie episode’

Emmerdale has been slapped with Ofcom complaints from disgruntled viewers, it has been revealed by the television watchdog. A total of 73 complaints were lodged in relation to the “scenes of violence and m.u.r.d.e.r” for the hour-long episode, which aired on Thursday, September 4.

During the brutal episode, Mackenzie Boyd (played by Lawrence Robb) tried to make a break from captivity by pulling a brick out of the bunker he was chained up to. When killer John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) saw Mack’s move on CCTV, he quickly tracked him down in the woods. While there was a moment of hope for Mack as he dragged himself onto a road, praying someone would save him, his freedom was short-lived.

Begging for help as a vehicle was driving past, Mack was soon horrified to learn the driver was John, who had arrived with an axe in his hands he wasn’t afraid of using.

Elsewhere in the dramatic instalment of the long-running soap, John had drugged his husband, Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller), in alarming scenes around Mack’s escape attempt.

The harrowing episode sparked complaints from viewers, many of whom took to social media to share their concerns about the soap’s “intense” imagery.

One penned: “Today’s episode was SO intense, felt like a never-ending torture”. A second added: “Emmerdale was a horror movie episode poor Aaron and poor Mack.”

Someone else wrote: “I’m spiralling like… I’ve never been this upset in my life over a soap.”

It comes after the soap received 158 complaints for the episode, which aired on August 21, when viewers thought Mack had been killed off in a brutal fashion as he was shot with a bow and arrow by evil John.

Mack was then knocked unconscious by the psychopath with a rock and was presumed d.e.a.d by fans. However, the character managed to survive that assassination attempt – just.

Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV and ITVX.