Soaps criticised over drinking scenes

The soaps have been criticised for glamorising binge drinking and not fully showing the downside to alcohol consumption according to charity Drinkaware.

 

The soaps have been criticised for glamorising binge drinking and not fully showing the downside to alcohol consumption according to charity Drinkaware. The charity conducted research over a six week period in which all four big UK soaps (EastEnders, Emmerdale, Hollyoaks and Coronation Street) were watched. According to Drinkaware nearly 400 scenes were featured across the soaps in which characters drank alcohol – to relieve stress or to celebrate – but only 12 scenes featuring hangovers were present.

 

‘We need to avoid normalising the idea of consequence-free drinking to excess, especially among under 18s, so people of all ages can make informed decisions about their own drinking based on the facts,’ Chris Sorek, chief executive of Drinkaware.

 

The criticism isn’t exactly a new one with the soaps being criticised many times in the past for ‘glamorising’ drinking. Medical drama Holby City has also been criticised for scenes featuring nurses and doctors drinking heavily after shifts. Soaps usually respond that they have tackled the issue of binge drinking and alcoholism such as Peter Barlow and Phil Mitchell’s battles with addiction in Coronation Street and EastEnders respectively.