After ITV soap Emmerdale faced a viewer boycott for ‘shamefully’ mocking disability, the show’s bosses have apologised for the comments about Cerebral Palsy.
It was a line from Nicola King that saw over 300 complaints about the soap to regulators, after she said to Dan as they were both in a drunken state: “You look like you’ve got that, what is it? Himi, Hemi, Hemiplegia.”
An Emmerdale spokesperson has spoken to Mirror Online and has apologised for the comment.
They said: “The character Nicola has hemiplegia, or partial paralysis affecting one side of her body.
“She is a character well-known for her acerbic humour and it is in keeping with her personality to make light of her own condition in this way. We apologise if anyone found the line offensive.”
The scene had come about after Dan Spencer and Nicola, grew closer as Dan looks to further his career as a carer and Nicola looks to cope with the life-changing injuries she suffered in a recent accident.
This recently led to the pair sharing an illicit kiss and their friendship now seems to be going down a whole different route.
It wasn’t the burgeoning affair that has got viewers talking.
As the pair knocked back the wine, they found their sozzled states fairly amusing.
Commenting to Dan, as he slid sideways in his chair, Nicola said: “You can’t go around like that, all cocked.
“You look like you’ve got that, what is it? Himi, Hemi, Hemiplegia.”
Hemiplegia is paralysis on one vertical half of the body and Nicola’s comments enraged viewers.
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This hasn’t been a great week for ITV soaps, as Coronation Street bosses have had to issue a statement of apology for a ‘racist’ comment made by one of its characters.
Catherine Tyldesley’s Eva Price said her hair had ‘more roots than Kunte Kinte’ after it was touched up in Audrey’s salon.
Viewers were outraged as they called the soap out for being ‘racist’ for referencing the fictional victim of slavery from novel Roots.