Coronation Street bosses have sought support from Katie Piper’s charity ahead of a disturbing and violent acid attack storyline which is set to feature on the ITV soap.
The Katie Piper Foundation has supported the show to understand the “long-lasting impact" of an acid attack ahead of the topic being explored in upcoming episodes.
The storyline is set to come up next Monday when Daisy Midgeley (Charlotte Jordan) is getting ready for her wedding day at The Rovers Return.
Her Stalker Justin Rutherford (Andrew Still) shows up in Weatherfield following his arrest carrying a glass full of clear liquid to confront Daisy.
He turns up in the Rovers just as Daisy prepares to leave for the wedding with Ryan Connor (Ryan Prescott) as chauffeur.
Justin advances on Daisy and he throws the acid at her.
The soap worked on the storyline with The Katie Piper Foundation and Acid Survivors Trust International to highlight the devastating impact of such attacks.
Ahead of the episode airing, Sarah Green, chief executive of The Katie Piper Foundation, set up by model Katie Piper after she was the victim of an acid attack in 2008, said: “We were happy to support the team at Coronation Street to understand both the initial and long-lasting impact of an attack.
“Coronation Street have shown determination in their research to portray the reality of such attacks.”
Jaf Shah, executive director of Acid Survivors Trust International, said: “Coronation Street is to be commended for confronting this particularly brutal form of violence.”
Daisy Midgeley actress Charlotte Jordan, 27, said the storyline took her by surprise.
She said: “I really didn’t see this coming. It’s not something you see a lot on TV, so I was really surprised.
“It’s just so evil just to decide to take away someone’s identity and someone’s face like that. It’s just so heinous.”
Producer Iain MacLeod said: “We were keen to show the long-term reality for people subjected to this kind of attack.
“The story will, at times, be heartbreaking, but we felt it was an important one to tell.”