Emmerdale facing Ofcom investigation after 39 complaints about shock scene

10 May 2019, 10:46 | Updated: 10 May 2019, 12:09

The ITV soap has faced backlash after Victoria Sugden was attacked during Wednesday's episode

Emmerdale viewers were left shocked after Victoria was brutally raped in an episode earlier this week, which was shown before the watershed.

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The scene showed the chef, who is played by actress Isabel Hodgkins, being attacked by Lee - a man she was seen briefly speaking to in the club.

And 39 shocked viewers lodged Ofcom complaints - and the regulator is now launching an investigation.

An Ofcom spokesperson told The Sun: “We are assessing these complaints against our broadcasting rules, but are yet to decide whether or not to investigate.”

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The harrowing scene aired towards the end of Wednesday night's episode.

She was seen being attacked by Lee, a man she spoke briefly to in a club.

Before the rape took place, Victoria turned down Lee's advances - but he wouldn't take no for an answer and manipulated his way into her house.

He then told her: "You said if I wanted to call a taxi, but I don't. I want to stay here. Come on, you know we both want this."

She then replied with: "What I want is for you to go", but it was at this point that he turned violent.

Viewers flocked to Twitter to voice their shock at the scenes, with one writing: "That was so horrible to watch poor Victoria 😢 #emmerdale".

Another added: "this is honestly f***ing disgusting #Emmerdale"

And a third wrote: "That was so scary wtf #Emmerdale".

It recently emerged that the actor who plays attacker Lee is played by an actor with a previous conviction for supplying date rape drug GHB.

A furious fan told The Sun: "It's disgusting. That drug destroys lives. It's a slap in the face to anyone who has been spiked and worse."