Producers of Manchester based soap opera Coronation Street have announced an upcoming storyline which is to cover the subject of historic child sexual abuse and its impact on a family.

The storyline will centre on the Winter family, including twin siblings Gemma and Paul, as it is revealed that Paul suffered sexual abuse during his childhood at the hands of his step-father Kel.

Viewers will see Paul struggle to come to terms with what happened to him as a child when Kel comes back into the family’s lives but will ultimately look to seek justice for his suffering.

Coronation Street is far from a stranger to tackling hard-hitting topics within their storylines; over the past few years they have covered child abuse and exploitation, and male rape.

Producer Ian MacLeod commented,

“This storyline explores something that is tragically all too common in families in the real world and will highlight the way these painful events still reverberate many years later. It will, I hope, allow people who have survived similar abuse and perhaps suffered in silence to find their voice and speak up.”

The show’s writer and producers have been working alongside Survivors Manchester, a charity which provides help and support to male survivors of sexual abuse and rape, to ensure the storyline is handled as sensitively and accurately as possible.

The last time Coronation Street and Survivors Manchester worked together on a storyline, David Platt’s rape, it resulted in a 1700% increase in calls to the male survivor helpline.

The mere fact that Britain’s most established and popular soap opera is dealing with such a serious subject of historic sexual abuse only goes to emphasise the importance of this issue in the modern world. All abuse victims should be listened to and supported and where possible provided with the necessary help and treatment.

For many years Farleys have been a nationally leading firm in the fight for justice for victims and have an enviable reputation and unmatched track record of successfully recovering damages amounting to many millions.

If you are a survivor of historic abuse, our experienced team can help. We can speak to you in confidence on our dedicated abuse line on 0330 134 6430 or, if you don’t feel able to talk over the phone, you can contact us by email.