Coronation Street’s controversial Betsy strangulation story kicks off heated fan debate

Betsy Swain’s (Sydney Martin) new story highlighting the dangers of non-fatal strangulation has barely even begun on Coronation Street, and already its gone down with fans like a lit of stick dynamite.

The troubled teenager’s life changed forever this week after she was rushed to hospital after suffering a shock collapse. Much to the shock of her family, the tests revealed that Betsy had suffered a stroke had caused aphasia and dysarthria, leaving her unable to speak clearly,

Naturally, Betsy’s mother Lisa Connor-Swain (Vicky Myers) reacted like every protective Mama Bear would, desperate to find something or somebody to blame. That somebody was Dylan Wilson (Liam McCheyne), and the truth behind his involvement in Betsy’s tragic condition left a soap-watching nation reeling.

It turns out, Betsy and Liam had been experimenting with consensual strangulation during sex, which is what ultimately triggered her stroke. Furious, Lisa had a blazing row with Liam and his dad  Sean Tully (Antony Cotton) before reporting the young lad to the police.

Actress Sydney Martin, who plays Betsy, recently sat down with Metro to give her take on the story from both Liam’s perspective and her own character.

‘I remember talking about this with the charities. Even with consent, if someone has been physically injured from it, he is still liable by law and could be charged,’ Sydney explained.

‘You’ve got a teenage girl who has slept with her partner, a very common teenage activity, and as we’ve seen from the statistics, there’s that pressure to not be vanilla or ‘frigid.’

‘To put that on Dylan, and seeing Liam play it out, even in Wednesday’s episode, there’s such an air of innocence to it all. In both of their eyes, they’ve done no wrong. They’re just experimenting with something that seems so natural.

‘I mean, the law was only brought in last year that you have to prove your age to watch porn. These are people who have only just turned 18 who would have grown up with access to porn and access to that side of things, and to see sex portrayed in a light that’s not realistic and that’s heightened. So, I really feel for both of them in this situation.’

Meeting with charities about the hot-button issue, Sydney gave a fair and balanced response to a new and daring story with its pulse firmly on the social pressures affecting young people.

But this is the internet, so every man and his dog took to social media with an opinion on the story that has sparked a huge debate online, dividing the fanbase on everything on whether Betsy or Dylan are ultimately culpable, to whether or not a story like this should even be broadcast pre-watershed.

One fan on Metro’s Soap page made no bones about how they felt. ‘No no…can’t let Dylan and Betsy have a normal romantic life….yeah…they take their poison pen and conjure up some nastiness…’

Another fan seemed to concur, expressing the view that such a story should never escape the light of pre-watershed day.

‘So this kind of thing is a common event where sex relations are concerned. Thought soaps were supposed to be relaxing family programmes. That’s why its on early evening so the whole family can watch. If they want to produce these stories, they should be screened later in the evening’

But another Corrie viewer disagreed, responding to the post.

‘That’s the whole point of why they’re doing this story, as families will be watching together and it will create awareness for both parents and children’

One thing fans could agree on was Sydney’s performance, coming out in force to support the actor.

‘That performance was mind blowing. It really affected me.’ One fan wrote.

‘I think she’s an outstanding actress’ commented another.

Then things came down to the nitty gritty – who was responsible? That’s where things got messy.

‘Dylan shouldn’t get all the blame,’ one fan insisted. ‘It takes 2 to tango.’

This take was hotly contested by another diehard Corrie-head.

‘Well yes he should because no matter how much Betsy said she wanted it Dylan should have said no. Legally Dylan could face five years in prison because under the domestic violence act 2021 consent is not legally a defense.’

‘Brilliant actress, she’s nailed it so well.’ wrote another Corrie lover. ‘Just a shame it can’t just be an awareness for teenage strokes…something caused by an underlying issue. Why drag it down the erotic asphyxiation route? It’s the first I’ve heard of teenagers doing it, or is it just a way of pushing the whole keeping under 18’s off social media and accessing extreme content?’

Another commenter was quick to disagree’. ‘Great acting from these 2 characters, hard watch story line, well done script writers. It happens more than we know and young people need to be educated about it not arrested and ridiculed.’

Finally, there was a moving contribution from someone who had recently suffered a stroke themselves and did not reference the divisive nature of the story at all, instead focusing on the long term health problems.

‘I’ve just recently had a stroke and lost my speech. When I saw this episode it really brought it home and made me cry. Great acting Betsy. Lots of people just don’t understand the effect it can have on you. X x’

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