Emmerdale on-screen helicopter crash angers Clutha Vault disaster victims' families
10 people died in the tragic 2013 crash
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Families of those killed in the Glasgow Clutha Vaults pub helicopter crash have criticised the producers of Emmerdale for running a storyline they say bears too many similarities to the disaster.
The plot on the ITV soap will see a helicopter crash through the roof of the village hall during the wedding of Pete Barton to Debbie Dingle. At least one major cast member will be killed off as the story unfolds.
But the Clutha Trust support group has compared the narrative to the tragic incident in 2013, when a police helicopter smashed into the Clutha Vaults pub in Stockwell Street, Glasgow, killing 10 people.
Over a thousand people have signed a Change.org petition a day since it was launched by the Clutha Trust support group. Signatories are calling on Emmerdale producer Kate Oates to cut the episodes.
“Show some respect to the Clutha Disaster victims and families by not running a storyline about a helicopter crash on Emmerdale,” the petition reads.
"It is completely disrespectful and insensitive to even consider using a similar storyline in order to boost ratings for a soap," it continues.
One petitioner wrote: "The people of Glasgow are still affected by this tragedy."
However, Ms Oates told a press conference last week that she and other soap bosses carefully considered the storyline in light of the Clutha disaster.
She said: “It was something that we considered because obviously our intention is always to entertain people, to give them a good story, to thrill them, to upset them in certain kinds of ways sometimes, but it would never be our intention to mimic something like that.
"So we kept it very deliberately far apart. It's not something we were concerned about because we made the decision very carefully."
Additional reporting PA
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments