'Coronation Street's Bethany Platt is to get engaged to her groomer.
Lucy Fallon as Bethany Platt
The ITV soap's grim storyline involving the blonde schoolchild - portrayed by Lucy Fallon - will become even more "disturbing" to watch as nasty Nathan Curtis [Chris Harper] will lure Bethany by buying her a ring and asking her to marry him so that she will sleep with other men, including his friend Nick.
A source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "This is a disturbing storyline and it gets a lot worse before it gets better for Beth."
Bethany's mother Sarah Platt [Tina O'Brien] will discover the news on social media after her teenage daughter changes her relationship status on Facebook to engaged from single.
The story development comes following the sex ring episode broadcast on February 17, which featured 16-year-old Bethany being bedded by the much older salon owner, that subsequently received complaints from viewers.
However, the soap's boss Kate Oates has defended the story as they've teamed up with charities and the actor's have even met real-life grooming victims to ensure the story is as close to the real thing as possible in a hope to raise awareness.
She said: "Bethany's story has been crafted over many months, to create an awareness for viewers about the dangers of grooming.
"Her journey has begun in a way many young people will recognise: through feelings of low self-worth. Bethany's story is a challenging watch: but we hope it will encourage open discussion amongst friends and families about self-esteem, confidence and most importantly, safety."
Ofcom - also known as the Office of Communications, the government-approved regulatory body for the UK broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries - looked into what was aired by the programme and decided what featured on screen was "neither graphic nor violent".
A statement released by the body said: "We assessed complaints about this storyline. We concluded the content was neither graphic nor violent, and took into account 'Coronation Street's established role in covering challenging or distressing social issues."