Sally Phillips has slammed 'Emmerdale' as "irresponsible" and "thoughtless" for running their Down syndrome abortion plot during Disability Awareness Month.
Sally Phillips
The 51-year-old actress - whose 16-year-old son Olly has Down's syndrome - says the ITV show is causing "unnecessary hurt" to some who may even watch the programme because there is a character with Down's syndrome, Harvey Rogerson's alter-ego Leo Goskirk, and she claims the programme was "at best poorly informed and thoughtless" for airing the storyline in Disability Awareness Month, which takes place from November 18th to December 20th.
She told the Daily Mail newspaper: "If 'Emmerdale' wanted to tell a storyline of a termination of pregnancy for medical reasons to support women who choose that path, it could have been told without identifying a specific condition.
"The use of a Down syndrome diagnosis brings unnecessary hurt to a group of individuals, many of whom watch and enjoy the show precisely because there is a character with Down syndrome.
"Disability hate crime is on the rise and running with this storyline in Disability Awareness Month was at best poorly informed and thoughtless, and at worst irresponsible."
The hard-hitting plot will see character Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy) and her partner Jai Sharma (Chris Bisson) come to the heart-breaking decision to terminate their pregnancy after discovering their baby has Down's syndrome.
Charlotte recently urged people to watch all of the 'Emmerdale' episodes concerning the controversial plot "before making a judgement".
She said: "Of course, it's going to cause huge debate and it is a highly emotive subject.
"But I think it's important to say 'Emmerdale' aren't making judgements. They're not taking sides.
"We just urge people to watch all of these episodes before they make a judgement."
Charlotte insisted the soap always try to "give a very balanced view", and she pointed out Leo has been a character on the show for nearly 10 years.
When asked if she thinks "a lot of these concerns will be addressed" when the plot has aired, she said: "Well, 'Emmerdale' give a very balanced view.
"We have to remember Leo is a character who has been in the show for 10 years.
"He is the Down syndrome son of Marlon and Rhona. And that has been such a huge positive story, and continues to be, in our show.
"Soaps are at their most potent when they deal with very difficult stories.
"I think it's really important that soaps don't shy away from them."
'Emmerdale' have teamed up with Antenatal Results and Choices (ARC) to ensure the plot is played out sensitively.
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