Emmerdale fans have revealed their disgust following violent pre-watershed scenes in Thursday’s double bill, as fan favourite Gerry Roberts was bludgeoned to death by killer Lachlan White.
Viewers of the ITV soap took to Twitter to slam the show for airing the dark scenes as Lachlan silenced Gerry by trapping him under the collapsed B&B ceiling, before crushing his head with a brick.
Gerry’s exit came as star Shaun Thomas revealed he didn’t want his character to be killed off, telling The Sun that he found the bosses decision ‘upsetting.’
Shocking: Emmerdale fans have been left ‘disgusted’ following violent pre-watershed scenes on Thursday, as fan favourite Gerry Roberts was bludgeoned to death by killer Lachlan White
Gerry’s exit came as Lachlan (played by Thomas Atkinson) continued to fear that his friend wouldn’t keep quiet about the crimes he committed, crashing a car and killing his mother Chrissie and grandfather Lawrence in January.
Luring him to the B&B which had been closed for building work, Lachlan knocked a wall post which led the ceiling to collapse on top of Gerry.
As he continued to decide whether to finish off his friend or not, Gerry begged Lachlan to save him in exchange for his silence, but his desperation came too little too late, as Lachlan proceeded to pick up a brick and bludgeon his friend to death.
Scary: Lachlan proceeded to crush Gerry’s head with a brick after the roof of the B&B collapsed on top of him, desperate to keep his previous crimes a secret
Terrifying: After killing his friend, Lachlan fled the scene leaving some of Emmerdale’s other residents to find him
While none of the gory details were shown on screen – as the screen cut to black just after Gerry screamed out in horror – the pre-watershed scenes left fans shell-shocked, with some slamming the soap for going too far.
One wrote: ‘Horrific storylines. Plumbing depths with sick actions from young members of cast. This is not after watershed drama!’
Another added: ‘Disgusting and before watershed emmerdale below the belt what’s going on in our soaps warped writers.’
A third wrote: ‘Disturbing for adults so I can only imagine how this could affect our younger generation. Not entertainment Emmerdale, I feel sick.’
Explosive: Viewers of the ITV soap rushed to Twitter in fury claiming the scenes were too violent for pre-watershed viewing
Gerry’s exit from the soap proved to be even harder to process for many soap fans, as he has proven to be a fan favourite since joining the show last year.
His comic relief breaking broke through many of the dark and dreary stories that have run through the village in recent weeks, with the formal criminal gradually turning his life around as he began working at the B&B.
Fans also saw him find a father figure of sorts in Doug Potts (Duncan Preston) with the pair sharing some touching scenes just days before Gerry’s death.
At risk: Lachlan lured Gerry into the trap before knock a post that caused the ceiling of the B&B to land on top of him
And following his departure, actor Shaun Thomas revealed that he was sad to see the character killed in such a dramatic fashion, telling The Sun he had grown to enjoy playing the character after originally landing the role for just two episodes.
He said: ‘It were a shock because I was only meant to come here for the two episodes with Lachlan and I ended up staying here for a year and a half.
‘So I really got used to being around everybody and I made connection with everybody and then to be told that was going to come to an end it was pretty upsetting.’
Gone: Gerry had proven to be a fan favourite in recent weeks, after joining the soap last year
With another death on his conscience, fans have been hoping that Lachlan will finally get his comeuppance, but that is seeming less likely, with star Thomas Atkinson revealing he won’t be leaving anytime soon.
He told Digital Spy: ‘He’s already killed his mum and his granddad and that was five months ago, so it’s just adding one more to the list, isn’t it? Not in a horrible way!
‘Everybody knows that characters who’ve killed people do eventually have their comeuppance, but there are still people in the village who killed people years ago so we will have to see.’
Gutted: Following his departure, actor Shaun Thomas admitted he didn’t want his character to be killed off telling The Sun he found bosses decision to axe his character ‘upsetting’