Long-suffering Abi Webster (Sally Carman) is to be hit with a new torment in a hard-hitting new Coronation Street storyline, as she falls victim to deepfake porn.
The vulgar crime sees the false imagery of targets superimposed into sexually explicit videos using AI.
Next month, a video is sent anonymously to Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall), and it shows Abi seemingly in a sex video.
Incredibly realistic, the fake video will leave Abi – and her loved ones – horrified.
Metro.co.uk understands that a trigger points comes via a face from her past, and it will kick start a dramatic story for Abi and Kevin (Michael le Vell).
The motivation behind the horrifying campaign and the long term consequences remain to be seen, but Coronation Street is seeking to spear-head the issue in the latest awareness raising plotline.
Outgoing producer Iain MacLeod, who has since taken up a promoted role that oversees both ITV primetime soaps, alluded to the storyline at the beginning of the year, admitting that it had been temporarily shelved.
‘We were going to see her reconnecting with somebody from her past, who transpires to be the last possible person you’d expect to find in her backstory,’ he told Metro.co.uk.
‘[The story]’s not gone away, but it’s been pushed down the order somewhat. It got pushed aside. I won’t tell you by which story, because then you could probably work out what the Abi story was!
‘There was another story that came along. Actually, strategically, it made more sense to do that one first. So it’s still there, but it’s just not yet in the show.’
That’s set to change, with the dramatic storyline forming part of an intense spring on the cobbles.
Sharing deepfake imagery as a base offence now carries a six-month prison term. Amendments to the online safety bill last year made it illegal to share explicit images or videos that have been digitally manipulated to look like someone else without their consent.
Even though the offence was criminalised in 2015, before now prosecutors had to prove there was an intention to cause humiliation or distress.
Earlier this month, politicians in the UK announced plans for a law that also criminalises the creation of deepfakes, even if they aren’t widely shared.
Under the law, which is yet to be passed, people could face an unlimited fine if they create deepfakes to ’cause alarm, humiliation, or distress to the victim.’
The timing of Corrie’s story is therefore particularly notable.
As revealed in an in-depth spring preview by Metro.co.uk, we will also see a huge series of events unfolding in the Lauren Bolton (Cait Fitton) mystery, with new twists set to unfold.
Alongside a controversial storyline which has seen Toyah Battersby (Georgia Taylor) admit to burying her stillborn baby years ago, other plotlines will include Leanne (Jane Danson) fall deeper into the grips of a cult, and Bethany Platt (Lucy Fallon) coming face to face with her rapist Nathan Curtis (Chris Harper) as he is released from prison.
The flagship TV soap is also about to get a new boss, with former Emmerdale producer Kate Brooks commencing the role in a few weeks.
Discussing her upcoming role, she enthused: ‘Corrie has lit up my living room since I was a kid, so to be asked to produce a show I’ve revered for such a long time is the ultimate ‘pinch me’ moment.
‘I’ve adored the show from across the Pennines and have consistently been in awe of the talent on display, both on and off the screen.
‘It truly is a special show and I endeavour to take great care to ensure that it continues to thrive as we head into the next chapter.
‘Coronation Street has, and always will be, part of my DNA, and I can’t wait to get stuck in.’
