EMMERDALE bosses have been forced to defend its animal cruelty storyline.
Tom King (James Chase) recently ran over wife Belle’s (Eden Taylor-Draper) dog, Piper.
This was in a misguided effort to force her to come back after she attempted to end their marriage.
At his veterinary surgery, the little canine companion seemed to be in terrible shape after the incident, and Belle thought she had to put the dog down.
She was left absolutely devastated by the death of her beloved pal, and remained adamant that Tom killed their pet on purpose.
However, it was later revealed that it was a similar dog that died, and in reality, Piper was very much alive.
But sticking to his evil ways, Tom gave away the dog to another couple as revenge.
Hundreds of fans made official complaints about the storyline as they slammed the depiction of animal cruelty.
282 fans previously lodged complaints to the industry watchdog Ofcom.
Taking to X – formerly known as Twitter – one fan fumed: “I am glad piper isn’t dead , but that still doesn’t excuse #Emmerdale making us all think she was dead. I also still don’t agree with the scenes they aired in last week’s episodes no animal should be harmed and it can be very triggering for some people.”
A second user angrily replied: “Emmerdale is a disgrace to soaps.”
“My daughter was upset about Piper,” stated a third fan.
And a fourth added: “I want to punch Tom straight in the face followed by an uppercut and the sharpest right foot to the b******s.!! Poor Piper… who wrote this f**??”
However, the soap has defended the storyline as it took to its official Instagram page.
In one post, the two actors can be seen in a glamorous photoshoot as they posed with the adorable pup to promote their work.
Both James, 28, and Eden, 26, were all smiles in a behind-the-scenes video as they glammed up for the session in the studio.
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The caption read: “Ever seen a dog do a photoshoot? Now you have!”
In an additional post, producers were keen to emphasise that although horrific scenes are shown on-screen, backstage it is a completely different story.
On X, a short video clip was posted by the official account of the soap, which showed staffers stroking the small dog in a loving way.
The post read: “Some scenes can be upsetting to watch, but Minnie (AKA Piper) is treated with nothing but love and lots of cuddles on set.”
Emmerdale is available to watch on ITV1 and ITVX.
