Coronation Street clears up confusion over Yasmeen and Geoff's hand-washing scene - digitalspy.com, Digitalspy.com

Coronation Street has cleared up claims that it made a deliberate reference to the coronavirus tonight (March ), explaining that the scene in question was written months ago.

Viewers took to Twitter as the episode saw Geoff Metcalfe (Ian Bartholomew) order wife Yasmeen (Shelley King) to wash her hands to the tune of ‘Happy Birthday’ after cleaning their upstairs bathroom.

Related: Coronation Street and Emmerdale responds to rumors that filming could be disrupted over coronavirus fears

How did you write that. so quickly? ” one fan asked , gobsmacked that the ITV soap was using the World Health Organization’s hygiene guidelines as material so soon after it issued them.

Another was more critical of the show’s methods, tweeting : “They are using a domestic abuser to remind a victim to wash her hands. That will endear us.”

“Has to be Geoff, of all people, to remind us all about the importance of handwashing, “ a third added .

However, Corrie ‘s official Twitter account wrote in response: “These scenes were written and filmed weeks ago. Wish we were that good at looking to the future but it’s just a coincidence. “

An ITV spokesperson added to Digital Spy in a statement: “Because we script and shoot so far in advance, we don’t generally reflect contemporary issues.

“However, we are going to use the soaps to remind people of important public health issues such as the need to wash their hands. We’ll try and do more such messages going forward. “

Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on ITV, while Lorraine airs weekdays at 9am.

The information in this story is accurate as of the publication date. While we are attempting to keep our content as up-to-date as possible, the situation surrounding the coronavirus pandemic continues to develop rapidly, so it’s possible that some information and recommendations may have changed since publishing.

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World Health Organization . If you’re in the UK , the the National Health Service can also provide useful information and support, while US users can contac t the Center for Disease Control and Prevention . Digital Spy now has a newsletter – sign up to get it sent straight to your inbox. (Read more Coronation Street spoilers on our dedicated homepage

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