# UK Soap and Drama Discussion > Hollyoaks > General >  Hollyoaks is now the UK's most violent soap, says Ofcom

## Perdita

Hollyoaks has been named the UK's most violent soap by regulator Ofcom.

New research has found that the Channel 4 soap has overtaken EastEnders as the most violent, with viewers regarding such pre-watershed scenes as unacceptable.

Walker fights back.
Â© Lime Pictures

BBC One's EastEnders was found to have dropped from 6.1 violent scenes per hour in 2001/02 to 2.1 per hour last year.

However, Hollyoaks has leapt from 2.1 to 11.5 violent scenes per hour in the same time frame.

Last year, Hollyoaks was rapped by Ofcom for airing a pre-watershed scene of Brendan pushing Walker under a train.

The soap also overtook ITV's Coronation Street, which stayed at 3 violent scenes per hour, while Emmerdale went up from 2.5 to 4 per hour.

"People considered the time of broadcast to be the single most important factor in determining the acceptability of violent content on TV," said Ofcom.

Ronnie hits Carl over the head
Â© BBC
EastEnders

"Viewers were prepared to tolerate moderately violent scenes before the watershed; however, all agreed that strong scenes with a vulnerable victim were unacceptable before 9pm."

Research also found that pre-watershed scenes of violence are more likely to be acceptable between two men, rather children, a woman or the elderly.

A Channel 4 spokesman said: "We are committed to ensuring that all Hollyoaks storylines are appropriate for a pre-watershed audience. 

"The portrayal of violence is appropriately limited and is shown within the context of long-running storylines â and programmes that include scenes which some people may find upsetting are clearly flagged to viewers at the beginning of the broadcast.

"Hollyoaks has a track record of tackling issues affecting its audience, and has worked alongside [the] government and leading charities on subjects such as domestic abuse and bullying."

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