On 10th September this year, Michael Le Vell was found innocent on 19 charges of sexual abuse, including those against a child. Prior to the charges, Le Vell was best known for his role as family man and car mechanic Kevin Webster, in the popular soap Coronation Street, a role he has held for 30 years. Whilst legal proceedings were ongoing, Le Vell did not appear in any episodes of the show, but since the trials close Le Vell has been in talks with Coronation Street producers concerning his return.
However, considering the nature of the charges that were made against Le Vell, would it be appropriate for him to go back at all? Coronation Street covers many serious real life issues and its entirely plausible that a sexual abuse story against a child could be one of them, in which case Le Vell’s presence could be in bad taste. Of course, it must be remembered that Le Vell was found innocent of all charges. As he is a professional actor, it would be unjust to deprive Le Vell from the only form of income he has known for 30 years. With Operation Yewtree still dominating headlines, the public reaction to Le Vell is likely to be mixed.
But Le Vell is not the only Coronation Street actor that has come under fire for inappropriate behaviour. Bill Roache, an acting veteran has been charged with 5 counts of indecent assault against underage girls and Chris Fountain was recently dismissed for a series of offensive online rap videos that boasted about rape and abuse towards women. With so many accusations being made against formerly popular household names, our trust in media personalities has fallen dramatically. The debate between the private and public lives of celebrities has been a contentious one and perhaps these recent events allow for a greater scope into the lives of the rich and famous?
The matter of Le Vell’s return is certainly a divisive one and the recent revelations about some of our once much loved celebrity names has sent a shockwave through the country. HCX would love to read your opinions on these events in the comments below.
Picture Credits: www.mirror.co.uk, www.primetime.unrealitytv.co.uk