Emmerdale has confirmed that they have voluntarily withdrawn from this year’s BAFTA nominations after a former writer admitted to assaulting his partner.
The long-running ITV soap was gearing up to be one of the candidates eligible for the Best Soap and Continuing Drama award at the ceremony in May.
This comes following news that both Emmerdale and Coronation Street failed to secure a place in the nominations for this year’s Royal Television Society Awards.
A decision was made by bosses after scriptwriter Martin Fustes – who penned a groundbreaking episode that saw Belle Dingle attend a survivors group following her domestic abuse at the hands of husband Tom King – pleaded guilty to attacking his girlfriend.
An Emmerdale spokesperson told Metro: ‘ITV and Emmerdale have taken the decision to withdraw the episode nominations from this year’s BAFTA TV Awards.
‘This is in consideration of developments in recent days involving a member of the scriptwriting team.’
Fustes, who wrote 171 instalments and worked on the show since 2006, admitted to causing actual bodily harm, and an offence of intentional suffocation on January 27.
He was given a two-year suspended prison sentence, 150 hours’ unpaid work, 15 days’ rehabilitation and a 26-session probation service domestic abuse programme.
He was also ordered to pay £2,000 compensation and £150 costs and was handed a ten-year restraining order.
‘We were shocked and appalled to learn about the recent court case involving Emmerdale writer Martin Fustes’ ITV said in a separate statement.
‘Mr Fustes is a freelance writer and he has been informed that he will no longer be writing for Emmerdale.
‘Everyone at ITV and Emmerdale abhors domestic abuse, which is why we have been highlighting the issue in a major storyline over the last 12 months.
‘The Emmerdale production team were not aware of these charges against Mr Fustes until we were alerted over the weekend.’
Fustes reportedly left his partner fearing for her life and when he turned nasty during a late-night argument, according to Hull Live.
Samantha Laws, prosecuting at Hull Crown Court, said he and his partner had been together for around 13 years at the time and shared a home with their children in Beverley, East Yorkshire.
This Is Not Right
On November 25, 2024 Metro launched This Is Not Right, a year-long campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women.
Throughout the year we will be bringing you stories that shine a light on the sheer scale of the epidemic.
With the help of our partners at Women’s Aid, This Is Not Right aims to engage and empower our readers on the issue of violence against women.
You can find more articles here, and if you want to share your story with us, you can send us an email at [email protected].
Read more:
- Introducing This Is Not Right: Metro’s year-long violence against women campaign
- Yvette Cooper’s message to abusers and rapists: The streets don’t belong to you
- Remembering the women killed by men in 2024
- Stories about violence against women don’t make an impact – this is why
- Men – we need your help to end violence against women
- What to do if your loved one is at risk from domestic abuse
The court heard that Fustes had been abusive and disparaging following an argument, and proceeded to prod her face and upper body with his fingers, keys and a vape before spitting on her.
He put both hands around her neck two or three times and blocked her from leaving the bedroom, then wrapped a dressing gown hood around her neck and pulled her back to the bed.
‘He was repeatedly shoving and pushing her back to the bed,’ Miss Laws told the court. ‘She attempted to escape. He placed his hands over her mouth and nose and stopped her ability to breathe. She could see stars.’
Following this, grabbed her phone off her and pulled off her watch, before telling her he wanted to kill her and chop up her face, and that he wished she was hanging from a tree and set alight.
‘She was able to escape through the front door of the house,’ said Miss Laws. ‘She began to run to the local police station but he quickly caught up with her and pleaded with her to return. She did return home.’
The arguing and abuse continued until Fustes allowed her to go to sleep at 3am.
In court, the woman claimed that this was the culmination of more than a decade of abuse which left her ‘distraught and sickened’.
‘I thought I was going to die. I had no other option but to escape and run down the street,’ she said of the suffocation.
‘I struggle to feel safe in my home. I can’t help but relive the incident, often as nightmares. The disruption he has caused in our lives has been significant. I started to feel relieved to be free of often daily abuse.’
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