Coronation Street tackles non-fatal strangulation in landmark storyline developed with expert support from IFAS
ITV’s Coronation Street is shining a spotlight on the hidden dangers of non-fatal strangulation through a new storyline developed with expert support from the Institute for Addressing Strangulation (IFAS).
The storyline follows Betsy (played by Sydney Martin), who suffers a stroke after being strangled by her partner Dylan (Liam McCheyne) during consensual sex. Believing the act to be safe, neither of them realises the potentially life-changing consequences. Over the coming months, viewers will follow Betsy’s recovery as she confronts the profound physical and emotional impact of a stroke at a young age.
To ensure the storyline’s medical accuracy, Coronation Street’s production team worked closely with IFAS, alongside the Stroke Association and Safeline. IFAS experts reviewed scripts and met directly with the production team and cast to help the storyline be told with clinical accuracy and care. IFAS thanks the Coronation Street production team for their thoughtful collaboration and commitment to portraying this issue responsibly and accurately.
The drama lands against a backdrop of stark data. A recent IFAS study of more than 4,100 young people aged 16–34 found that over 55% had either experienced being strangled or strangled someone during sex, with prevalence highest among 16–20-year-olds. The findings underline how widespread, and how widely misunderstood, the risks of strangulation remain among young people.
This collaboration builds on IFAS’s wider work examining how strangulation is portrayed across UK media. Its Strangulation in the UK Media research analysed almost 300 news articles published between 2022 and 2024, identifying opportunities to improve public understanding and encourage more responsible reporting. The Coronation Street storyline extends that work into mainstream drama, reaching audiences at an unprecedented scale.
Professor Cath White, Medical Director at IFAS, said:
“We are grateful to Coronation Street for approaching this storyline with such care and a commitment to medical accuracy. Non-fatal strangulation can result in life-changing injuries, including stroke, even where there are no visible external signs. There is no safe way to strangle. We hope this storyline helps increase understanding of the risks, challenges common misconceptions and encourages anyone affected to seek advice and support.”
Bernie Ryan OBE, Chief Executive of IFAS, said:
“Stories have the power to shape public understanding in ways few other forms of communication can. By bringing the realities of non-fatal strangulation into millions of homes, Coronation Street has created an important opportunity to challenge dangerous misconceptions and encourage people to recognise the risks and seek support. We are incredibly grateful to the production team for approaching this storyline with such care and for working alongside IFAS, the Stroke Association and Safeline to ensure it was grounded in evidence. We hope it encourages more people to seek help, ask questions and understand that there is no safe way to be strangled.”
Read our full Impact Report: Recognising the Risk: Transforming the UK’s Understanding and Response to Strangulation
Notes to editors
For interview requests or further information, please contact:
Nika Noakes (she/her)
Head of Communications and Engagement, IFAS
Email: nikan@ifas.org.uk
M: 07477959888
About IFAS
The Institute for Addressing Strangulation (IFAS) is the UK’s leading authority on non-fatal strangulation, established in October 2022 with Home Office funding. IFAS works across research, training, policy and survivor engagement, alongside partners in government, healthcare, criminal justice, and specialist services, to improve the UK’s understanding and response to strangulation. Since 2022, IFAS and its partners have trained more than 22,000 frontline professionals, including through its partnership with SafeLives.
