Coronation Street is at the centre of a row after Maureen Lipman’s character made an “insensitive” remark about IVF babies.
Viewers besieged watchdog Ofcom after Thursday’s episode, shown during Fertility Awareness Week.
Lipman’s character Evelyn Plummer discussed how Gemma Winter had given birth to quadruplets.
Plummer said: “You can’t move for twins and triplets these days. At least she did it the old-fashioned way and not through, what’s it, IVF.”
Some viewers said it was insensitive to couples struggling to conceive and vowed a boycott. Yesterday Ofcom had received 60 complaints.
One fan blasted the “insensitive scripting”, saying: “ITV shame on you, it’s infertility awareness week not mock infertiles.”
Another “disgusted” viewer said that he would never watch the show again.
“IVF isn’t a choice. My wife and I struggled with the postcode lottery and found out we could not have kids even if we paid for IVF,” he said.
Tone Jarvis-Mack, of The Fertility Foundation, said: “It’s sad to see a popular show making such disparaging comments on a subject that affects one in six people who’d love to have a baby the old-fashioned way.
"I’d have hoped the researchers would have taken the time to understand the emotional roller coaster couples are on when facing the fact the only way to start a family is through IVF.”
Ofcom said. “We’re assessing these complaints before deciding whether to investigate.”
Coronation Street had 1,098 complaints last year, 214 of which related to the date-rape of David Platt.
