Say what you like about Hollyoaks, but when it comes to providing a double whammy of death and violence just in time for dinner, there really is no other show out there like it. The trouble is, this death and destruction has landed the show in a heap of destruction, as the over-the-top scenes have breached tele rules set by Ofcom, who have determined that the show crossed a line when it aired the bloody episode in March this year.

Neil Newbon
Neil Newbon plays Simon Walker on the soap

The broadcasting watchdog have recently ruled the "violent and shocking" scene from the 19 March 2013 episode was unsuitable to be shown before the watershed, and breached the rules set by the TV standards agency.

In their defence, Channel 4 said that they took a number of precautionary measures to ensure that the episode complied with Ofcom's guidelines, however the watchdogs said that the broadcasters hadn't tried hard enough and the measures they had taken were insufficient.

Channel 4 claim that they took "great caution" in ensuring that the episode complied with Ofcom's guidelines, including monitoring the number of punches thrown in the fight scene and monitoring sound levels, as well as including a warning at the beginning of the show that alerted viewers of the impending violent scenes.

The episode only garnered one complaint from a disgruntled viewer, however Ofcom decided that given the high percentage of younger people watching the show, including a large number of under 10's, the show posed a "potential to distress younger viewers as well as raise concerns about the level of violence amongst parents watching with their children regardless of the editorial context presented or the signposting provided."

Emmett J Scanlan
Emmett J Scanlan, AKA Brendan, has since left the show after being pushed under a train

The scene marked the culmination of a year-long revenge storyline involving a former undercover policeman, Walker, and ex-drug dealer Brendan, who pushed Walker into the path of the oncoming train.

The entire sequence lasted a little over a minute and came at the end of the programme, around 7 p.m. - 2 hours before watershed. Ofcom have since issued a general warning to all broadcasters about airing violent or 'harmful' shows before the watershed.

Neil Newbon Soap Awards
Newbon at the British Soap Awards