Emmerdale has received 279 Ofcom complaints following dark scenes involving Vinny Dingle (Bradley Johnson).

Beloved character Vinny is currently at the centre of a storyline that’s seen him try and come to terms with his sexuality. After kissing his friend Kammy Hadiq (Shebz Miah), Vinny spent time in denial, adamant the move was just a joke.

But with Vinny struggling with his feelings, a comment from Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) led him to a support group online. It was there he started talking to a man called Mike, and then decided to meet up with him.

Mike was kind to Vinny and listened to him as he spoke about the situation with Kammy, and how it impacted him after. Vinny told Mike some very private thoughts, and most were said out loud for the first time ever.

It was last week that things took a horrific turn for Vinny. He invited Mike over to his house, and became uncomfortable when the new face suggested that Vinny wanted them to sleep together.

As it dawned on him that Mike was actually a completely different person, Vinny tried to run out of his home. Mike stopped him, and proceeded to punch and kick Vinny.

The scenes were incredibly hard to watch. Vinny was left on the floor, shaking and completely terrified. Mike managed to steal £10,000 from Vinny, took his wedding rings, and then left.

After the episode aired on August 14, some audience members took to the communications regulator Ofcom to complain about them.

Vinny is trying to work out who he really is

A total of 279 reports were made.

Metro has contacted Emmerdale for a comment.

Towards the end of last year, the ITV soap received Ofcom complaints again in a storyline involving April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan). The teen was held over the edge of a building, leaving her to scream for help.

Also in 2024, scenes depicting Tom King (James Chase) abusing pet dog Piper wracking up 826 complaints. In the first half of that year, Emmerdale had amassed a whopping 1,189 complaints.

Shortly after the attack, Vinny chose to lie to Gabby Thomas (Rosie Bentham) about how he sustained his stomach injuries.

Creating a false story, he attempted to goad Kammy into attacking him. The newcomer refused to hit his best friend but because Gabby witnessed the commotion, Vinny was able to pin the blame on his mate.

Poor Kammy was so confused. He confronted Vinny and told him that if he isn’t honest with himself, everything will end in tears. He pushed Kammy away again, believing that lying to himself would be the better approach.

In the episode of the ITV soap that aired last night, Vinny was taken aback to find two police officers arriving at the scrapyard.

They explained that they were investigating Mike – who is actually called Graham – for extortion.

The officers asked Vinny if he knew Mike, as they know he transferred 10k to him recently.

In scenes that will air this evening, a police officer mentions Mike attacking people who are gay.

Vinny outright denies knowing Mike, telling the officers that he’s straight and engaged to Gabby.

The conversation will leave Vinny in a difficult position. If he confirms that Mike did attack him, he would have to talk about how he met him, and his sexuality.

But if he doesn’t, Mike will be let go and there is a very high chance he will attack someone else.