Reception
The scene involving Owen violently attacking Denise prompted 128 complaints from viewers, who believed it should not have been shown before the 9 p.m. watershed. The programme's executive producer, Kate Harwood, defended the scene, saying, "in tackling the issue of domestic violence, it was important to reflect realistically the sort of violence suffered by the victims in these sorts of situations, rather than to put a gloss on it. We therefore took great care to signal the nature of the episode's content in advance." However, she acknowledged that some viewers would have found the scenes disturbing. Luton South MP Margaret Moran, a member of the all-party parliamentary group on domestic violence, insisted the storyline illustrates real life and may encourage victims to speak out and get help, saying, "we can't hide these things away no matter what time of day it is. Even though this episode was shown before the watershed it will have had a real resonance with children, showing them that they are not alone and can get help. EastEnders will have put contact numbers at the end of the episode for people who are experiencing domestic violence to call. This is based on the guidelines for the BBC I helped to write." Jeff Gardner of Victim Support Bedfordshire, also supported the storyline, saying "Dealing with domestic violence is a very sensitive and difficult thing to do. EastEnders has a large audience and if they were to sensitively raise the issues of domestic violence in the home and how people can get support in relation to it, then I would think that most people would want to support that."
In 2007, for his portrayal of Owen, Ross was nominated for the Villain of the Year award at the British Soap Awards.
Read more about this topic: Owen Turner
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