Emmerdale withdraws BAFTAs best soap entry after writer’s domestic abuse conviction

Emmerdale has withdrawn its entry for BAFTA’s best soap category (Image: ITV)

Emmerdale has withdrawn its entry for the Best Soap award after writer Martin Fustes was found guilty of domestic abuse.

In January, soap writer Fustes, 47, admitted to assaulting his partner, causing actual bodily harm and an offence of intentional suffocation. Earlier this week, he was given a two-year suspended prison sentence, 150 hours of unpaid work, 15 days of rehabilitation and a 26-session probation service domestic abuse programme in Hull Crown Court.

Now, Emmerdale has pulled its entry for the TV awards’ best soap category in light of the writer’s conviction. A spokesperson for the ITV soap told The Mirror: “ITV and Emmerdale have taken the decision to withdraw the episode nominations from this year’s BAFTA TV Awards. This is in consideration of developments in recent days involving a member of the scriptwriting team.”

Fustes worked on Emmerdale for over ten years and contributed to domestic abuse storylines – including the soap’s recent arc which saw Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper) attend a group for survivors after escaping the abuse of husband Tom King.

Belle Dingle’s domestic abuse storyline has played out over the last year on Emmerdale ( Image: ITV)

Earlier in the week, a spokesperson for Emmerdale said that those on the soap were “shocked and appalled” to learn about Fustes’ case. “Mr Fustes is a freelance writer and he has been informed that he will no longer be writing for Emmerdale,” they said.

“Everyone at ITV and Emmerdale abhors domestic abuse, which is why we have been highlighting the issue in a major storyline over the last 12 months. The Emmerdale production team were not aware of these charges against Mr Fustes until we were alerted over the weekend.”

On Monday, a court heard how Fustes had made vile threats to his partner on January 27 after an argument in their East Yorkshire home, where they lived with their children.

The woman feared that she was going to die after Fustes began suffocating her by putting his hands over her nose and mouth and telling her that he wished she could be set on fire and hanged from a tree.

The court also heard how Fustes stopped his partner from leaving the bedroom and put his hands around her neck two or three times after prodding her in the face and upper body with his fingers, keys and a vape. He also spat in her face.

Prosecutor Samantha Laws told Hull Crown Court: “He was repeatedly shoving and pushing her back to the bed. She attempted to escape. He placed his hands over her mouth and nose and stopped her ability to breathe. She could see stars.

“She began to run to the local police station but he quickly caught up with her and pleaded with her to return. She did return home.”

The woman said that she was “distraught and sickened” by Fustes’ verbal abuse and said of the suffocation: “I thought I was going to die. I had no other option but to escape and run down the street.

“I struggle to feel safe in my home. I can’t help but relive the incident, often as nightmares. The disruption he has caused in our lives has been significant. I started to feel relieved to be free of often daily abuse.”

Mitigating lawyer Connor Stuart said: “It’s a serious but isolated incident. He understands that it is over. This relationship is concluded. He has shown genuine remorse. This is the last time that he will trouble these courts.”

In addition to his suspended sentence and programme requirements, Fustes must pay pay £2,000 in compensation and £150 in costs, while a ten-year restraining order has been imposed against him.