Coronation Street has been cleared by Ofcom after more than 200 people complained over a scene in which a vicar took heroin in a church.

The broadcasting watchdog ruled in its investigation that the pre-watershed episode that aired in February did not breach its guidelines.

The scene saw gay vicar Billy Mayhew, played by Daniel Brocklebank, taking heroin in a church alongside his brother Lee, played by Richard Crehan.

After taking the Class A drug, Lee told Billy: “This must be what heaven feels like.”

After the controversial scene received backlash from viewers, an ITV spokeswoman said: “Coronation Street has a strong tradition of tackling serious contemporary issues in a responsible way.

“In upcoming episodes we will be showing the very negative side of drug taking as Billy’s life starts to fall apart.”

The spokeswoman added that the storyline was researched thoroughly with the help of Addaction – a British charity that supports people with alcohol and drug addictions.

The soap has split its fans opinions recently with a number of dark and serious issues its storylines have been covering.

Viewers recently saw Pat Phelan go on the run following a string of gruesome murders he has yet to be punished for and last month viewers saw David Platt was raped by a man he believed to be his close friend.

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Twenty years have passed since the Good Friday Agreement was signed bringing an end to a thirty year conflict which claimed 3,000 lives.

The architects of the deal will gather in Belfast later.

Former US president Bill Clinton, ex-British Prime Minister Tony Blair and former Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern will be among those marking the 20th anniversary.

While some division remains in Northern Ireland – politicians and faith leaders have worked tirelessly to ensure peace reigns.

In a joint statement to mark the anniversary, the leaders of the Anglican and Catholic churches in Ireland suggested more work is needed to ensure peace continues.

They said: “The peace we have today took a great effort to achieve; it will equally take risk, and leadership at all levels, to maintain.

“It is therefore our sincere shared prayer that this anniversary will help to rekindle a spirit of opportunity, healing and hope for lasting peace which is now needed more than ever.

“We call on all people of good will to be ambassadors of reconciliation, helping to rebuild trust and mutual respect in order to move us further forward and closer together as a society that places the common good as its primary purpose.”

Speaking further on Premier’s News Hour, Anglican Archbishop of Armagh Most Rev Richard Clarke said: “People talk about the Peace Process – the thing about a process is that you think…

Daniel Jones, head of business development at Stewardship – a Christian charity that promotes generous giving, shared his views with Premier following a recent study that suggests trust in charities has hit an all-time low.

While nine in ten of us have donated to a charity at some stage in our lives, a quarter of the 2,000 adults questioned by the UK ethical mobile company The People’s Operator, have stopped giving to charities altogether.

Speaking on the importance of Christians giving to charity, Jones explained: “It’s an integral part of our faith.

“We give because of grace. We give because we’re more blessed to give than to receive. We give because we want to support the work of the local Church and we want to see Jesus’ name spread throughout the world.”

He added that while Oxfam had initially reported a dip in donations following revelations about the behaviour of certain staff in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti and in Chad, that hadn’t stopped others continuing to support other charities.

This point was also reflected in the study that found over a quarter of Brits each raising an average of £446.80 in the past year by taking part in charity runs or organising fundraising events.

The results also show that half the nation feels they should be giving more to charity than they already are.

Listen to Daniel Jones from Stewardship speaking with…