Drug addiction on Emmerdale.

I agree Greatnan, soaps can help give a broad view of complex problems. I finally caved in to pressure from my daughters, then aged 7 and 8, to watch Eastenders due to them feeling "left out" in the play ground because "everyone" else watched it. We always watched together, and over the years it really helped us talk about difficult issues like sexuality, drug/alcohol use, domestic abuse and so on. The recent Corrie story line about surrogacy is a good example of how complicated this issue is.

Mind you the way they were able to use that character as a surrogate so quickly without having to set anything into place legally was not realistic. Also when same character threatened to remove, and did remove baby, from the hospital without the hospital checking the legality of it all was also unrealistic. They made it look far to easy and anyone in that position would tell you that it isn't. No-one went for counselling before the event and not one solicitor was mentioned. It can take a long time to set up a surrogate even if the person is known to you.

It is a good storyline. I don't know anything about painkiller addiction but wouldn't Rhone be feeling dreadfully ill, i.e. vomiting, losing weight etc? Paddy must be an idiot not to notice anything.

Not if she is taking the pills regularly - it is when they try to come off them that the rigors, sweats, and pains begin. Professional help is essential, but the addict has to want to be helped.
I agree soaps are often very unrealistic - houses are sold overnight and conveyancing is done in a day, one GP takes care of all the medical problems, etc. I suppose it would be very boring if they just followed real life!

yes, the surrogacy story didn't involve the legal framework, but as greatnan says, that's soap land for you. The Tyrone-Kirsty storyline was excellent in highlighting domestic abuse by female partners. My irritation that Corrie didn't use the opportunity to set out the right legal framework around unmarried fathers and parental responsibility almost stopped me appreciating the rest of the story line - but sometimes reality intrudes on what the writers want to get us gripped by.

Then again I suppose it would be possible for people to enter into a sort of 'friends agreement' about surrogacy without considering the legal framework before the event, or seeking legal advice of any kind. People do daft things every day. Hence all the problems when Tina decided to leave the hospital with the baby. As far as the hospital staff were concerned, she had given birth to the baby, so she was the mother. Who were Gary and Izzy to say any different? Perhaps a good storyline as a warning to anyone even half thinking about surrogacy.

Whilst the Corrie story line was on going, I googled the law around surrogacy and it seems the woman who gives birth has parental responsibility. I'm sure your right night owl, and that informal arrangements are made with the potential to go badly wrong for the child concerned at any future point.