BBC viewers were left horrified after they tuned in to watch new series The Jetty this week, with many criticising a ‘vile’ scene featuring a horse.

The four-part drama dropped on Monday (15 July) and stars Jenna Coleman as detective constable Ember Manning.

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Episode one begins with Ember discovering that the old yacht club, in her hometown of Lancaster, has been burned down, believed to be as a result of arson.

While investigating, Ember finds out that one of her teenage daughter’s friends is pregnant and could have been the victim of statutory rape.

This leads her back to the cold case of Amy Knightly, a teenager who went missing 17 years ago.

During the first ep, viewers are given a glimpse into Amy’s life before she went missing, and the illicit relationship she’d been having with an older man.

In one scene, Amy befriends a girl in her class named Caitlin. After bunking off school, the girls go back to Amy’s house where she shows Caitlin around her farm.

It was at this point that viewers were left horrified, after Amy takes Caitlin into the stables to see her horse.

One person even said they had to turn the programme off, after Amy sexually abuses the animal for her own entertainment.

“Didn’t make it all the way thru first episode,” one wrote. “Tried to make up for poor storyline with crude/soft porn scenes. 9pm show with a teen giving a handjob to a horse. Seriously??”

Another person said: “Watched the first two episodes of The Jetty last night and am enjoying it apart from the audio – needed to switch the subtitles on.

“Also, THAT horse scene – was it really necessary?”

Despite the shocking scene, not all viewers were put off the thriller.

One fan said: “On my way! to recommend the jetty to every person I speak to over the next week or so… welcome back Real Television.”

Another said: “I am loving #thejetty Jenna as Ember manning is brilliant, I’m loving the twists and the wee connections, currently on ep3 (worth the binge watch).”

Although the story is fiction, Cat has explained it’s ‘loosely inspired’ by something she and her friend experienced as teens.

“A couple of my friends got involved in relationships with grown men,” she revealed.

“At the time, we all thought it was very exciting that these older guys were interested in our younger friends, but of course when you reflect upon that later, you realise that it was actually illegal and abusive.”