The Rape of Luke Morgan was a storyline that ran from March to October 2000, with the aftermath of the story continuing in the present day. The storyline followed Luke Morgan after he was raped by football rival Mark Gibbs.
The storyline was the first time male rape was covered in a British soap opera, attracting significant press attention and causing viewing figures to soar. Gary Lucy, the actor who played Luke, went on to win "Best Actor" at the British Soap Awards in 2000.
Storyline[]
Rivalry with Mark Gibbs[]
Luke Morgan met Mark Gibbs during a football match in November 1999. During a tackle, Mark sustained a broken leg and was informed that he was unable to play football professionally. Blaming Luke, Mark had his brothers attack him, with Mark and his friends Stephen MacGregor and Kenneth Boyd targeting Luke and Luke's girlfriend Mandy Richardson in the aftermath.
Rape[]
Luke is attacked by Mark, Stephen and Kenneth.
In March 2000, Mark, Stephen and Kenneth followed Luke into the changing rooms of a sports ground, the trio targeting Luke and pushing him to the limit. A confrontation with janitor Jabbo pushed Luke over the edge and he threw a rock through Mark's back windscreen and fled in his car. After Luke's car became stuck in a pothole, Mark, Stephen and Kenneth caught Luke and Stephen and Kenneth pinned him to the bonnet of his car as Mark raped him.
Suicide Attempt and Trial[]
Luke is involved in a car accident.
Luke began distancing himself from everyone after the attack, putting a strain on his relationship with Mandy. Mandy ended up splitting with Luke, with Mandy rejecting Luke's attempts to reconcile and threatening to call the police for harassment. With Mark continuing to scare Luke, Luke's parents' marriage failing and Luke's sister Zara getting into trouble, Luke decided to take his own life but ended up crashing his car. In hospital, Luke told his brother Adam of the rape, with Adam encouraging Luke to go to the police.
Luke eventually decided to go to the police, being forced to wait a long period as a male rape-trained officer needed to be called in as Dee Valley Police Station only had female rape-trained officers. After speaking with D.S. Jerry Barnes, Mark, Stephen and Kenny were arrested and charged shortly afterwards. The family struggled with the revelation, with Luke's father Andy doubting Luke and Zara being bullied by Steph Dean over the rape. Mandy learned of the rape, supporting Luke by telling him about what she went through after reporting her father for rape. Mark was initially released on bail, but ended up breaking his conditions when he encountered Luke, and was remanded in custody. At the trial in October 2000, the trio were found guilty. Stephen and Kenny served 3.5 years whilst Mark served 8 years in prison.
Aftermath[]
Mark, Stephen and Kenny are tried for rape.
Tensions reached a head with Luke and Andy, especially when Luke agreed to an interview with a journalist. With the money, Luke ended up moving into a luxury apartment, causing even more strain on his parents' marriage. With Mandy splitting with boyfriend Darren Osborne after he joked about Luke's rape, the pair began to reconcile. Luke was later convinced to return to work at Deva, slowly reconciling with his father before his mother Sue convinced him to return home.
After Luke's sister Beth Morgan was raped by footballer Scott Anderson, Luke struggled with the reminder of the attack and decided to leave for Canada. However, Luke was still unable to move forward and turned to alcohol, subsequently becoming an alcoholic. In November 2017, Luke encountered Mark walking along the River Dee with his wife Jenna Gibbs. Luke revealed to Jenna that Mark had served a prison sentence for rape, not GBH, and Jenna took the kids and left Mark.
After Sue's death in July 2021, Luke discovered that Sue had made several visits to Stephen in prison in the early 2000s. Luke, suffering from frontotemporal dementia, did not recognise Stephen's name and tried to track him down, but to no avail.