The first episode of BBC's new crime thriller The Jetty, starring Jenna Coleman as Detective Ember Manning, aired on Monday night - and just minutes in viewers had the same complaint. Set in a Lancashire town, the series follows Ember as she unravels a web of secrets and lies.
When a fire devastates a boathouse, Ember must determine its connection to a podcast journalist investigating a cold missing person case, and an illicit affair involving a man in his twenties and two underage girls.
As she edges closer to the truth, her world is upended, forcing her to question everything she thought she knew.However, as the episode unfolded, it appeared that BBC viewers were more preoccupied with the accents in the show, with some struggling to understand the dialogue.
Viewers quickly took to Twitter to voice their concerns, with one saying: "Cannot understand a bl**dy word anyone is saying.", reports the Mirror.
Another commented: "Am I the only one finding #TheJetty hard to pick up ? Is it the sound ? The accents? Are they mumbling? #BBCOne."
Another frustrated viewer added: " The Jetty on BBC1: So far I've hardly picked up a word. It's bad enough having background music to their incoherent guttural mumblings, so I'm turning it off right now. If I have to read subtitles, I might as well read a decent book. Is nobody taught diction these days? ".
One disgruntled viewer expressed their frustration, tweeting: "Can't understand what they're saying. #TheJetty #Subtitles " Another added: "@_BBCTV_trying to watch The Jetty but I can only catch about every 5th word the leading girl actor says! Won't be continuing....."
Discussing her role in the gripping four-part drama, actress Jenna revealed: "Ember is quite prickly, stubborn, proud and free-willed."
"She's also very warm and loyal. And I also think she's really funny. Cat Jones' writing of her is very sardonic, dry, and she's not easily impressed."
"In the series, she's going through an awakening and really finding herself. Her husband, who she was with from a very young age, died a year before the series starts, so she's going through this new kind of re-discovering of herself."
The Jetty is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
