{"id":169836,"date":"2025-06-09T08:56:11","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T08:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/169836\/"},"modified":"2025-06-09T08:56:11","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T08:56:11","slug":"bbcs-death-valley-hit-with-complaints-as-outraged-viewers-switch-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/169836\/","title":{"rendered":"BBC’s Death Valley hit with complaints as ‘outraged’ viewers ‘switch off’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Timothy Spall and Gwyneth Keyworth-fronted series has been hit with complaints just minutes in<\/p>\n

08:46, 09 Jun 2025Updated 08:55, 09 Jun 2025<\/p>\n

Death Valley faced a storm of criticism as viewers claimed to “switch off” just minutes into the third episode.<\/p>\n

The six-part drama, which aired its third episode on Sunday, June 8, features Timothy Spall as John Chapel and Gwyneth Keyworth as DS Janie Mallowan delving into the mysterious demise of a best man, reports the Express<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, despite attracting viewers’ eyes, it was for all the wrong reasons. Disgruntled fans didn’t hesitate to blast the show on social media, with one irate viewer proclaiming: “What on earth is this s***?” (sic)<\/p>\n

“#DeathValley No wonder everyone is talking about it… It’s utter drivel and woke toboot. Refund the BBC<\/a> if this is the best they can s**t out.” (sic)<\/p>\n

Another disgruntled fan expressed their dismay: “Heard it was bad, but jeezo it’s horrendously bad. The lead lady is soooo irritating and the script is chronically unfunny. A new low for BBC Sunday night viewing, absolutely horrendous.”<\/p>\n

\"DeathDeath Valley was swamped with complaints(Image: BBC)<\/p>\n

Frustration peaked for some, prompting them to turn off their TVs, as one viewer confessed: “Caught up with #DeathValley on BBC1<\/a>. I love stuff staring Timothy Spall but just had to turn off after a few minutes due to the awful co-star detective played by Gwyneth Keyworth shouting all the time. She must be one of the most annoying TV characters ever.”<\/p>\n

Further amplifying the chorus of disapproval, another comment stated: “I’m on the third episode of “Death Valley” – I really gave it a try, but it really doesn’t get on me. I can’t stand the main characters, they are cringe… in general I really like those shows, but this I’ll skip and that Ludwig will return soon.”<\/p>\n

One viewer was utterly unimpressed, venting on social media: “#DeathValley on BBC1 is one of the worst programmes I’ve ever sat through!”.<\/p>\n

\"DeathTimothy Spall and Gwyneth Keyworth star as John Chapel and DS Janie Mallowan(Image: BBC)<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, despite some viewers knocking the series, others have expressed their enjoyment, with a fan sharing: “I know a lot of people seem to enjoy slagging off #DeathValley, and I admit that when I saw the initial trailer, I thought it looked poor.<\/p>\n

“However, having binged the series the other day, I can quash my original reticence & say that I loved it. Daft, funny, cosy & Welsh.”<\/p>\n

Another viewer chimed in with support: “Enjoying #DeathValley too. It’s Sunday night viewing and I remember ‘By the Sword Divided’ and ‘The Pallisers’ so this is quite fun.”<\/p>\n

\"DeathDespite the mixed reviews, Death Valley drew in nearly three million viewers on its debut(Image: BBC)<\/p>\n

In spite of receiving a volley of criticism, Death Valley has shown impressive resilience in viewing figures, as disclosed by the BBC. The show\u2019s inaugural episode, which premiered on 25 May, captivated a substantial audience of 2.9 million on BBC One.<\/p>\n

This debut not only becomes the most viewed launch for a new BBC Scripted Comedy in the past five years but also eclipses Ludwig’s premiere last September, which attracted an audience of 2.8 million.<\/p>\n

You can catch up on Death Valley on BBC iPlayer<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Timothy Spall and Gwyneth Keyworth-fronted series has been hit with complaints just minutes in 08:46, 09 Jun…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":169837,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3937],"tags":[18849,77,57981,382,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-169836","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-bbc1","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-timothy-spall","11":"tag-tv","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114652576779373574","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169836"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169836\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}