THE Pembrokeshire Murders viewers have been left distracted by ‘awful’ Welsh accents in the series premiere.
The ITV drama began last night with Luke Evans starring as DS Steve Wilkins, who reopened a cold case in 2006 about two double murders which took place in the 1980s.
He stars alongside Keith Allen, who plays serial killer John Cooper, who DS Wilkins was eventually able to have charged with the crimes and sentenced to life imprisonment.
The first episode focused on Steve’s initial reopening of the case and introducing the team involved as well as beginning to explore John’s behaviour and his relationship with his wife Pat and estranged son Andrew.
However, some viewers were too distracted by the Welsh accents they were hearing to fully focus on the plot.
Taking to Twitter, one wrote: “Copper 1: Strong accent! Cooper 2: South Pembrokeshire. Since when has Pembrokeshire (Little England beyond Wales) been considered a strong accent!? Especially by police officers based in Carmarthen… #pembrokeshiremurders.”
Another added: “Only problem with #Pembrokeshiremurders is they all have a Welsh accent not a Pembrokeshire accent. No-one in Pembs says Mam. I can hear a Pembrokeshire accent a mile off.”
Meanwhile a third took issue with Keith’s Welsh accent, writing: “Hoping Keith Allen’s South Pembrokeshire accent gets better as the series goes on.”
Keith, 67, is actually part Welsh, having been born in Llanelli in Carmarthenshire before moving to Hampshire and then Essex.
Fellow Welshman Luke, 41, was also targeted by one viewer, who mustn’t have realised he was using a different accent in the likes of Beauty and the Beast.
They wrote: “I couldn’t take it seriously when I saw it was Gaston from Beauty and the Beast… and that awful Welsh accent. OFF.”
However, other viewers were impressed, with one tweeting: “So refreshing to hear genuine Welsh accents in #pembrokeshiremurders from a stellar cast rather than actors trying to mimic the Welsh accent! #madeinwales.”
The Pembrokeshire Murders continues tonight at 9pm on ITV.
