BBC's Howards End questioned by expert over its historical inaccuracies

It is one of the BBC's most hotly-anticipated programmes this year, with a bumper cast and storyline.

But the new adaption of Howards End has caught the attention of experts for a different reason; its historical inaccuracy.

Hallie Rubenhold, a historical consultant who has worked on dramas including the BBC's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, has questioned a number of scenes from the first episode, including one where a character was shown applying jam to a piece of toast using a spoon.

In the early 20th-century, ladies and gentlemen would have used a knife to apply jam, she claimed.

In another apparent faux pas, gentlemen in the production were shown to don hats indoors, which would have been a big "no, no" in the day, she said.

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, she said she noticed the inaccuracy "straight away".

"This is just a case of the actress picking up the wrong piece of cutlery and those on set not being aware the jam wasn't spread with a spoon," she said.

"I think that is a slip because a knife would have been used in the time of day."

Hallie Rubenhold

Ms Rubenhold, who has not worked on Howards End, said the error could be down to a lack of judgement.

Speaking about hats being worn indoors, she said: "Generally speaking men would remove their hats when indoors, so keeping them on in the production is a big no, no.

"We seem to have a real problem getting hats right in period drama - or even getting them on the heads of characters at all.

"All men and women of all classes wore hats in the past - we tend to forget this. However, to be honest, these little things don't bother me as larger things."

But she added that her larger concern was the "desire to demonstrate that Schlegel sisters, for all their progressive ideas, were as comfortable with racial difference as we are [today]".

The errors were also noticed by viewer Malcolm Chase Fleet, who told the Telegraph in a letter that the current production "betrays an irritating lack of attention to detail".

"At the beginning of the 20th Century, no one like Aunt Juley would have held a piece of toast in her hand at the table and spread it with jam direct from the spoon," he said. "Nor would any gentlemen have failed to remove his hat indoors."

Another viewer complained that characters had mis-pronounced Heidelberg as "Heydelberg".

The first episode of the drama, a four-part adaptation of E.M. Forster's 1910 novel, which focuses on two sisters and the men in their lives, was watched by 6.8 million viewers.

The show has been adapted by Oscar winner Kenneth Lonergan and starring Hayley Atwell and Matthew Macfadyen.

But it was also hit by complaints by viewers, who labelled the background music too loud. Some called it "intrusive" and "excessive", while others said they spent the entire hour trying to change the sound levels on their televisions.

The BBC has been contacted for comment.