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SS-GB: BBC to re-examine sound after yet more mumbling complaints

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The BBC has pledged to reexamine sound levels on its latest Sunday night drama, after viewers complained of inaudible mumbling which left them switching on the subtitles.

The corporation conceded it must “look at” the sound levels of SS-GB before the next episode airs, insisting it takes audibility “seriously” despite a string of programmes which have left viewers in desperation.

The show, a fictional “alternative history” of life in London after the Battle of Britain was lost, was beset by audio difficulties, with viewers claiming mumbling English actors were less intelligible than their German-speaking colleagues.

Viewers took to social media to lament their difficulties in hearing dialogue, while others embarked on the formal BBC complaints procedure.

It is understood the BBC received dozens of complaints, totalling “less than 100” by Monday afternoon.

The show received 6.1million viewers, with that figure likely to grow once iPlayer has been taken into account.

The series had been hotly-anticipated, with pictures of a bombed Buckingham Palace draped in swastikas piquing the public’s curiosity ahead of broadcast.

The show, based on a Len Deighton novel of the same name, stars Sam Riley as detective in Nazi-occupied London, who becomes embroiled in the resistance.

The show is directed by Philipp Kadelbach and stars several German actors who spoke their native language on set and on screen.

One viewer said: “So far in SS-GB I've found it easier to understand the Germans than anyone mumbling in English.”

Another added: “SS-GB impossible to hear a word they are saying. Mumble mumble growl growl. No patience for this on a Sunday night.”

“10 mins into SS-GB and had to resort to subtitles,” said a third.

On Monday, a spokesman for the BBC said of SS-GB: "We take audibility seriously and we will look at the sound levels on the programme in time for the next episode."

The show was also criticised by fans for historical inaccuracy, with some eagle-eyed amateur historians spotting a Spitfire Mk IX, introduced in 1943, being used in an opening sequence set in 1941.

A spokesman said programme-makers had been “unable to source" the rarer 1941 spitfire, instead choosing “the most suitable alternative available” with owners who would allow its wings to be temporarily removed for filming purposes.

It is the latest "mumbling" row for the BBC, which has also had problems with dramas including Jamaica Inn, the crime series Quirke, and Happy Valley.

For years, executives have been pledging to fix the issues, acknowledging viewers’ frustration at not being able to understand their output.

In 2009, then-BBC One controller Jay Hunt announced an “audibility project” involving a 20,000 strong panel of viewers and listeners, which resulted in new best practice guidelines.

In 2011, former controller of television Danny Cohen suggested “more emphasis” on planning for sound quality could help eradicate some of the problems.

And in 2013, director-general Lord Hall admitted: “Actors muttering can be testing.

“I don’t want to sound like a grumpy old man but I also think muttering is something we could have a look at.”

The BBC’s problems came to a head in 2014, when it received "relentless complaints" - eventually numbering more than 2,000 - about mumbling in Jamaica Inn, a Daphne du Maurier adaptation starring Jessica Brown Findlay with a thick Cornish accent.

Then, the problem was variously blamed on actors failing to enunciate properly, and on modern flat televisions which place more emphasis on picture quality and leave speakers at the back of sets.

Afterwards, programme-makers were advised to watch their series on a normal television at home, eschewing high-tech headphones and big screens to check how the show would translate to ordinary people.

But issues have continued, with Happy Valley last year blighted again by accusations of “too much whispering and mumbling" and Taboo, starring Tom Hardy, this year leaving viewers frustrated.

Charlotte Moore, the BBC’s director of content, said last year: “It is incredibly hard to get to the bottom of where things go wrong.

"It is often several different problems coming together. Sound is a very exact science.”