Pursuit of Love latest BBC show to face complaints over dialled-down dialogue

The Pursuit of Love has become the latest BBC drama to be marred by sound problems, with viewers unable to make out what the characters were saying.

The BBC confirmed that it had received complaints about the issue after broadcasting the first episode on Sunday night.

A number of viewers said they struggled to make out the conversations between Lily James and Emily Beecham, who play Linda and Fanny in the drama based on Nancy Mitford’s comic novel, and said other scenes accompanied by music felt too loud.

They included the owners of Rousham House in Oxfordshire, which was used as the location for Alconleigh, home to the Radlett family in the drama.

Charles and Angela Cottrell-Dormer tuned in to the episode on Sunday night, eager to see their house on screen.

“Couldn’t understand a word they said,” Mr Cottrell-Dormer told The Telegraph. “We must be too old.”

On social media, viewers expressed their frustration. “What’s the point of a drama where 70 per cent of the dialogue is incomprehensible?” said one. “It’s either very loud or they are mumbling/whispering,” said another.

One viewer wrote: “I find the extremes of sound on The Pursuit of Love excruciating. I’ve practically worn out the remote control. Sound engineers, actors and director all to blame.”

The BBC said it had so far received “a handful” of complaints on the issue, but had no plans to make adjustments.

Other complaints from viewers included the fact that scenes supposedly taking place over Christmas – including a hunt – were clearly filmed in the summer months, as evidenced by the leaves on the trees.

But the BBC’s decision to celebrate the work of one of the Mitford sisters drew more serious criticism from some quarters. Tracy-Ann Oberman, the actress and campaigner against anti-semitism, tweeted: “Mitfords = Fascist Nazi Collaborators. Not interesting, not glamorous.” She described the family as “the worst of Aristo elitist racism”.

In fact, it was Nancy Mitford’s sisters, Unity and Diana, who were fascists and supported Hitler.

The first episode drew an audience of just under five million, in contrast to the 12.8 million who tuned in to the slot last week to see the Line of Duty finale.

The episode sparked online interest in the locations, including Rousham House, north of Oxford, which stood in for Alconleigh. The Jacobean property currently welcomes around 12,000 visitors to its William Kent-designed gardens every year, with group tours of the house available by appointment, but interest in the series is likely to send the number soaring.

In Mitford’s story, the patriarch of the family, Uncle Matthew (Dominic West), organised a “child hunt” in which his offspring laid a trail and four bloodhounds would be set off after them.

Visitors hoping to recreate the scene at Rousham will be disappointed, as neither dogs nor children are allowed on the property.

“No dogs. No children. Lots of people come because they know it’s the one place they can go that will be quiet without screaming children,” Mr Cottrell-Dormer said.

Other locations include Dyrham Park and Badminton House in Gloucestershire, and Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire.

The Pursuit of Love, review: a jolly fun adaptation – just a shame no one told its leading lady