Gogglebox viewers were left unimpressed after one of the series' regulars made an eyebrow-raising comment about Stephen Graham while watching Adolescence.
Adolescence has been a huge success since its release on Netflix earlier this month, with critics and viewers alike praising co-creators Graham and Jack Thorne for their portrayal of bullying, misogyny and knife crime among teenage children.
Graham stars as heartbroken father Eddie who is forced to come to terms with the fact that his teenage son Jamie (Owen Cooper) has killed a female classmate.
This is why it wasn't surprising to see snippets from the limited series played during last night's (28 March) episode of Gogglebox.
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The majority of the regulars on the Channel 4 show appeared visibly emotional while watching the four episodes, with new added family Michael, Sally, and twin sons Jake and Harry struggling to hold back tears.
Series veterans such Jenny and Lee as well as Manchester's Malone family also appeared visibly moved, while the Siddiqui family branded the series 'must watch TV'.
However, the cast's emotional reactions were seemingly overshadowed by a comment made by Mary Killen.
"This is incredible because Stephen Graham, you know that actor who always plays short northerners, he has co-written it," she said.
While Mary isn't entirely wrong - Graham hails from Merseyside and has starred in the likes of This is England and Line of Duty - viewers were not impressed by the comment and made their feelings clear on social media.
"'Always plays short northerners' @Channel4 I'll never stop praying for you to get rid of Giles and Mary. Unbearable. #Gogglebox," penned one particularly aggrieved viewer on X.
"He always plays short Notherners [sic] Really?? Sheesh Mary," penned a second user, while a third added: "'Short Northerners' I beg your pardon!!"
It's probably also worth pointing out that Graham's characters aren't exclusively born north of the River Trent either, with the actor having portrayed Cockneys and even Americans in the likes of Snatch and Venom.
However, we doubt that Graham will be losing any sleep over being referred to as an actor who plays 'short northerners' given the huge impact which Adolescence is having at the moment.
The actor and co-writer recently responded to pleas for a second outing of the gripping drama, joking to Variety in a recent interview: "Possibly, let’s see how the figures are."
Which we doubt will be an issue should Graham and Thorne wish to revisit Adolescence.
"But yeah, there’s the possibility of developing another story," he added.
Topics: Adolescence, Gogglebox, TV, Stephen Graham
Brenna Cooper