Viewers Stunned By Huge Twist In First 10 Minutes Of New BBC Series Vigil

Warning: This article contains spoilers for the first episode of Vigil

The series stars Suranne Jones as Detective Chief Inspector Amy Silva, who must investigate the death of a crew member on board the Trident nuclear submarine HMS Vigil, along with colleague DS Kirsten Longacre, played by Game of Thrones' Rose Leslie.

However, social media users were shocked by a twist that no one saw coming.

It turned out Martin Compston's character, sailor Craig Burke, kicked the bucket within the first 10 minutes of the episode, having died in suspicious circumstances.

With Compston one of the biggest names attached to the show, viewers were left reeling.

One wrote: "I am watching Vigil purely for Martin Compston and he dies within the first 8 minutes, I haven't been this upset since the Line of Duty finale."

A second user said: "They killed ole Steve Arnott off in the first 10 minutes?! This is worse than the H reveal."

A third simply added: "Mother of God - what a start!"

However, despite being left disappointed with Compston's early demise, other users seemed to really rate the show.

One viewer wrote: "Just a few words about #vigil last night, great writing, cast and production, super to look at. Have not felt that involved in a story in a long time."

Another concluded: "I love a good drama, this is shaping up well and tremendous cast #Vigil."

Compston has since spoken out about the shocking twist, saying he didn't tell a single person.

"Even my family and people close to me who knew I wasn't away filming Vigil for very long, I just told them I had a 'limited' role.

"Alongside Vigil's cast and premise, this was another element that attracted me to the role of Burke - I found it intriguing to be the surprise death for once.

"I was chuffed to be asked. What I found especially intriguing was that Burke dies and - just when you think you've seen the last of him - it turns out that, no, he's still got more to give and more to say and he's made it so he hasn't gone down without a fight.

"When he appears back at the end of episode one on the recording, it's a real wow moment I think."