This City Is Ours returned to BBC One on Monday night (November 2) with a new episode, but viewers were divided over the Scouse accents of several cast members.
The Liverpool-set crime drama, which first aired in 2025, follows Michael Kavanagh as he is pulled back into the Phelan criminal empire. The cast includes Mike Noble, James Nelson-Joyce, Laura Aikman, and Hannah Onslow.
Fans question accent authenticity
In the fourth episode, Michael battled to retain control while Ozzie steered Freddie towards a sinister path. However, some viewers were distracted by the accents of characters Diana, Rachel, and Cheryl.
One viewer wrote on X: "Surely they could have had Scouse actresses play these parts! !" Another replied: "Pains me as a Scouser hearing it Scouse girls don't sound like that." A third added: "Same! It goes right through me!"
Mixed reactions to performances
Another fan criticised the character Diana, writing: "Diana having such a big part in this series was a mistake. The goody-two-shoes act ruined the storyline. Her "Scouse" accent is somewhere between Derby and Nottingham."
One viewer commented on Cheryl, played by Irish star Saoirse-Monica Jackson: "Cheryl's accent. She sounds like a terrible Cilla Black." However, not all reactions were negative, with one fan praising Julie Graham's accent and another noting: "Their accents seem to be better this series ngl."
Filming in Liverpool
James Nelson-Joyce recently told the ECHO that capturing the character of the city has been crucial to the show's popularity. He said: "It looks very filmic. When the show came out, places we shot in like The Quarter were all fully booked up because people want to come to Liverpool and experience it. That's what we want, isn't it? We want people to come to our city, to visit and experience it."
He added: "I think the beautiful thing about this show is that we have an opportunity to showcase Liverpool. The tourism that we've brought in is only a good thing, isn't it?"
This City Is Ours is available to watch on BBC One and iPlayer.
