ITV’s new drama Until I Kill You has divided fans over an issue spotted minutes into the program’s first episode.
The thriller follows Anna Maxwell Martin as Delia Balmer and her experience living with serial killer John Sweeney (played by Shaun Evans).
The real-life Balmer began a relationship with Sweeney, portrayed by Endeavour star Evans, and had several harrowing encounters with him after he revealed his previous crimes to her.
She went on to write a 2017 memoir, from which much of the series is drawn, detailing her fateful encounters with the killer and the build-up to facing him seven years later after his arrest.
The series debuted to rave reviews from several critics and a handful of fans who beamed about the performance of Martin and the show’s suspense.
On X, formally Twitter, one fan enthused: "What an anxious watch! Great acting. Scary knowing it is based on true events. Some people are just evil."
Anna Maxwell Martin as Delia Balmer and Shaun Evans as serial killer John Sweeney
ITV
Another could not wait for the next episode and “binge-watched” the whole series in a night, with several responders confirming they had done the same.
“Absolutely brilliant. I had to go straight to ITVX to finish it. Great casting too.”
A third fan posted: “I love Anna Maxwell Martin in everything she does but WOW her acting skills in this are phenomenal.”
The Ludwig and Motherland star’s “incredible” leading performance still managed to divide fans, however, with some taking to social media with their complaints mere moments into the first episode.
Martin's performance was praised by fans
ITV
One viewer posted: “Great drama, but is anyone else finding Anna Maxwell Martin’s accent a bit odd and inconsistent?”
Another praised Martin’s performance but added she “nailed it some of the time but it was all over the place at various points”.
A third had a similar complaint: “Some of the accents sound a bit random and switch.”
The drama continues on Monday evening at 9pm on ITV or eager viewers can stream the entire boxset on ITVX.
Martin - who recently opened up about being left in "financial terror" after the death of her ex-husband - had spoken previously about the “pressure” of bringing such a sensitive, and real, story to life.
Speaking to ITV’s This Morning, the 47-year-old explained: “You don't want to be disrespectful and get it wrong.”
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Until I Kill You details the many encounters Delia Balmer had with serial killer John Sweeney
ITV
“So, you have to be quite diligent in your work, you can't be lazy and say I'll phone it in on the day, otherwise you wouldn't be doing your job.”
As well as Until I Kill You's arrival on ITV, Martin recently celebrated the news that the BBC had given another series of the quirky crime series Ludwig the green light.
