BBC Guilt: Broadcaster called out for 'unacceptable' level of subtitle errors in hit show

A Dundee viewer has complained to the BBC about the mistakes littered throughout some of the episodes in the new series.

The hit BBC show, starring Mark Bonnar and Jamie Sives, follows two Edinburgh brothers as they attempt to cover up an accidental murder.

The show has been described as Scotland’s answer to Fargo and has been lauded by critics and audiences alike, becoming a huge success for the BBC outside of Scotland.

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The National looked through the first two episodes of series two of Guilt and noticed a number of errors.

In episode one, common mistakes include using the word “were” instead of “well” or “and” instead of “that” – words the characters did not say.

For those relying on subtitles, it may cause confusion and mean the sentence doesn't make sense or doesn't convey the character's intended meaning.

The subtitles read 'Bill' but the character says 'we'

In episode two of season two, a character said “we” but it is replaced with “Bill” in the subtitles.

In other parts of the show, words and phrases are missing from the subtitles, such as in episode two where a character says “here big man”, or when a character refers to another as “Adrian”.

The character says "were" but the subtitles read "well", which could lead to confusion for those who rely on subtitles

Often, as opposed to a misspelling, many words were either subtitled as the wrong word entirely or were completely missing.

The mistakes have irked one Scottish viewer 

The viewer told The National: “For a programme like that which is pre-recorded, and which is processed to death before it goes anywhere near the air, I think if you're going to use subtitles, it should be right.

“I use subtitles, quite honestly, because sometimes I think the dialogue difficult to catch.

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“This is just not good enough. This is BBC Scotland. This is their flagship programme and it is a good programme, there is no doubt about that, but if they want to do a job they should do it right. I just don’t think it is acceptable.”

The Dundee viewer also expressed his confusion over a scene in which a character describes a local Edinburgh woods, which sounds distinctly like a real Edinburgh woods.

In the show, a character mentions “Corstockon Woods” which does not exist, but sounds similar to Corstorphine Hill.

A BBC Spokesperson said: “There is no policy to change subtitles when a character is discussing a tragic incident.

"Like many broadcasters, subtitling services are outsourced to a third party company and are not generated by the BBC.

"We are sorry that errors in the subtitles are affecting audience experience and will look further in to the matter.”