BBC fans 'switch off' as they fume King & Conqueror has 'let licence fee payers down'

Another instalment of King and Conqueror dropped on BBC One on Monday evening - but just minutes in fans had had enough.

In the weighty eight-part drama about the long run-up to the Battle of Hastings, James Norton and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau star as rival kings Harold Godwinson and William of Normandy. The brand new series sees the two noblemen meet for the first time at the coronation of King Edward in England, where Harold's warnings of treachery are ignored. This evening's 45-minute episode saw William and Harold each face grave danger that placed their families in peril. Meanwhile, refuge in Flanders offered hope for new mother Matilda, while vengeful Lady Emma hounded the Godwins. While the programme saw plenty of dramatic scenes, keeping some fans on the edge of their seat, other viewers were less than impressed and bashed the BBC for the second night in a row.

One fan declared that they would not be watching, just minutes into the show. Posting to X (formerly Twitter), they defiantly snubbed the BBC as they shared: "I'm not going to watch the second episode of @BBCOne #KingAndConqueror I'm going to go back in time with @Channel4 and #Gogglebox 2022... way better..."

Another viewer echoed: "First five minutes terrible. I lasted 15 in total. I will not even be watching this for entertainment. #kingandconqueror."

One more person fumed over the BBC licence fee, as they said that those who pay had been "let down". The social media user angrily penned: "The BBC have let themselves, the license payer, but most of all, history down.

"'King and Conquerer' is a magnificent mess. The story writes itself. Risible, ruses not necessary. They should be sent to the corner to think about what they've done!"

Another "flabbergasted" viewer said: "Just started watching King and Conquerer and it is as bad as I think. Given the cast I was looking forward to it but the script and acting is below poor. Actually I'm a tad flabbergasted at how bad it is. Such a let down."

"What on earth is this? It's so historically inaccurate that it's impossible to watch," one more complained.

Lead writer Michael Robert Johnson previously admitted that the storyline is "complicated". He told BBC: "It's a bit of a knotty story because it looks very simple and it's not, it's very complicated. As one of our producers pointed out, even Shakespeare didn't have a go at it!

"Even though the themes are massively universal, nobody cracked the way to tell it. Ed Clarke, one of the executive producers, said the way to tell it was that there's not a good guy or bad guy."