Lord Sugar mocked for asking why people in BBC’s new Liverpool-based drama spoke with Scouse accents

Lord Alan Sugar has been mocked for questioning why characters in the Liverpool-based series The Responder speak with strong Scouse accents.

The Apprentice star and famed businessman took to Twitter earlier this week to share his thoughts on the BBC series, claiming he found it ‘hard to follow’ because of the Liverpudlian accents.

The series is based on the real-life experiences of former Merseyside Police officer Tony Schumacher, who spent ten years in the force and is also the writer of the show.

The five-part drama follows urgent response officer Chris Carson – played by Martin Freeman – as he tackles a series of night shifts on the beat in Liverpool, all while dealing with his own mental health issues.

BBC

While Freeman has received widespread praise for his Scouse accent, Lord Sugar wasn’t as impressed, and instead told his millions of Twitter followers that the actor should have stuck with his own Southern accent.

Lord Sugar wrote: “Why did the BBC make Martin Freeman speak with a Liverpool accent in The Responder. Hard to follow what he and other cast are saying.

“No disrespect to people of Liverpool they are nice down to earth people. My wife gave up watching she said she could not understand a word.”

Following his tweet, many social media users – mainly Scousers and northerners – mocked Lord Sugar for his ‘baffling’ stance on the matter, with most simply pointing out that Freeman spoke with a Liverpool accent because the series was set in Liverpool.

Former Hollyoaks actor Matt Littler replied: “It’s…it’s set in Liverpool. That’s… I’m not sure how to answer.”

One Twitter user joked: “That’s because you can only understand people that talk like Jacob Reese-Mogg”, while another quipped: “The BBC didn’t make him use a Liverpool accent. The character is Liverpudlian.

“And Martin is a great actor who nailed the accent. Unlike you, he can see beyond the end of the tube line. No disrespect of course.”

Lord Sugar eventually replied to some of the backlash, with him saying he can’t even understand Liverpool footballer Steven Gerard. He wrote: “It might be set in Liverpool. I can understand Steven Gerrard. I can’t understand the character. Sorry but true.”