Poll suggests 80% of viewers think actors mumble too much

Too many actors do not speak clearly enough on television or in the theatre, according to an online poll of audiences conducted by The Stage.

Four out of five people agreed that too many actors on TV and on stage are mumbling their lines – with a negative impact on the audience’s ability to hear them.

Nearly 1,000 people responded to the poll, which was taken after a number of viewers complained that some dialogue in BBC1 drama Happy Valley was inaudible. Nearly 80% (78.7%) felt actors mumbled too much on stage and screen.

The BBC had previously suggested that the quiet dialogue was down to the “realism” of the series.

In a statement, it said: “Happy Valley is a drama that has been lauded for its realism and dramatic pathos – as such the dialogue is representative of the characters and area in which it is based.”

“We trust it didn’t interfere with the audience enjoyment of the opening episode, which was watched by 6.5 million.”

It is not the first time the BBC has been criticised for poor sound quality – BBC1 drama Jamaica Inn received similar complaints that actors were speaking too quietly in 2014.

Derek Jacobi is among actors who have previously criticised television stars for not speaking up.

Giving a talk with Ian McKellen in 2014, he said: “I watch television and – I sound like an old fogey now – but I can’t hear what they’re saying sometimes. The words are the bedrock of what we are given as actors.”

Writing in The Stage earlier in March, the Actors Centre chairman Paul Clayton said it was a TV director’s responsibility to instruct actors to speak up.