The BBC is trying to fix the mumbling problems in shows like Happy Valley and Jamaica Inn

They've heard you loud and clear



After receiving thousands of complaints about hard-to-hear conversations in its dramas, the BBC has reportedly issued a new set of guidelines to programme-makers to prevent more mumbling.

Speaking at the recent Voice of the Listener and Viewer conference, the BBC's TV chief Charlotte Moore discussed the difficulty of identifying the exact problem.

She said (via The Guardian): "It is incredibly hard to get to the bottom of where things go wrong. It's often several circumstances and it's quite hard to isolate if there is one particular problem. Sound is a very exact science."

The comments follow fresh complaints that viewers could not hear the dialogue in Happy Valley.

Two years ago, BBC One's drama Jamaica Inn also generated more than 2,000 complaints about its muffled conversations.

Moore admitted that sound has become a "big issue" because everyone wants to make sure people can hear the "fantastic" work they are producing, adding: "Of course none of us want our drama not to be heard. The will is there from all of us."

And despite attracting 8 million viewers, Moore said that producers were forced to re-edit the latest series of Happy Valley.

She said: "After episode one we took everyone back into the edit to really try to make sure, to work very hard to make it crisper and change those levels. It is something we take incredibly seriously."

Earlier this month, BBC director general Tony Hall also weighed in on the issue, saying he took "all complaints seriously".