Showtrial viewers notice a glaring mistake as the BBC drama returns for season 2

Showtrial returned to our screens on Sunday night with the highly anticipated second season and while the opening episode was well received by viewers, some couldn’t help but notice a factual error.

The drama stars high-profile climate activist Marcus Calderwood [Barney Fishwick] was left to die after he was thrown from his bike in a violent hit-and-run. In his final moments, Marcus names a serving police officer, PC Justin Mitchell [Michael Socha]as his murderer. But did he do it? And can defend lawyer Sam Malik [Adeel Akhtar] win his case?

Warning! Spoilers for episode one ahead.

After PC Justin Mitchell was named as the perpetrator by hit-and-run victim Marcus Calderwood shortly before his death, police attempted to track down the officer and quickly found CCTV footage of his car boarding a ferry from Portsmouth to Calais.

Viewers quickly recognized the factual error and pointed out that there were no ferry services from Portsmouth to Calais.

One person wrote: “I hate it when drama writers don’t bother to check simple facts. I just watch #showtrial and.” Apparently someone took the ferry from Portsmouth to Calais“, while another added: “I’m sure this drama was all about a car they were looking for to get on the ferry from Portsmouth to Calais – a bit of creative freedom with imaginary routes.”

A third viewer remarked: “Annoying to know that ferries from Portsmouth don’t go to Calais!”

But despite the factual inaccuracy, it’s safe to say that fans were captivated by the story and praised the show’s writers and stars.

One person wrote: “I think we have another winning show here! When is the next episode?” while another wrote: “Thanks to writer #BenRichards for the brilliant second season of #Showtrial.” This first class drama captivated me from the start until the end. Excellent performances from the cast.”

A third applauded lead actors Michael and Adeel, adding: “Michael Socha is great in this – between his performance and the always brilliant Adeel Akhtar, that’s more than enough to keep me watching,” while another agreed: “Michael Socha evil actor!! Adeel Akhtar brilliant.”

For those who haven’t joined, here’s the full synopsis: “When renowned climate activist Marcus Calderwood is left for dead in a violent hit-and-run, he uses his final moments to apparently identify his killer – an on-duty police officer. But who?” Is this unnamed “officer

“From Calderwood’s last breath to the jury’s final verdict, Showtrial takes us into the world of the charismatic and cocky detective Justin Mitchell (Michael Socha); Sam Malik (Adeel Akhtar), a troubled defense attorney known for winning lost cases; and Leila Hassoun-Kenny (Nathalie Armin), a wry and strict CPS lawyer who leads the case against the defendant.

“As public outrage reaches fever pitch, Showtrial wonders whether a fair trial is possible when tensions are so high, and whether the truth will ever clearly emerge.”

All episodes of Showtrial are available to watch on BBCiPlayer.