the suspect aidan ep one© Photo: ITV

The Suspect viewers make the same complaint about ITV's new drama

Aidan Turner stars as Doctor Joe

TV and film writer
August 30, 2022

ITV's new drama, The Suspect, made its highly anticipated debut on Monday night and while many viewers were glued to the screen, some have complained that the series is unrealistic. 

MORE: Viewers blown away as Adrian Dunbar shows off incredible hidden talent in new drama Ridley

The five-part thriller stars Aidan Turner as Doctor Joe O'Loughlin, whose seemingly perfect life starts to unravel after the body of a young woman is found in a shallow grave in a West London cemetery.

WATCH: Have you seen Aidan Turner as Leonardo da Vinci in Prime's Leonardo?

The opening moments of the episode saw Joe called on to rescue a teenager from a hospital's window ledge. The young boy had contemplated jumping but was talked down by the doctor, who used his expertise to help the situation. 

Viewers took to Twitter to comment on the scene, with one person writing: "As if they'd ask a psychologist to mount the ledge. Have they no trained police negotiators with a megaphone," while another added: "So in approx 30 minutes he's saved a man on a ledge, and become a profiler. It's ridiculous. #TheSuspect It's his 21 times patient that's the murderer. Solved it. Need not bother watching any further."

MORE: Martin Clunes reveals next role after Doc Martin - and it sounds gripping

MORE: Poldark star Aidan Turner teases BBC drama's return - but with major change

Other viewers questioned why the doctor had been called on to carry out profiling on the murder case, with one person tweeting: "Struggling with the fact they just casually invited a random psychologist in to do profiling on a murder case, rather than actually calling in y'know, a professional profiler," while another agreed, adding: "Right so a psychologist who has never done profiling is called onto a case on the strength of him meeting the detective on the case in a pub and is then shown the victim's body and left alone with it."

© Photo: ITV

Aidan stars as Doctor Joe in the drama

However, a number of viewers also took to Twitter to praise the first episode as well as Aidan's gripping performance. 

One person wrote: "Brilliant first episode! I love watching Aidan Turner but this character looks like such a particularly interesting one for sure. Killer or hero?" while another added: "Really enjoyed the first episode of The Suspect - found it really intriguing and gripping. It's also so fantastic to see the brilliant #AidanTurner back on our TV screens!"

Like this story? Sign up to our What to Watch newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign up to Off Camera for all the gossip and goings-on from the wonderful world of TV and film

Email Address

By entering your details, you are agreeing to HELLO! Magazine User Data Protection Policy. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information, please click here.

More TV and Film

See more