BBC Stacey and Joe fans were left slamming the new “tone deaf” series just minutes after the first episode aired.
The new series sees Loose Women star Stacey Solomon and her husband Joe Swash offering a glimpse into their lives with their children – Rex, five, Rose, three, and two-year-old Belle.
Swash‘s teenage son Harry from a previous relationship will also star in the series, as well as Solomon’s older sons Zachary and Leighton.
The six-part series, and the first episode, aired on BBC One and promised viewers a “refreshing, honest take on their modern blended family” as it follows the couple, their children, and their menagerie of pets, including two dogs and several ducks.
Solomon and Swash married in 2022 and are aiming to show their viewers how they balance their busy family life with their careers and personal projects, such as building a two-acre fishing lake at their home, Pickle Cottage.
However, just minutes into the first episode, viewers quickly took to their X account to slam the “tone deaf” series and questioned why the programme was put on a primetime BBC spot.
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One fumed: “What a colossal waste of public money #staceyandjoe.”
Another added: “I like Stacey and I like Joe. I’m not sure this new show #StaceyAndJoe is making me warm to them though… Oh, how hard your lives are in your massive house…”
“Is this what I’m paying my licence fee for?” another asked before a fourth added: “Why are we watching their family life? Can’t the beeb put some entertainment on?”
Someone else quipped: “I’m so pleased the BBC made cuts to local radio and important news programmes so they can afford a pointless ‘reality’ TV show with Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash. #bbc It’s all about priorities, guys.”
A sixth said: “I’ll admit to following Stacey’s Instagram & enjoying her page but is this really peak time TV viewing? Not impressed so far… a little tone-deaf.”
However, not all viewers were unimpressed with the series, as one penned: “Oh I love this family so much! So down to earth and lovely to see their dynamics!” (sic)
Before the series aired, the couple appeared on The One Show to discuss their excitement for the series, and had to issue warnings to one another to behave.
When talking about the camera crew, Solomon admitted: “I’ll be honest, they’ve become our friends. It was lovely, it was a bit of extra company.
“Because we’re a busy household, we’re seven just of us and obviously my sister’s always over, Joe’s family are always over.
“You don’t notice, to the point where we’d start having a little domestic about something and then suddenly remember,” while gesturing, as if to hint at the nearby film crew to Joe.
The former EastEnders star couldn’t resist making light of the situation, and quipped: “Quick, quick, let’s try to turn this around.”
The couple had set expectations straight for fans anticipating drama akin to Keeping Up With The Kardashians with Swash noting: “Our biggest concern was that we were going to be boring.”
