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Jamie Dornan says TV viewers are ‘spoilt for choice’ and give up on shows too easily

Actor suggested the so-called golden age of television meant viewers ‘moved on’ quickly

Isobel Lewis
Monday 27 December 2021 12:30 GMT
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The Tourist has 'a bit of grit to it' and is perfect for the new year

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Jamie Dornan has suggested that the so-called golden age of television has left viewers unable to commit to shows.

Speaking to the Radio Times, the Fifty Shades of Grey star said that, with new shows being released every week on terrestrial TV ,and streaming and film directors and actors working on series too, viewers were “so spoilt for choice”.

“You’ve also got that ability now where if you’re not enjoying it, you move on to the next thing,” he said. “Which I think is a bit dangerous.”

Dornan continued: “You know, it’s sad. How many times do we watch stuff and say, ‘I wasn’t sure, it took me three episodes to get into it.’ But it’s still hard to get stuff made.

“If you’ve got to the stage of getting it made, chances are there’s something good in there, and you’ve just got to give it a chance.”

Dornan is set to appear in the BBC thriller The Tourist as an unnamed British man who wakes up in the middle of the Australian outback with no idea how he got there.

Dornan in ‘The Tourist’
Dornan in ‘The Tourist’ (BBC/Two Brothers Pictures/Ian Routledge)

He will also star next year in Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast, which was nominated earlier this month for seven Golden Globe awards.

The Tourist begins on Sunday 1 January at 9pm on BBC One.

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