Viewers were confused by Marcella’s plot – and her unusual walk

Last night saw the much-anticipated return of ITV’s Marcella and Anna Friel as the tormented titular detective sergeant. But was Friel back on form as the angry copper investigated the strange case of a child found dead inside a wall?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQOuPpqXrbs

• Marcella star Anna Friel: “I like to tackle controversial things”
• Anna Friel: “I did wonder about turning 40 and being thrown on the scrapheap”

According to Twitter, absolutely.

https://twitter.com/eliistender10/status/965669750067036160

https://twitter.com/dollydinkums/status/965724804086140928

But there was a slight problem: the opener contained a lot of references to the show’s first series, which first aired in August 2016. And unsurprisingly, details of that were a bit hazy.

https://twitter.com/pxpsicle_/status/965703072294100993

https://twitter.com/LiamJEDonbavand/status/965704696265674753

https://twitter.com/ChrisCantyPhoto/status/965722881702420483

https://twitter.com/JodieLarkman/status/965707534958022656

However, a much larger mystery emerged in the form of Marcella’s new walk – a strange strut that certainly didn’t go unnoticed by viewers…

https://twitter.com/martinjohnson81/status/965696763356237828

https://twitter.com/evelynobahor/status/965704068613230595

https://twitter.com/PearsonLpearson/status/965702723441250304

In fact, so many users commented about the character’s bizarre gait that Anna Friel herself answered fans' concerns…

https://twitter.com/annafriel/status/965714850457452544

https://twitter.com/annafriel/status/965715946336899072

https://twitter.com/annafriel/status/965848746910248960

However, Friel couldn’t respond to the sound problems viewers experienced, with many turning on the subtitles…