BBC viewers branded Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash‘s new reality show as ‘utter trash’ and have blasted the broadcaster for the ‘colossal waste of public money’.
The TV personality, 35, and the soap star, 42, opened the doors of their beloved home, Pickle Cottage, for cameras to film a ‘Kardashians-style’ TV show focused on their family life.
In a bid to bare the ‘highs and lows’ of their relationship, the new programme titled Stacey & Joe: This Is Us premiered on Tuesday evening and consists of six episodes.
Together they share children Rex, five, Rose, three, and Belle, two, while Stacey is mum to sons Zachary, 17, and Leighton, 12, from two previous relationships, and Joe also has a son Harry, 16, with his ex-partner.
However, the BBC series has faced criticism from some viewers who have taken to social media to share their verdicts.
One posted on X: ‘Just looked on BBC One and there’s a ‘reality’ show called Stacey & Joe. Why are people so obsessed with watching utter crap like this?’
Another commented: ‘Stacey & Joe. F*** sake @BBCOne stop wasting our licence fee.’
While someone else penned: ‘Why on earth are @BBCOne commissioning this absolute trash. What a colossal waste of public money.’
A fourth said: ‘Firstly, I love Sort Your Life Out and I like Stacey Solomon. Joe Swash hmm. I wasn’t going to watch #staceyandjoe, but I gave it a try. No, no, and absolutely no.
‘Seeing Swash spreading butter on toast with a spoon was more than I could bear. Switched off.’
According to the Express, one viewer wrote: ‘”I’m sorry but who the f**k signed this off? #Stacey&Joe.’
However, some viewers seemed to enjoy the show and one said: ‘Absolutely loved Stacey & Joe our new Essex Kardashians!!! Loved every min!’
Someone else chimed in: ‘Everything about Stacey & Joe is just making me smile. They seem like the loveliest family.’
While another added: ‘Absolutely loving Stacey & Joe… Pickle cottage is beautiful, bet all the seasons are gorgeous.’
Speaking to OK! ahead of their show, Stacey and Joe revealed viewers will get to witness them arguing on camera.
One episode sees Stacey devastated by Joe not showing up at an important meeting, leaving her juggling caring for the babies while trying to plan the launch of her own perfume.
Despite begging him not to let her down beforehand, the EastEnders star is five hours late after going fishing with his friends.
Stacey and Joe explained that they didn’t want to cut the argument like other couples would be tempted to.
Joe said: ‘So many people represent their lives as being so perfect on Instagram. It’s our responsibility to show the real – the highs and the lows. It’s not all a bed of roses. Sometimes we argue.’
While Stacey added: ‘What you see is what you get. What we’ve learnt about each other is that we’re not a perfect couple. We’ve never said we’re a perfect couple, but you get to watch yourself back, which is something that doesn’t happen often.’
The pair also explained how watching their ‘bickering’ back helps them learn about their faults and where the other is coming from, with them saying it’ been more effective that couples’ therapy.
Stacey said: ‘There are definitely things in our communication where we’re like, “Wow, we could do that better. And we could talk about this more.”‘
‘I am trying to pick my battles. Sometimes I will watch myself and go, “Oh, gosh, you didn’t really need to pick up on that.” There are bigger issues. That’s something that I definitely recognise now.’
While Joe said he realised how lucky he is to have the ‘most amazing family’ and that he needed to work on listening more rather than being ‘so defensive’.
Stacey & Joe airs on BBC One and is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
