Traces viewers stunned to see Jane Beale from EastEnders – but aren’t impressed with new Scottish accent

BBC viewers are loving the new crime drama Traces – but aren’t quite as happy about the characters’ Scottish accents.

During the premiere episode on Monday, viewers were also thrilled to spot a familiar face – actress Laurie Brett who played Jane Beale on EastEnders.

Brett plays the mother of lead character Emma Hedges (Molly Windsor) who is working to bring a killer to justice.

Set in Dundee, Traces first debuted on UKTV’s Alibi channel in 2019 and premiered on the Beeb this week.

The show is set inside the world of SIFA (the Scottish Institute of Forensic Science) and also stars Line of Duty’s Martin Compston.

While viewers were enthralled with the first episode, they couldn’t get over spotting Brett and hearing her speak in her native Scottish accent.

One Twitter user wrote: “Yay it’s Jane with a Scottish accent! #TRACES #Eastenders.”

And a second said: “I’ve just copped that the Mum was Ian Beale’s wife in EastEnders and now I can’t stop laughing #Traces.”

But not everybody loved the accents on the show, claiming they were not authentic to Dundee.

Compston who grew up in Greenock and the other Scottish actors, used their natural accents opting to forego attempting the distinct Dundonian dialect.

One Twitter user wrote: “Love #Traces but I’ve no heard a #Dundee accent yet.”

Another added: “Absolutely loving this drama . Brilliant actors, great storylines anything involving Val McDiarmid is an absolute winner. Only issue I have is there’s not actually a Trace of a Dundonian accent.”

And a third said: “I thought someone on this was doing a terrible accent on #Traces but no, he just an Aberdonian.”

Traces tells the story of three compelling and very different female characters – Emma Hedges, Professor Sarah Gordon, and Professor Kathy Torrance – who use forensics to uncover the truth about an unsolved murder case.

But Emma, who is studying at SIFA discovers the fictitious case study in her course has a strikingly similar and shocking link to her past.

Emma’s sleuthing takes her into darker corners and unpicks more and more secrets, it becomes clear that she should trust no-one.

BAFTA award winning actress Molly Windsor plays Emma alongside Laura Fraser’s Professor Sarah Gordon and Jennifer Spence’s Professor Kathy Torrance.

Other impressive actors on the cast list include Michael Nardone,  Laurie Brett, Morayo Akandé, John Gordon Sinclair, Joana Borja, Anna Leong Brophy and Neve McIntosh.

Traces’ six episodes air Mondays on the BBC at 9pm, with the entire series available on BBC iPlayer.