four, they moved out and were replaced by three new members of the public named Barrington, David and Jessica. These three new cast members remained on Bedsitcom for the final four episodes. Reception Critical reception Reviewers gave Bedsitcom generally negative feedback. Some were critical of the storylines that had been devised by the writers, calling them unimaginative and clichéd. Others were critical of the premise of the show itself, describing it as "deeply offensive and manipulative"—all three actors, particularly Jones, received criticism for their acting abilities. Frances Traynor of The Daily Record called the show "about as funny as sharing a flat with that German cannibal" and Paddy Sherman of The Liverpool Echo branded the show "intensely irritating". Paul Hoggart of The Times called it "a show that seemed to have nothing to recommend it whatsoever",—after watching the first episode, Charlie Catchpole of The Daily Star simply stated: "It isn't funny." Critics on Newsnight Review also spoke harshly about the programme, with Tom Paulin calling it "a disgraceful piece of television" and Jeanette Winterson describing it as "incredibly dull". A slightly more positive review came from Joe Joseph of The Times, who suggested that "if [the format] works, [it] could be profitably franchised around the world". Deborah Bull said that, while it was "a terrible programme", there were "some funny lines". Chris Wilson, editor of Collective, similarly wrote that "while the end results are often amusing and tackle some interesting storylines, the whole project smacks of lazy, cruel television". In a 2005 interview, series creator Andrew O'Connor spoke about Bedsitcom and the critical reaction that it had received. He said that he felt that the premise of the show was a "great idea", but that it did not make "great television". He also remarked: "We didn't cast it right and the public didn't take to the series." Ratings and awards Given the level of exposure and promotion that it had been granted, Channel Four were disappointed by ratings for Bedsitcom. The pilot, shown on 8 December 2003, generated 1 million viewers, but this figure had fallen to 700,000 by 10 December. The ratings rose to 1.1 million viewers for the fourth episode, "Fag Ends". On average, the series attracted an audience share of less than 6 per cent. The final episode, "P.I.G", gained a viewership of 1.2 million with a market share of 8.9 per cent, which was its highest