By . Alasdair Glennie Tv Correspondent . The first series was filled with such unremitting doom and gloom, viewers switched off in their droves. But in an effort to lighten the misery, it seems The Village has upset its remaining fans by veering into farce. The BBC costume drama was likened to a ‘Carry On film’ yesterday after it featured a string of smutty jokes, full nudity and racy gay kiss in its opening episode. Scroll down for video . Julian Sands (right) plays Lord Kilmartin in BBC's The Village with Daniel Ezra who plays Ghana Jones (left) And despite its new upbeat tone, ratings for the drama - which was originally seen as a potential rival to ITV’s Downton Abbey - continued to slide. An average audience of just 4.6million tuned in on Sunday night, compared to the 6.4million who watched the opening episode last year, and the 4.1million who watched the season one finale. Much of the plotline was focused on the aristocratic Allingham family, who spend the first episode trying to impress their distinguished house guest Lord Kilmartin. In a string of sexually suggestive scenes, Lady Allingham, played by Juliet Stevenson, appeared intent on seducing her visitor and delivered several racy puns. In one highly-charged moment, Lord Kilmartin came down for breakfast after striding topless around the balcony of the house and started flirting with his hostess. After reminding him he is a married man, Lady Allingham lowered her voice to a husky drawl and asked him: ‘Now the pressing question is, how do you like your sausage?’ Many viewers were left in no doubt she intended the remark to be a rude innuendo. Writing on Twitter, viewer Sharon MacDonald said she felt the comment was ‘filth’. Michael Kelly added: ‘Hold on!! Light relief with a sausage joke!’ Lorna Wilde said: ‘How do you like your sausage in the morning?”, oh aye.’ Several viewers took to Twitter to discuss the BBC costume drama which was likened to a ‘Carry On film’ Viewers switched off in droves after a gloomy first series (pictured is Derek Riddel who plays Bill Gibby) The series has been written by Peter Moffat who was inspired by his grandparents who were shepherds . As the episode wore on, Lady Allingham continued to shock viewers with her off-the-cuff remarks. At a family drinks party, she looked knowingly at another guest as she asked him how to pronounce the word ‘cocktail’, saying ‘Does one put the stress on ‘cock’ or ‘tail?’” In other scenes that were equally far removed from the gentility normally expected in costume dramas, a character repeatedly used the ‘f- word’ and described heiress Edwina Mountbatten as a ‘maniac for sex’. In another sexually charged scene, the heir to the Allingham fortune engaged in a furtive kiss with another man that threatens to derail his political career. Meanwhile, the village fete descended into farce when a visiting boxer stripped off and walked completely naked through a throng of onlookers. On Twitter, a viewer writing under the name Hayley commented: ‘So The Village has gone from wrist slitting depression to Carry On innuendo in the space of one series.’ John Simm, plays John Middleton, in the series which was criticised on Twitter by viewers yesterday . Mary Middleton with Grace Middleton (left) in the series and Norma Hankin and Arnold Hankin (right) Another wrote on the BBC Points of View messageboard: ‘It seemed a lot more Downton Abbey or Larkrise than the first season. Even the livelihood threatening stuff about Mr Middleton not being able to pay the rent on the cowshed seemed to be played more for laughs than we’d have seen in the first season.’ A third said: ‘It all seemed to be a bit dumbed down, about Nasty Toffs versus the Downtrodden Poor. Lord Kimbolton [sic] was ridiculous. And I’m not one to really notice background music, but this was awful, and syrupy! ‘I enjoyed the first series but won’t be bothering with the rest of this one. Last time the complaints were it was to grim and dark, now it’s dumbed down and syrupy.’ The bleak atmosphere of The Village last year was blamed in part on a particularly harsh winter experienced in the Peak District where the drama is filmed. But the current series was shot in the spring and summer to lighten the tone. In June, its star Maxine Peake, 40, promised it would be ‘a little bit lighter’ with ‘more joy’, adding: ‘Life was bleak in those villages, trying to work a farm in those conditions... But we’re in the 1920s now.’ A BBC spokesman said: ‘The shift in tone is in line with the time period as the life of the village moves away from the horror of war and into the roaring Twenties.’
Viewers switched off in droves after a gloomy first series by Peter Moffat .
Second series appears to have upset remaining fans after veering into farce .
They took to Twitter where they likened the first episode to a 'Carry On' film .
By . Alasdair Glennie Tv Correspondent . The first series was filled with such unremitting doom and gloom, viewers switched off in their droves. But in an effort to lighten the misery, it seems The Village has upset its remaining fans by veering into farce. The BBC costume drama was likened to a ‘Carry On film’ yesterday after it featured a string of smutty jokes, full nudity and racy gay kiss in its opening episode. Scroll down for video . Julian Sands (right) plays Lord Kilmartin in BBC's The Village with Daniel Ezra who plays Ghana Jones (left) And despite its new upbeat tone, ratings for the drama - which was originally seen as a potential rival to ITV’s Downton Abbey - continued to slide. An average audience of just 4.6million tuned in on Sunday night, compared to the 6.4million who watched the opening episode last year, and the 4.1million who watched the season one finale. Much of the plotline was focused on the aristocratic Allingham family, who spend the first episode trying to impress their distinguished house guest Lord Kilmartin. In a string of sexually suggestive scenes, Lady Allingham, played by Juliet Stevenson, appeared intent on seducing her visitor and delivered several racy puns. In one highly-charged moment, Lord Kilmartin came down for breakfast after striding topless around the balcony of the house and started flirting with his hostess. After reminding him he is a married man, Lady Allingham lowered her voice to a husky drawl and asked him: ‘Now the pressing question is, how do you like your sausage?’ Many viewers were left in no doubt she intended the remark to be a rude innuendo. Writing on Twitter, viewer Sharon MacDonald said she felt the comment was ‘filth’. Michael Kelly added: ‘Hold on!! Light relief with a sausage joke!’ Lorna Wilde said: ‘How do you like your sausage in the morning?”, oh aye.’ Several viewers took to Twitter to discuss the BBC costume drama which was likened to a ‘Carry On film’ Viewers switched off in droves after a gloomy first series (pictured is Derek Riddel who plays Bill Gibby) The series has been written by Peter Moffat who was inspired by his grandparents who were shepherds . As the episode wore on, Lady Allingham continued to shock viewers with her off-the-cuff remarks. At a family drinks party, she looked knowingly at another guest as she asked him how to pronounce the word ‘cocktail’, saying ‘Does one put the stress on ‘cock’ or ‘tail?’” In other scenes that were equally far removed from the gentility normally expected in costume dramas, a character repeatedly used the ‘f- word’ and described heiress Edwina Mountbatten as a ‘maniac for sex’. In another sexually charged scene, the heir to the Allingham fortune engaged in a furtive kiss with another man that threatens to derail his political career. Meanwhile, the village fete descended into farce when a visiting boxer stripped off and walked completely naked through a throng of onlookers. On Twitter, a viewer writing under the name Hayley commented: ‘So The Village has gone from wrist slitting depression to Carry On innuendo in the space of one series.’ John Simm, plays John Middleton, in the series which was criticised on Twitter by viewers yesterday . Mary Middleton with Grace Middleton (left) in the series and Norma Hankin and Arnold Hankin (right) Another wrote on the BBC Points of View messageboard: ‘It seemed a lot more Downton Abbey or Larkrise than the first season. Even the livelihood threatening stuff about Mr Middleton not being able to pay the rent on the cowshed seemed to be played more for laughs than we’d have seen in the first season.’ A third said: ‘It all seemed to be a bit dumbed down, about Nasty Toffs versus the Downtrodden Poor. Lord Kimbolton [sic] was ridiculous. And I’m not one to really notice background music, but this was awful, and syrupy! ‘I enjoyed the first series but won’t be bothering with the rest of this one. Last time the complaints were it was to grim and dark, now it’s dumbed down and syrupy.’ The bleak atmosphere of The Village last year was blamed in part on a particularly harsh winter experienced in the Peak District where the drama is filmed. But the current series was shot in the spring and summer to lighten the tone. In June, its star Maxine Peake, 40, promised it would be ‘a little bit lighter’ with ‘more joy’, adding: ‘Life was bleak in those villages, trying to work a farm in those conditions... But we’re in the 1920s now.’ A BBC spokesman said: ‘The shift in tone is in line with the time period as the life of the village moves away from the horror of war and into the roaring Twenties.’
Village has upset its remaining fans by veering Allingham family, who spend the first episode oh aye.’ Several viewers took to Twitter to to a ‘Carry On film’ Viewers switched off in droves after a gloomy first series (pictured is been written by Peter Moffat who was inspired by