Entertainment

Rylan Clark-Neal's new show Babushka no hit with viewers

TV viewers were not impressed with the first episode of Babushka.
TV viewers were not impressed with the first episode of Babushka.

Rylan Clark-Neal’s new game show Babushka has been panned by viewers who called it “painfully slow”, “absolute rubbish” and complained about it replacing The Chase.

The ITV programme – which is replacing Bradley Walsh’s quiz show while it takes its annual break – sees contestants delve through a set of giant Russian dolls for the chance to win cash prizes.

But the format failed to win over viewers who said the pace was off, with too much chat and too few questions.

Plenty of people insisted the show was not a worthy replacement for fan favourite The Chase.Former X Factor contestant Rylan recently came off Twitter after receiving a torrent of homophobic abuse from angry viewers who thought The Chase had been axed to make way for his show.He explained that he was just filling in while it was having a break, but it appears some people missed the memo.

Many claimed the name of the programme did not make sense as the nesting dolls are more commonly called matryoshka dolls.The term babushka can be used to indicate an elderly lady or grandmother.One viewer said: “Please @Babushka, they are not Babushka dolls? This is incorrect? Babushka means grandmother #babushka. They are called matryoshka!!!!”

However, host Rylan was praised for his hosting skills – with several fans saying he was “fab” and the highlight of the hour-long show.

One viewer tweeted: “Rylan is a good host, he’s just been given a really dismal format to work with.”