17 Signs You’ve Been Watching Too Much British TV

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Last Updated on March 4, 2025 by Stefanie Hutson

It started with just that one show, but now you’re debating scone recipes with the best of them, suspecting your neighbors of murder, and referring to everything as “lovely” or “brilliant” or “quite good.” If these signs sound familiar, you might be watching too much British TV—though, let’s be honest, is there really such a thing?

You'd Rather Visit Port Isaac or Blockley than Big Ben or the London Eye.

Big Ben is lovely and all, but if you'd prefer to walk the streets of Port Isaac where Martin Clunes spent more than a decade complaining and attending to patients as Doc Martin, you're among friends. And why spend £29+ on London Eye tickets when you could be enjoying a cream tea in the village where Father Brown routinely outsmarts the local police?

Your internal monologue now has a British accent (bonus points if it's not RP or Cockney).

You used to think in your own voice, but now your inner monologue bounces between a brooding Scouse narrator, a cheerful West Country farmer, and occasionally, Dame Judi Dench telling you off.

You've Developed an Instinctive Need to Offer People Tea.

Someone’s upset? Tea. A guest arrives? Tea. Cops banging down your door? Tea. Some poor bloke tries to sell you solar panels? Not unless it's over a cup of Earl Grey, he doesn't. It’s not even about drinking it anymore—it’s about maintaining social order.

You've Started Ranking Teas With the Seriousness of a Wine Connoisseur.

You judge people by their tea choices. A proper English Breakfast? Respectable. An herbal infusion? Acceptable in certain situations. Instant tea granules? You may need to rethink the friendship.

You've Developed an Irrational Fear of Quiet, Lovely Villages.

They seem charming at first glance—quaint cottages, friendly locals, a picturesque high street—but you know better. The vicar is almost certainly hiding something, the postmistress has a past, and at least one member of the amateur dramatics society will be dead before the week is out.

You Feel Just a Tiny Bit Betrayed When Your Favourite Actors Cross the Pond to Work in American Productions.

One minute, they’re solving murders in Oxford or running a grand estate in Yorkshire—next thing you know, they’re playing a generic villain in a superhero movie, and something about it just feels wrong.

RELATED: How Much Do British Actors Earn?

When A Friend Tells You Her DAughter Has a Soggy Bottom, You Picture Baked Goods.

For a moment, you’re not thinking about nappies—you’re wondering whether it was a Bakewell tart or a choux pastry or maybe a savoury quiche. You almost ask if she blind-baked, then remember this is not a Great British Bake Off conversation. Her daughter is two.

You've Started saying “Series” Instead of “Season”, Despite the Fact That it Confuses Your Friends

You excitedly announce, “Another series of Death in Paradise is coming!”—only to be met with blank stares. “Wait, like… a spinoff?” No, just a new season—well yes, there's a spin-off—two, actually, but this is…” And now you’re trapped in a five-minute explanation of the Death in Paradise universe and the differences in British vs. American TV terminology, and honestly, you’re not sure they’re even listening.

You Assume That Any Actor Worth His or Her Salt Has Been In Downton Abbey, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, or Doctor Who.

You can’t be a real British actor without at least one of these on your résumé, can you? And if you don't have one of these, it's all but certain there's an EastEnders or Coronation Street guest role on there somewhere.

You Know the Killer is Often the Most Famous Guest Star – and of Course, You Know Who That IS.

The moment they walk on screen, you know. The producers think they’re being clever, but you’ve seen this play out a hundred times. It’s not the suspicious gardener or the bitter ex-wife—it’s that guy, the one who starred in that other show.

You've Started Thinking of 8 Episodes as a Long SeRies.

Some American TV fans complain when a traditional network show's season gets “cut short” at 12 or 18 episodes—but you’re just grateful when a British show makes it past six. Anything over eight feels like a luxury, and honestly, you're a bit suspicious about how they managed it.

The exceptions, of course, are the soaps and reality shows. Coronation Street just passed 11,500 episodes, and the much-loved house hunting series Escape to the Country is up over 1200 episodes now.

RELATED: Why Do British TV Shows Have So Few Episodes?

You've Become Pedantic About All Things Related to the UK

Whether it's your co-worker calling David Tennant “English” or the lady at church telling you about staying in Dublin on her recent trip to Great Britain, you can't let the errors slide. Once you know, you know – and there's no going back.

You Tell Your Realtor You're Looking for a “Character Property” with Two “Reception Rooms”

And then, of course, you're sadly disappointed to remember you don't live in Cornwall or the Cotswolds or the Scottish Highlands, and you're highly unlikely to find any Grade II-listed stone cottages with charming extensions built over the course of the house's 500-year history. Then again, you won't be banging your head on any low beams, so every cloud has its silver lining.

You Catch Yourself Using British Slang In Everyday Conversations.

One day, you’re speaking normally. The next, you’re calling things “brilliant” and shouting “Blimey!” when you drop your keys. Sure, some of your friends look at you strangely, but what do they know?

You're An Expert At the “Where Else Have I Seen This Actor?” Game

It starts the moment a familiar face pops up. You pause, squint, and mutter, “I know her.” Then comes the mental rolodex of period dramas, crime shows, and obscure BBC miniseries. Before you know it, you’re on IMDb, confirming she was in that one episode of Midsomer Murders from 1999.

You've Adopted The British Way of Saying Words like “Garage” and “Yoghurt”

…and “aluminum” becomes “aluminium”, “tapas” starts to sound like “tap-ass”, and “schedule” becomes “SHED-jool” (except when you're calling one a “rota”).

You'd Rather Go Skydiving Than Take Your Chances at A Village Fete.

Sure, skydiving has risks, but at least the odds of murder are low. Village fetes, on the other hand, are absolute death traps. Someone will be poisoned, something will explode, and a nosy spinster will crack the case before the police even arrive. From “Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death” to Father Brown's “The Mayor and the Magician” to Midsomer Murders's “Death's Shadow”, one thing is certain. Bad things go down at village fetes.

 

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