Half of the nation’s telly fans have had a top show ‘spoiled’ – by a friend, colleague, relative or social media accidentally revealing the ending, a study found.
Research revealed the true extent to which having someone blab about the ending or ‘the best bit’ can ruin your day, week or year.
The study also found one third of the adult population would rather go a whole day without their mobile phone than have their favourite TV show spoiled.
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS HUGE SPOILERS. SPOILERS I DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT MYSELF AND NOW I CAN’T WATCH ANYTHING UNTIL AT LEAST 2022. THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING.
Some TV fans are so adamant about keeping key moments a secret, a whopping 1.3m have gone as far as pulling ‘spoiler sickies’ – calling in sick and missing work to watch a gripping final episode of a series or box set.
A paranoid 2.7m people have even cancelled social plans in case one of their friends revealed the secrets of the previous night’s show.
Avoiding friends is a smart decision, as the survey shows one in five Brits say friends are ‘spoiler-sports’ – people who continually spoil TV shows for you.
Other stats include one in two Brits confess that they would be grumpy for up to three hours if their favourite show was spoiled.
And a huge 1.4m admit that they would be so angry at having their favourite TV show spoiled, they would be irritated for longer than three whole days (73+ hours).
A quarter of Brits avoid news sites entirely, in case an errant headline tells them more than they wanted to know.
David Bouchier, Chief Digital Entertainment Officer at Virgin Media, which commissioned the study, said:
Great TV gets us talking, that’s why Virgin TV’s Must-See Moment resonates with everyone who watches TV, not just fanatics.
It celebrates memorable and unmissable TV that everyone was talking about, talk which all too easily becomes spoilers that were hard not to let slip.
I can’t wait to see who the viewers have picked as their favourite Must-See Moment of 2017.
20 BIGGEST ‘SPOILER RISK’ TV MOMENTS OF ALL TIME
1. Sky Atlantic: Game of Thrones (2016) – Jon Snow IS alive
2. BBC ONE: EastEnders (2001) – Kat Slater reveals she’s Zoe Slater’s mother
3. Sky Atlantic: Game of Thrones (2011) – Ned Stark’s beheading
4. ITV1: Broadchurch (2013) – The killer is revealed
5. Channel 4: Great British Bake-Off (2017) – Sophie Faldo winning Great British Bake Off
6. Netflix: Breaking Bad (2008) – Walter White’s Death
7. Sky Atlantic: Game of Thrones (2013) – The Red Wedding
8. CBS: Dallas (1980) – Kristin Shepard kills J.R. Ewing
9. BBC ONE: EastEnders (2016) – Bobby killed Lucy Beale
10. ITV1: Coronation Street (2017) – Phelan holding Andy captive
11. ITV1: Downton Abbey (2012) – Matthew dies
12. Sky ONE: Lost (2010) – The survivors are all in purgatory
13. BBC ONE: EastEnders (2001) – Lisa Fowler shoots Phil Mitchell
14. ITV1: Coronation Street (2017) – Andy is alive
15. ITV1: Coronation Street (2017) – Phelan revenge kills Andy
16. Channel 4: The Simpsons (1995) – Who Shot Mr Burns?
17. FX: The Walking Dead (2016) – Negan kills Glenn
18. BBC ONE: Doctor Who (2017) – The Thirteenth Doctor Revealed
19. BBC ONE: EastEnders (1986) – Den files for divorce from Angie
20. BBC ONE: The Apprentice (2017) – Alan Sugar hires BOTH finalists
You read on, didn’t you? You thought I was just joking and now you’re angry that Walter White is dead? I warned ya.
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