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Vanity Fair's opening episode receives mixed reaction from viewers - find out why

What did you think of Vanity Fair's first episode?

olivia cooke vanity fair
Emmy Griffiths
TV & Film Editor
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The much-anticipated period drama, Vanity Fair, premiered on ITV last night, and fans took to social media to discuss the episode. While some loved the opening of the miniseries, which stars Olivia Cooke as heroine Becky Sharpe and boasts of a star-studded cast including Doctor Foster's Suranne Jones as Mrs Pinkerton, others were slightly unsure about the series opening, with some unhappy that the series used CGI. One person wrote: "Had such high hopes for @ITV’s #VanityFair but... CGI in a period drama?" Another person added: "God awful acting in #VanityFair, so forced and more like a sitcom than a decent period drama. ITV rarely gets period dramas right. Leave it to BBC. So much hype and such disappointing delivery. Is this what it has come to?"

vanity fair suranne jones© Photo: ITV

Suranne play sMrs Pinkerton

Some users were quick to point out that CGI is used regularly in period dramas to make the setting look authentic, and the technicolour creative director behind the show, Gary Brown, previously spoke to CNET about using it, explaining: "The majority of the work in period drama is trying to create that old-fashioned look. England is blessed with lots of ancient locations - and there's always some monstrosity right next to them. So we do an awful lot of cleaning up or extending the set in period dramas, as well as all the boring stuff like taking out aerials and satellite dishes."

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Despite criticism, others were hugely complimentary about the series, with one writing: "I think #VanityFair and I are going to get along VERY well. LOVE Olivia Cooke as Becky Sharp and have already sold my soul to Dobbin," while another tweeted: "Maybe it's because I've never read or seen it before, but I seem to be enjoying #VanityFair on ITV a lot more than everyone else on Twitter."

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