Twitter commentary on the depiction of the criminal justice system on TV is often more interesting than the drama itself. The latest drama to prompt a flurry of keyboard tapping is Channel 4's five-part series The Trial, which concluded last night.

The broadcaster described the show as a 'thrilling hybrid of drama and documentary', which would 'hook viewers with the real twists and turns of a criminal murder trial and reveal the inner workings of the justice system as never seen before'.

The crime was fictional but the judge, prosecution, defence, professional witnesses and the jury are real. Those participating included barrister Max Hill QC, head of Red Lion Chambers in London and Brian Barker CBE QC, who was the senior judge at the Old Bailey from 2013-15. 

Here is a selection of some of the best tweets:

Fritha Louise (@frithalouise): '#thetrial has convinced me I'm 100% unsuitable for jury duty, cause if I had to deliberate with idiots like this I'd commit a crime myself.'

Mikey (@AppleiMikey): 'So the solicitor advises the defendant to answer "no comment"! As far as I'm concerned, this man is guilty.'

Suzieq (@girlie5117): 'Straight away crap impression as murder suspect sat on his own before going into [court]. Solicitor would be there.'

Elaine McCullough (@caspertopcat): 'Counsel consulting without solicitor present, nope!'

These_Boots (@These_Boots): 'Does the defence counsel sit with the accused like that? I thought that was the solicitor's role?'

Knitty42 (@Knitty42): 'Good grief. It's not complicated, folks. The judges are real, the jury are ordinary ppl, the "crime" is made up. It's an experiment.'

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