The A Word returns to BBC One tonight, with Christopher Eccleston reprising his role as uncouth but good-hearted Maurice.
Speaking to Digital Spy ahead of series two's launch, Eccleston suggested that Peter Bowker's warm and funny drama deserves more credit than it gets.
Asked if he was surprised by the show's popularity, with almost 7m viewers tuning in to the first run, he replied: "No I wasn't, because I knew the strength of the writing. What I was surprised about was that it was completely ignored by BAFTA, etc.
"Is it too ordinary? Is it too much about working class folk? Are people embarrassed by the issue? Is Pete being punished for apparently picking up a format? I mean, he picked up a format from an Israeli show [Yellow Peppers] but he's completely and utterly reinvented it.
"How Pete's writing was ignored, and Morven [Christie] and Lee [Ingleby]'s performances, I'll never understand that. There's some snobbism going on and they're certainly not looking at the viewing figures and the critical reaction.
"I don't understand how The A Word is ignored over The Durrells – with respect to The Durrells, I don't get it. I just don't get it."
What to Read Next
The first series of The A Word, transmitted in the spring of 2016, saw the Hughes family deal with 5-year-old Joe's diagnosis of autism.
Eccleston insisted that he got a bigger response to the first six episodes, and his role of Maurice, than to any other project he's been involved with.
"I was in Our Friends in the North, I was in Doctor Who, I was in Hillsborough... Our Friends in the North got a massive response, Hillsborough enormous, the death in Cracker... but The A Word is up there and stronger.
"The people who speak to me are so relieved that it's dealt with in an honest and on-the-nose way, but with positivity and humour. Because they feel less judged by it, because they're included in life and it's also giving visibility to people on the spectrum and to the issue."
The A Word returns to BBC One tonight at 9pm.
Want up-to-the-minute entertainment and tech news? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @digitalspy Twitter account and you're all set.
