Yahoo Finance Line Of Duty Creator Jed Mercurio 'Furiously' Shuts Down Journalist's Question About Series 7
Line Of Duty fans may be waiting patiently for news of another series, but it seems you should think twice before asking creator Jed Mercurio about it.
That’s a lesson a journalist from The i learned the hard way after daring to enquire about a follow-up to the hugely popular BBC cop drama.
Jed was interviewed by the paper about his new graphic novel when chat naturally turned to the most talked-about show of the year, which aired its series six finale back in May.
However, according to the paper, he was left “furious” when the journalist asked about a possible series seven.
“It just feels like this is clickbait now,” Jed said, with The i describing him as having “snapped”.
After the journalist explained it was a fair question to ask, given the finale drew over 15 million viewers, he ‘yelled’: “Feel free to generate some clickbait!”
The paper described him as being “suddenly furious”, giving “a sarcastic, tight little smile” as he logged off the call, saying: “I really enjoyed the conversation. Have a good day!”
HuffPost UK has contacted a representative for Jed Mercurio and is awaiting a response.
It is far from the first time Jed has clashed with a journalist.
In 2019, he singled out at a Guardian writer in a now-deleted tweet after she named Line Of Duty on a list of the biggest TV disappointments of the year.
When asked about his criticism of her in a subsequent interview with GQ magazine, he doubled down calling her a “c***” and a “piece of shit”.
He added: “I specifically objected to the Guardian article because its sole objective was to sneer at TV programmes. The journalists lined up shows to take a pop at them with no constructive purpose, as if they’re somehow superior to mere TV writers.
“I tagged the writer in the thread to give them a chance to respond. When they didn’t, I deleted the thread post.”
Jed also called a Telegraph critic a “moron” after he claimed the show had become “too clever for its own good” during the fifth series.
He also labelled The Sun’s then-showbiz features editor a “c***” after the paper ran a story about actor Martin Compston being offered a new two series deal to play DS Steve Arnott in 2019.
Earlier this year, Jed also called a journalist who challenged him on audience satisfaction data about the series six finale a “fucking prick” on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost UK and has been updated.
