Line of Duty season 6
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Line of Duty season 6 finale: Creator Jed Mercurio savages critics in foul-mouthed rant

He doesn't suffer fools gladly!

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The Line of Duty season 6 finale caused such fierce debate among viewers, creator Jed Mercurio bit and savaged his critics.

The 55-year-old show runner kept relatively quiet in the days immediately following the controversial finale (May 2).

However, Jed let rip at viewers who criticised the ending, including a tirade against one journalist.

What did Jed Mercurio say to critics of the Line of Duty season 6 finale?

One viewer got in touch to tell Jed he should be “ASHAMED” at the ending.

“Using your cheap little show which built up everyone’s hopes in a time of CRISIS just to throw a dig at our GREAT Prime Minister without whom you wouldn’t be writing for the taxpayer,” they wrote.

“Making a brain dead Brummie the head honcho?? An absolute joke of an ending.”

Read more: Line of Duty season 6 finale: 5 endings that viewers thought would have been much better!

Jed responded to the bizarre rant with a jokey response.

He said: “Lorraine is the result of what would happen if Jackie Laverty’s body parts were reassembled in the wrong order.”

Jackie Laverty of course had her throat slit in series one by OCG members, and her body was chopped up and stored in Terry Boyle’s freezer.

However, Lorraine got off lightly compared to a journalist who aimed a barb at him.

Jed Mercurio takes down journalist

On Wednesday May 5, Jed returned to Twitter to explain BBC audience research showed that the finale got a much more positive response outside of social media.

However, Irish journalist Peter O’Dwyer took issue with the defence of the show.

He tweeted: “When you’re explaining you’re losing.

When it comes to losing, I have to defer to lifelong expert @peterodwyer1.

“Also when you’re describing the ending to a decade-long saga as ‘down’ you are probably also losing.”

Jed responded in savage fashion.

He said: “When it comes to losing, I have to defer to lifelong expert @peterodwyer1.

“What a [bleeping] [bleep].”

Ian Buckells Line of Duty
Line of Duty season 6 saw Ian Buckells revealed as H (Credit: BBC)

What happened in the Line of Duty season 6 finale?

Many viewers were up in arms after incompetent DS Ian Buckells was revealed to be the final H or the Fourth Man.

However, Jed defended the decision.

Read more: Line of Duty writer Jed Mercurio explains why Buckells had to be revealed as H in season 6

He said on the BBC’s Shrine of Duty’s podcast: “I suppose it was really down to the decision to kind of hold him to account, sort of mid-season.

“It was always really important to me that it was someone who had been in season one, someone who had been there the whole time.”

This article, originally published on May 7, 2021 was updated on June 16, 2021 with a new video.

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Nancy Brown
Associate Editor