The writer of Line of Duty was yesterday forced to defend his decision to have Superintendent Ted Hastings refer to a suspect with Down’s Syndrome as “the local oddball” – on World Down Syndrome Day.
Many viewers reacted with dismay when Ted, played by Adrian Dunbar, made the comment about Terry Boyle, a character familiar to long-term fans from a previous series.
But writer Jed Mercurio said the statement, which aired in Sunday’s opening episode, was a direct quote from Barry George, the man convicted and later acquitted of the murder of Jill Dando, and was intended to portray “policing with some of its failings”.
Despite the furore over Ted’s choice of words, the launch of the drama’s sixth series pulled in the biggest audience in the show’s history, with 9.6million viewers tuning in. The huge ratings were 500,000 ahead of the 9.1million who watched the finale of series 5, which was at the time a record for the show.
In the show Terry is played by Tommy Jessop, previously seen in series one as being used and manipulated by an Organised Crime Group, who stored the body of a woman in a freezer which now seems to be missing from his flat.
Actor Jessop, 36, has also appeared in BBC film Coming Down the Mountain and Holby City.
In a message to Mercurio regarding the “oddball” comment, Laura Quentin said: “Very disappointed to hear your character with Down’s syndrome referred to as “the local oddball”. On World Down Syndrome Day these are the sort of outdated attitudes we need to move away from.”
Other viewers branded the term “appalling”, “uncomfortable” and “poor form”.
Barnardos assistant director of children’s services Michelle Dougan tweeted: “I love Line of Duty, but found the term ‘local oddball’ used to define the suspect with Down’s really uncomfortable. Yes, I know it’s drama, but come on, let’s be respectful and change how everyone is viewed and identified in our world.”
Jim Gamble, boss of Ineqe safeguarding group, agreed: “Especially on the day that it is, but also on any day, the script writer of Line of Duty needs to reflect on the line referring to a suspect with special needs being referred to as the ‘local oddball’.’
Staffordshire Police Chief Inspector John Owen said: ‘’’Local oddball’.
C’mon! We talk about stigma, changing the language and equality. This applies to all, including those with #DownSyndrome. Very poor.”
And Mick Finnegan, a Royal College of Psychiatrists adviser and campaigner for people with disabilities, tweeted: “Calling a character with Down’s Syndrome ‘the local oddball’ on World Down Syndrome Day doesn’t sit well with me. Great the actor was given the opportunity but language is key to acceptance and understanding.”
Showrunner Mercurio responded that the comment was actually a reference to the 1999 murder of TV presenter Jill Dando. After George was acquitted of her murder in August 2008, he said: “I was the easiest target on the case.
They (the police) could just say, ‘We’ve got the local oddball’.”
Mercurio insisted: ‘’Oddball’ has no connotation for learning difficulties.
It describes a loner, an eccentric. It’s an equally fitting description for someone like Christopher Jefferies.
“The drama is using the term to refer to the Dando case, not to learning difficulties. We work with numerous police advisers.
“Line of Duty portrays policing with some of its failings. The officer in question doesn’t work with vulnerable people and hadn’t met the suspect.
“The ones dealing with the suspect used different, more appropriate language.”
(Image: BBC)
He suggested some police officers would use terms that were “way, way worse” and said his reason for using it was because it was “a reference to a real case of police mishandling of a vulnerable suspect”.
A BBC spokesman pointed out that Hastings may not have known the nature of Boyle’s learning difficulties at the time he made the comment. “‘Ted Hastings has never met Terry Boyle. In the scene, he is reviewing the evidence against the character.
“The word used in dialogue refers to an eccentric or loner, which fits the stalker/obsessed fan theory of Gail Vella’s murder. The dialogue has no meaning or connotation that relates to the character’s disability.”
The show continues on Sunday at 9pm.
Originally from https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/line-duty-caught-row-show-23775392