Line of Duty star Lennie James reveals Jed Mercurio planned to bring back Detective Gates – before scrapping the scenes
LINE Of Duty star Lennie James has revealed show creator Jed Mercurio planned to bring back Detective Gates – but changed his mind.
The actor, 53, says Jed wrote a scene featuring Lennie’s character returning to to the show, but tore it up when he read it back the next day.
Gates was responding to a fan theory that the character might not actually be dead – despite being hit by traffic on a motorway in series one.
He told Digital Spy: “God’s honest truth, when I was filming Critical he came in one day and said, ‘I’ve just written a scene where Tony Gates comes back’ and I was like, ‘yes, finally’.
“And then he came in the next day and said, ‘I read it again and it was rubbish’.
“That’s what he does with people. So he might do it again, he might not, I don’t know. You’ll have to ask Jed…”
Show creator Jed has previously revealed how he keeps Line of Duty’s plots a secret.
He said: “I’ve lied before and it may well be I will lie again.
“I tell the truth where it’s the ethical thing to do, but in terms of entertainment there’s a certain fun and enjoyment that can be added to the experience by a few judicious lies.
“I wouldn’t want to rob friends and family of the opportunity to be shocked and surprised by the twists and turns of the story.
Most read in TV & Showbiz
“For something like Line Of Duty to work, it has to be both plausible and unexpected.
“Yet those two things are clearly inversely proportional in that the more plausible something is, the more expected it is. You have to find the balance.”
“I wanted to do a cop show that was different in terms of regular cops chasing down criminals.
“So I had the idea of an anti- corruption unit, basically cops versus cops and that became the central concept of the series.”
Got a story? email digishowbiz@the-sun.co.uk or call us direct on 02077824220.
We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.