Adrian Dunbar joked that he can't escape the 'b****y acronyms' as he hosted Have I Got News For You on Friday evening.
The Line of Duty star, 62, ditched his Ted Hastings persona for the hosting duties, but kept an element of the copper's personality as he poked fun at Covid vaccines and restrictions easing across the UK.
Lifting the lid on the topics of the week, the actor listed off some abbreviations such as AZ, MHRA and PHE – much like his character BBC character does.
The much-loved TV star quipped: “One vaccine development this week is that AZ has been backed by the MHRA, an EMA using data from the ONS and the PHE to support the JCV.
“I mean, hang on. I only said yes to this show to get away from b****y acronyms!”
The actor was referring to the recent decision of the MHRA to not recommend age restrictions for the AstraZeneca vaccine's (AZ) use as it would be 'extremely rare' to cause blood clots.
Avid fans of Line of Duty are aware of the show’s famous acronym heavy scripts, so Adrian’s jibes on Have I Got News For You went down a treat with viewers.
Taking to Twitter, one person wrote: "Adrian Dunbar on HIGNFY. What a genius. What a man."
“All these acronyms, I’ve forgotten how to string full sentences together. Thanks Ted,” another quipped.
Meanwhile, a third tweeted: “Adrian Dunbar taking the p*** out of the vaccine on national TV is everything I needed after this week.”
It comes after the actor revealed he pays tribute to his late father in the show with one of Ted's famous catchphrases.
Adrian explained Ted's saying "mother of God" came from his dad Sean, who died suddenly in 1979 from a brain haemorrhage.
Actor Adrian, 62, had been in his second year at drama school in London at the time, and Adrian says he still thinks about Sean all the time.
Speaking on the How To Fail With Elizabeth Day podcast, Adrian said: "The ‘Mother of God’ stuff comes from my dad who used to use that all the time.
"He would say, ‘Mother of God’ all the time. He used to just say ‘Mother’ and we know what he meant.
"So, the ‘Mother of Gods’ are a way of saying thanks to him in certain ways," he added.
Line of Duty continues Sunday at 9pm on BBC One
