Some Line of Duty viewers have been left feeling 'uncomfortable' after the first episode of Line of Duty was aired on Sunday.
As the hit crime drama returned to our screens, the BBC was forced to respond to complaints from unhappy viewers.
A remark by the character Superintendent Ted Hastings, played by Adrian Dunbar, led to the controversy.
Viewers took to their emails and phones after Hastings, who heads up AC12, made a controversial comment about Terry Boyle, a character with Down Syndrome.
In the episode the character, played by actor Tommy Jessop, was arrested in connection with the murder of Gail Vella, a journalist shot at close quarters in a car park.
Terry was referred to as an "oddball" in the scene, a remark that has angered viewers.
In response, the BBC commented: "Superintendent Ted Hastings' comments were not in reference to the character Terry Boyle's disability - Ted Hastings had never met Terry Boyle.
"Hastings was looking only at the evidence against Boyle, namely the press cuttings of Gail Vella found in his flat.
"The word 'oddball' means an eccentric person and has no meaning or connotation of disability and Hastings was referring to the stalker/obsessed fan theory of Gail Vella's murder."
The second episode of Line of Duty series 6 airs n Sunday, March 28, 2021, at 9pm on BBC1 and can also be viewed on the BBC iPlayer.
