Line Of Duty fans may be waiting patiently for news of another series, but it seems you should think twice before asking creator Jed Mercurio about it. 

That’s a lesson a journalist from The i learned the hard way after daring to enquire about a follow-up to the hugely popular BBC cop drama. 

Jed was interviewed by the paper about his new graphic novel when chat naturally turned to the most talked-about show of the year, which aired its series six finale back in May. 

However, according to the paper, he was left “furious” when the journalist asked about a possible series seven. 

“It just feels like this is clickbait now,” Jed said, with The i describing him as having “snapped”. 

After the journalist explained it was a fair question to ask, given the finale drew over 15 million viewers, he ‘yelled’: “Feel free to generate some clickbait!”

The paper described him as being “suddenly furious”, giving “a sarcastic, tight little smile” as he logged off the call, saying: “I really enjoyed the conversation. Have a good day!” 

HuffPost UK has contacted a representative for Jed Mercurio and is awaiting a response. 

It is far from the first time Jed has clashed with a journalist. 

In 2019, he singled out at a Guardian writer in a now-deleted tweet after she named Line Of Duty on a list of the biggest TV disappointments of the year. 

When asked about his criticism of her in a subsequent interview with GQ magazine, he doubled down calling her a “c***” and a “piece of shit”. 

He added: “I specifically objected to the Guardian article because its sole objective was to sneer at TV programmes. The journalists lined up shows to take a pop at them with no constructive purpose, as if they’re somehow superior to mere TV writers.

“I tagged the writer in the thread to give them a chance to respond. When they didn’t, I deleted the thread post.”

Jed also called a Telegraph critic a “moron” after he claimed the show had become “too clever for its own good” during the fifth series. 

He also labelled The Sun’s then-showbiz features editor a “c***” after the paper ran a story about actor Martin Compston being offered a new two series deal to play DS Steve Arnott in 2019.

Earlier this year, Jed also called a journalist who challenged him on audience satisfaction data about the series six finale a “fucking prick” on Twitter.