Line of fire: ‘oddball’ remark sparks storm
NI actor with Down syndrome brands Dunbar’s line in hit drama ‘uncouth’
A BELFAST actor, who has Down syndrome, has branded the use of the phrase “local oddball” in Line of Duty’s opening episode as “uncouth and unfortunate”.
Mencap NI ambassador James Martin was speaking after an alleged murder suspect with Down syndrome was referred to negatively by a senior police officer in the drama, on World Down Syndrome Day.
The popular BBC One police procedural show returned for its long-awaited sixth series on Sunday night, with anti-corruption unit, AC-12, looking into the death of journalist Gail Vella. The man suspected of being her killer is Terry Boyle (Tommy Jessop), a character with Down syndrome, who first appeared in series one. When the DNA of a second suspect, Carl Banks, is also found at the crime scene, AC-12 boss, Superintendent Ted Hastings, played by Adrian Dunbar, remarks: “He’s much more likely to be the gunman than the local oddball, that’s for sure.”
The choice of words to describe a character with special needs prompted criticism from some viewers, including former senior police officer Jim Gamble, who clashed with show creator Jim Mercurio on Twitter.
The BBC later issued a statement, pointing out that Hastings was referring to an “eccentric or loner”, which fitted the stalker fan theory around the murder and that neither character had met, so the phrase didn’t relate to Boyle’s disability.
James (28), who has appeared in BBC NI drama Ups and Downs and ITV crime noir Marcella, said he wasn’t particularly upset or offended about the use of the word ‘oddball’ but was more concerned about the overall treatment of the character.
And he said that if he had been playing the part, he would’ve “thrown the line back at them”.
“When you’re acting, you have to take things on the chin,” he said. “I did think ‘that’s uncouth, that’s unfortunate’ when I heard it, especially on World Down Syndrome Day.
“I wasn’t really upset about that line; more the way the character was treated when he was being interviewed; the way the police were with him.
“But if that had been me, I would’ve thrown the line back at them and asked them to explain what they meant.”
James’ father Ivan, a wellknown broadcaster and journalist, said that he welcomed the fact an actor with Down syndrome had been given a platform to showcase his skills.
“People living with learning difficulties or Down syndrome live very similar lives to ourselves and that includes finding things like going to a police station a very unnerving experience,” he said.
“But on the plus side, people watching it might think about how we need to try and treat people with special needs in a better way and it was a good platform for the actor to showcase his skills.”
But former RUC officer and child protection expert Jim Gamble, whose tweets expressing his disappointment sparked a debate with Line of Duty’s script writer Jed Mercurio, the term ‘local oddball’ was “crass, unnecessary and wrong”.
And he said that rather than “batting back” his criticism, Mercurio should reflect on how such a sensitive issue had been handled.
“Line of Duty is an excellent piece of television entertainment and I think it’s fantastic that this young actor was given such an opportunity,” he said.
“But my cause for concern is when you see a young and vulnerable person who has special needs being interviewed as a suspect by police then later, the most senior person who is responsible for professional standards, in a thrown away line, refers to him as the ‘local oddball’, well I just don’t know in which world that can be considered right or appropriate.
“I would’ve expected someone of Jed’s ability to have thought ‘fair point’ and to have seen it as something to reflect upon.
“So to bat it back like that was surprising and disappointing. I thought the comment was totally reckless, crass, unnecessary. It was wrong. There’s a big difference between using phrases such as ‘now we’re suckin’ diesel and ‘houl yer whisht’ and calling someone with special needs ‘the local oddball’.”
Following the Twitter debate between the two men, a BBC spokesperson said: “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.”
In one of his tweets, Mercurio highlighted the case of Barry George, wrongly convicted of killing TV presenter Jill Dando. George said he felt police were treating him like a ‘local oddball’.
In response to that, Gamble said: “It wasn’t the suspect in the show, using the word ‘oddball’ to describe himself.
“It was the most senior police officer who is supposed to hold the police to account for their behaviour.”
Meanwhile, in Northern Ireland, Line of Duty’s opening episode attracted an overnight audience of 331,000 — 51% of the available audience. Across the UK, 9.6m viewers tuned in, 44% of the available audience.
‘If it was me I would have thrown the line back and asked them what they meant’