Rowan Atkinson explains why he ‘can’t stand watching’ Line of Duty

Atkinson said he watched the first series of BBC’s police drama

Rowan Atkinson has explained why he “can’t stand watching” Line of Duty.

The actor opened up about his feelings towards the hit BBC police procedural during a recent appearance at the GQ Heroes event.

The Mr Bean star said that although he thought the drama was “brilliant”, he finds it too stressful to watch.

“I don’t like stressful television… I can’t stand watching Line of Duty, which is a brilliant show,” he said.

“I watched the first series and thought it was absolutely brilliant, and then I started watching the second series and I found that I just couldn’t watch it because I was finding it too stressful because you know that things are going to go wrong.”

Atkinson continued to praise the series, adding: “It’s brilliantly written and made but I don’t like that kind of TV.”

The BBC series starring Vicky McClure and Martin Compston came to an explosive end last year with season six (though a seventh season has been rumoured). You can read The Independent’s five-star review of the show here.

Atkinson recently starred in Netflix’s comedy Man vs Bee.

In The Independent’s four-star review of the show, Sean O’Grady wrote that the series is “smartly produced and directed, and Atkinson as Bingley is much more engaging than Bean, and is still game enough to spend much of his time on screen in his underpants”.