Part of the series could be re-shot
Line of Duty boss Jed Mercurio has revealed when he will be comfortable to resume filming the show.
The series showrunner warned that he wouldn’t carry on production until testing for the coronavirus is made more widely available and easily accessible.
“The problem was when [testing] was abandoned by the Government, we were looking at a situation where we couldn’t apply that,” Jed opened up on The Andrew Marr show.
“Nobody knows how this is going to unfold and we’ve just got to make sure everybody’s safe,” he said.
“I feel for a lot of the crew, it’s a difficult time when you’re out of work.”
But Jed said that despite the show’s crew wanting to get back to filming, he needs to be sure that it is safe for them all to do so.
He also compared the much-loved crime show to the soaps, explaining how it’s not possible for the series to return in the same way that soaps can because the story lines are so vastly different.
“I want to get back as soon as we can, but that’s got to be when it’s safe and we’re not a show that is similar to the soaps,” he explained.
“Where there’s a possibility of bringing the actual subject of corona into the storyline, where that could make it slightly easier for them to adapt to it, whereas it’s currently not in Line Of Duty‘s world.
“To be honest with you there’s a lot we can do within the industry, but until wider society has the public health infrastructure of test, trace and isolate in place it’s going to be very hard for anyone,” he added.
“I just don’t think, unless wider society has got the process right, we’ll be able to work in isolation.”
Jed also revealed to BBC News that the team may need to re-write some of the script they’ve already constructed.
“We’re all considering [a re-write],” he said.
“We shot for four weeks in a pre-lockdown world, and all that material would have to be re-shot if we were going to change things.
“That would have huge cost implications, but we are considering it."
