Netflix’s Man Vs Bee star Rowan Atkinson reveals why he can’t watch Line of Duty

Rowan Atkinson said he cannot watch Line of Duty because he does not like “stressful television”.

But the actor, 67, said he watched the first series of the BBC drama, created and written by Jed Mercurio, and it was “brilliant”.

Speaking at the GQ Heroes event, the Mr Bean and Blackadder star said: “I don’t like stressful television… I can’t stand watching Line of Duty, which is a brilliant show.

“It’s brilliantly written and made but I don’t like that kind of TV.”

The sixth series of police drama Line of Duty aired from March to May last year and was a ratings success, with its dramatic finale revealing the identity of the mysterious corrupt officer H.

Screenwriter and producer Mercurio, whose other TV hits include the political thriller Bodyguard and medical drama Bodies, was made an OBE for services to TV drama earlier this year.

But he would not reveal if there are going to be further series of Line of Duty, saying at the February investiture: “If that happens, I guess we’ll tell people.”

Atkinson has played childish buffoon Mr Bean since 1990 and the original sitcom has spawned films, books and an animated series.

The actor has also been seen on the big screen as Johnny English, the clumsy and incompetent spy he has played across three films.

In June this year, new Netflix series Man Vs Bee saw him play Trevor, who, in the wake of a marriage breakdown, becomes infuriated with a persistent bee while he is housesitting.

In a session titled 40 Years Of Playing Extraordinary Fools, during British GQ’s annual luxury summit held in association with BMW, Atkinson spoke about not reading reviews.

He told host Miranda Sawyer: “One of the reasons why I don’t listen to pundits or read reviews… is because I don’t feel the need, because they’re not the people I’m trying to entertain.

“The two parties I’m trying to entertain is me and the intended audience, the audience out there, the general public – not the people who are making a noise between me and them.”

Atkinson also recently added his name to the long list of stars reading a CBeebies Bedtime Story.

He is among the guests speaking at the GQ Heroes conference at Soho Farmhouse, Oxfordshire, from July 13-15.