Ardal O’Hanlon admits he ‘feels sorry’ for Father Ted creator Graham Linehan and says he’s made his gender-critical views ‘confrontational’ after he was arrested over anti-trans tweets

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Ardal O’Hanlon, known for his role in Father Ted, has said he sympathizes with the show’s creator, Graham Linehan, who was arrested after posting a series of tweets considered offensive to transgender people.

In September, Graham arrived at Heathrow Airport to find armed police waiting for him. He was initially held on suspicion of encouraging violence, but he later announced on social media that the police won’t be pursuing the matter any further.

Ardal O’Hanlon, best known for playing Father Dougal McGuire in the Channel 4 comedy series, said he hasn’t seen Graham Norton often since their time on the show and is confused by Norton’s recent involvement in controversial social and political debates.

The activist known for her views on gender, and who also helped write popular comedies like Black Books, The IT Crowd, and Count Arthur Strong, was first held by police because of tweets they believed suggested she was encouraging violence.

Graham also faced charges of harassing transgender activist Sophia Brooks and appeared in court at Westminster Magistrates’ Court to address the accusations.

Ardal O’Hanlon, who maintains a good relationship with his former Father Ted co-stars, explained that he believes Graham Norton has expressed views on transgender issues in a way that feels unnecessarily aggressive.

He shared with The Sunday Times that he remains friendly with his former colleagues, though he hasn’t seen much of the show’s creator, Graham Linehan, lately. He also expressed confusion about why Linehan became involved in controversial public debates.

I sympathize with him – he’s allowed to have his own views, but his delivery was aggressive and caused a clash.

Just wanted to share an update on a situation you might have heard about. Last month, Graham confirmed he won’t be facing any more legal issues related to some tweets he made that were critical of transgender people. He was briefly detained at the airport due to those posts, but thankfully, it seems that’s all been resolved.

Last month, an Irish comedian traveling from Arizona to Heathrow Airport was stopped by armed police and held for questioning. Authorities suspected him of encouraging violence.

He announced on X (formerly Twitter) that the police have concluded their investigation into his September arrest at Heathrow Airport and won’t be taking any further action against him.

The case against me has been dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service, following a court hearing where my bail conditions were lifted – a hearing the lead police officer didn’t even show up for.

I’m continuing to pursue accountability from the police, with support from the Free Speech Union, after what I see as another effort to silence those who question gender ideology – all to protect men who pose a risk to others.

After reviewing evidence from the Metropolitan Police, the Crown Prosecution Service has decided not to pursue charges against a man in his 50s who was arrested on September 1, 2025.

Linehan, who now lives in another country, stated he didn’t want to come back to Britain following his arrest. The arrest sparked outrage, and prominent figures like JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, publicly defended him, calling his detention ‘completely unacceptable’.

He was detained in relation to three tweets which police deemed to warrant an arrest.

A message from April 20th stated that if a transgender man enters a space designated for women, it constitutes a violent and abusive act. The message encouraged people to cause a disturbance, contact the police, and, if necessary, physically assault him.

On April 19th, the user posted a picture of a transgender rights rally with the caption, ‘A photo you can smell.’ This was followed by another tweet expressing hatred towards the rally attendees, using offensive language and labeling them as misogynistic and homophobic.

The writer was clearly angry and shocked when armed police stopped him at the west London airport.

He angrily confronted them, exclaiming, “I’m a comedy writer – I created Father Ted! Are you being deliberately obtuse? This is utterly unacceptable.”

After being informed he was under arrest, Linehan exclaimed in disbelief, using profanity, and questioned how America viewed the situation. He then threatened to pursue legal action, stating he would sue them relentlessly.

He used highly offensive language towards the officers, yelling at them and demanding to know why they were there, before they asked him to relax.

Immediately following that, Linehan is heard exclaiming his extreme anger, using offensive language and accusing those present of working for people he considers despicable who target women’s restrooms.

Following his arrest, the writer said he needed to be taken to the emergency room because he was experiencing extreme stress that he feared was life-threatening. A nurse reportedly measured his blood pressure at over 200mm Hg.

He later told The Times that the Metropolitan Police arresting him at Heathrow was a “huge mistake.”

Mr. Linehan reported being stopped by five police officers carrying guns, but it seems they were part of the Metropolitan Police’s Aviation unit, who regularly have firearms as part of their job.

Last month, the author was in court, accused of harassing transgender activist Sophia Brooks.

Linehan is currently on trial, facing accusations of harassing Brooks online between October 11th and 27th of last year, and damaging their phone on October 19th. She has pleaded not guilty to both charges.

Elon Musk, who leads both Tesla and X, called Britain a ‘police state’ after John Linehan was arrested at Heathrow Airport. Author J.K. Rowling expressed outrage, asking, ‘What has the UK become?’ and labeling the situation ‘totalitarianism’ and ‘utterly deplorable’.

As a long-time observer, I was really frustrated to see the news about the arrest. Robert Jenrick, the Shadow Justice Secretary for the Conservatives, put it perfectly when he called it ‘ridiculous’ and a total waste of the police’s valuable time. It just feels like a misdirection of resources, honestly.

Police often ignore most shoplifting reports – they only respond in about one out of five cases. Yet, they sent five armed officers to arrest a comedian for some tweets. This is a clear misuse of resources and we need to focus on catching real criminals instead.

J.K. Rowling, a vocal critic of transgender activism, publicly supported comedian Dave Linehan shortly after he claimed she hadn’t supported him when he faced backlash – or was ‘cancelled’ – for expressing similar opinions.

He claimed J.K. Rowling didn’t support him when he faced criticism for his views on transgender people. He felt her lack of public defense left him feeling isolated and as if he were being portrayed negatively.

Graham Linehan, a frequent Twitter user, remembered feeling relieved and empowered when J.K. Rowling became involved in the debate surrounding the SNP’s self-identification reforms. He felt he could ‘finally relax’ and ‘fight back’ because he had someone publicly supporting his views.

In a September 2025 interview, he explained that her lack of communication made him feel like he’d done something wrong, like he was a negative influence. He acknowledged struggling with being toxic, but insisted it wasn’t due to any wrongdoing on his part.

I feel unsupported because people, even someone like JK Rowling, haven’t publicly defended me. It wasn’t solely pressure from trans rights activists that led to this situation.

I felt unsupported and out of place during the conflict, like my involvement was awkward.

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2025-11-16 17:35