Line Of Duty’s Neil Morrissey told off on The Night Manager set

Line Of Duty star Neil Morrissey has revealed he once got told off on the set of The Night Manager for cracking a joke.

The 58-year-old actor, who portrayed bent copper Nigel Morton in Jed Mercurio’s police drama for seven episodes, appeared alongside Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie and Olivia Colman in BBC’s The Night Manager, which aired in 2016.

Recalling his behind-the-scenes antics from the show, where he played Harry Palfrey, Neil shared how he was scorned by the director.

‘What was that one with Hugh Laurie and the muscly blond boy?’ Neil asked.

‘Yes, well I did that and the director [Susanne Bier] was very, very serious and oh, she was angry,’ he continued .’So we’re in a giant shiny boardroom and everyone’s got suits on, as have I, and we’re running the lines.

‘I said something funny to lighten the mood, added an extra line or something, and everyone laughed except her. She said, “It’s not funny”.’

Neil added to Radio Times: ‘She didn’t know I had a reputation for being funny, and there were all these serious actors and drama glitterati standing around.

‘But I love people to feel the energy. I love sets where there are toys to play with and props and I’m looking around.’

Besides starring in The Night Manager, Neil portrayed Nigel in Line Of Duty and former co-star Adrian Dunbar recently called for his return to the series.

‘I would really like to see Neil Morrissey’s character, Nigel, who’s still alive,’ he said. 

‘He’s still out there. He’s still in possession of some information, I’m sure of it. 

‘And I’d really like to see him back because more than anything else, he’s probably the best entertainment officer that any group ever had. For that alone, you’d really want Neil to be on the job. 

‘So you know, if you could put it out there, please…’

The Night Manager is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

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