He says it was tempting to leave the anti-corruption officer played by actor Martin Compston dead after serial killer Balaclava Man beat him with a baseball bat, then threw him off a three-storey stairwell at the end of episode three.
But Mercurio admits finding it hard to say goodbye to DS Arnott, so after recovering in hospital he returned to duty in a wheelchair, fearing he may never walk again.
The award-winning writer of the hit BBC One crime drama, which finishes its fourth series tonight, said: “I felt it was more interesting to explore the aftermath of the serious and potentially life-changing injury rather than just have a clean exit. Steve’s such an important character but that’s why the twists and turns work.”
Compston, 32, who recently moved to Los Angeles to pursue a film career, has ruled out becoming “the Scottish Ironside” in the next series of Line Of Duty.
Ironside was a grumpy US TV detective who was confined to a wheelchair.
Compston, who was born in Scotland, said: “I told Jed. I don’t want to be the Scottish Ironside. We don’t want people to think it’s a parody. And that’s one thing this show has never done, got involved in cliches. But I do love all the theories that people have about what’s going to happen in this series.”
Compston was surprised by the ending, which viewers will see on BBC One tonight at 9pm.
He said: “I thought it was a bit of genius.
“It literally feels like, at the end of this series, we’re just at the beginning. That’s Jed’s master plan. When we end this one, now it’s game on.”
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