Line of Duty star Martin Compston has spoken out to condemn false reports that he and his wife have experienced fertility struggles.
The 36-year-old, who has been married to American actress Tianna Flynn since 2016, issued a statement in light of a newspaper article that misinterpreted comments he made during an interview with Dermot O'Leary on Radio 2.
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"I get that things are heightened with Line of Duty on but this type of journalism has to be called out, I will continue to do so when it effects those around me," Martin – who stars as DS Steve Arnott in the hit police drama - wrote in his caption.
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His statement read: "A wholly untrue, inaccurate and hurtful article about me and my wife [Tianna] appeared in the press today written by a freelance journalist with the headline, 'Compston reveals he and his wife had fertility struggle'. This false information was wrongly assumed from a Radio 2 interview I did yesterday in which no such issues were mentioned. No attempt was made to verify it pre-publication."
Martin has been married to wife Tianna since 2016
While Martin noted that the newspaper had removed the online report, it remains in the print edition and he said it had even prompted his family to reach out "as if true".
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"This type of reckless, lazy and untruthful journalism has caused needless distress in what is already a challenging period," he continued. "Fortunately my wife and I never had to go through the pain of fertility problems but we have friends that have and it’s heartbreaking. It's not something that should be used to generate inaccurate click bait headlines.
The Line of Duty star released a statement on Twitter
"I understand there's a lot of attention around the show," Martin concluded. "The media coverage on the whole has been supportive. Sadly something so shamefully insensitive and completely without foundation has to be called out. We politely ask other websites and publications not to repeat the mistake."
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It's thought the misinterpretation came from a conversation Martin had with Dermot about his role in The Nest, in which he stars alongside Sophie Rundle as a couple struggling to conceive.
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