Stephen Graham says his death on ‘Line of Duty’ was "difficult" for his family to watch.
The 45-year-old actor played undercover officer John Corbett, who was murdered by an organised crime group while trying to unearth police corruption in the BBC police thriller.
And Stephen admitted that despite knowing it’s wasn’t real, his wife Hannah Walters and their two children Grace, seven, and five-year-old Alfie found it tough to see his on-screen death.
He told Radio Times magazine: "My kids know I spend three hours in make-up and the blood pumps out of a tube in my neck.
"Even so, I think Grace finds it difficult emotionally. Watching your father get his throat cut on screen must be a strange thing."
‘Line of Duty’ screenwriter Jed Mercurio previously revealed that "no one is safe" in his shows and let slip that he doesn’t mind bumping off characters who work in dangerous situations, because he can create a realistic portrayal of their world while adding to the tension felt by viewers.
He said: "Creating a genuine sense of jeopardy. These characters operate in a dangerous world so it has the effect of showing no one is safe."
The ‘Bodyguard’ writer noted there are some shows in which a character is put in danger but their jeopardy is "obviously fake" because the individual is essential in upcoming plotlines.
He said: "In some series out there, that jeopardy is obviously fake.
"You know something bad isn’t going to happen to the character because they’ve got to be in the next episode."