Father Ted creator Graham Linehan flees Britain for US after court case

Comedy writer Graham Linehan has fled the UK for a life in America, amid his controversial views on the transgender community. Graham - best known for his shows including Father Ted, IT Crowd and Motherland - claimed that his once privileged life became "unbearable" as he felt Britain denounced the culture of freedom of speech.

This comes after the 57-year-old star appeared in court earlier this month after being accused of harassing transgender woman Sophia Brooks and damaging her phone.

The writer claimed that he lost most of his friends, colleagues and his 16 year marriage to writer Helen Serafinowicz after reportedly tweeting "Men aren't women tho" after the Women's Institute sent a Happy Pride message to its transgender members. He also claimed his career had been ruined due to his views.

According to The Mail, Linehan now resides in Scottsdale Arizona, where he feels he can rebuild his career as a comedy writer. in court, he listed a luxury apartment complex in central Scottsdale as his residence.

During his interview with well-known podcast host Joe Rogan, he revealed that he had been granted a three year visa, which he hopes may turn into a permanent green card.

He explained: "[Comedy actor and writer] Rob Schneider has shown me incredible kindness and brought me over to work on a few projects… My visa's three years and my aim is to make myself so useful to the Americans that they won't let me go!"

Graham appeared on the show with cuts and bruises which he claimed was caused by a scooter accident.

He added: "I was riding round Scottsdale and feeling great and free, because I'd never ridden a scooter before, but I immediately fell flat on my face!"

When he arrived on UK soil at Heathrow Airport earlier this month, Linehan was arrested by police on a completely separate allegation. He allegedly posted controversial comments while living in America.

He shared thelengthy recording of the moment he was arrested by five police officers over his 'joke' tweets made about transgender people earlier this year.

Graham has wasted not time in cornering the comedy market as he has teamed up with former Saturday Night Live star Rob Schneider and playwright Andrew Doyle.

They are also set to start filming their new comedy titled Tenure. Andrew Doyle recently said: "There can no longer be any doubt that free speech is on life-support in Britain, and to keep ignoring the sheer weight of evidence is a labour of perversely Herculean proportions. Many commentators are claiming that the arrest of Graham Linehan could be a tipping point, but this will only be true if the public's rising frustration can be directed into action."

He went on to say: "It has been grotesque to witness the state's ongoing harassment of an acclaimed comedy writer, but perhaps one consolation is that it might finally jolt Westminster out of its complacency."

The Mirror has contacted Graham's representatives for a comment.

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