Who was Graham Linehan’s wife? All about IT Crowd writer’s family life amid arrest over trans community tweets

Graham Linehan was recently arrested at Heathrow Airport in connection with posts made on X regarding transgender issues. Although he was not immediately recognized, many outlets confirmed his identity, and Linehan himself addressed the incident in an article he wrote on Substack.

In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, the Metropolitan Police stated that on Monday, September 1, a man was arrested at Heathrow airport after he arrived on an inbound American Airlines flight at around 1 pm. They said that the man was in his 50s and was arrested on "suspicion of inciting violence" in relation to posts made on X.

Following the arrest, he was taken to the hospital after officers became concerned for his health. The statement added:

"His condition is neither life-threatening nor life-changing. He has now been bailed pending further investigation. The arrest was made by officers from the MPS aviation unit. It is routine for officers policing airports to carry firearms. These were not drawn or used at any point during the arrest."

In a Substack post, the co-creator of Father Ted explained that his bail conditions prohibit him from using X and that his arrest was related to three X posts.

Born in Dublin, Ireland, on May 22, 1968, Graham was married to writer and television producer Helen Serafinowicz. The couple had two kids, a son and a daughter, and eventually divorced in 2022. In an interview with The Times of London, he stated that the backlash he faced due to his anti-transgender activism left his wife "scared" and ultimately destroyed their marriage.

"She [Helen] was scared. She was justifiably scared. They started to target her. They started to target her family. It just got too much for her," Graham said.

Graham's ex-wife is the sister of actor Peter Serafinowicz and actor James Serafinowicz. She has been involved in several writing projects, including writing for Nova Jones (2021), The Legend of Rooney's Ring (2025), and Motherland, which ran from 2015 to 2022.

More on Graham Linehan's arrest

In a Substack article, published on September 2, 2025, titled I just got arrested again, Graham Linehan explained that five armed police officers were waiting for him the moment he stepped off the plane.

He explained that as he was escorted to a "private area," he was told that he was being arrested for three tweets.

"In a country where paedophiles escape sentencing, where knife crime is out of control, where women are assaulted and harassed every time they gather to speak, the state had mobilised five armed officers to arrest a comedy writer for this tweet (and no, I promise you, I am not making this up."

According to Graham, all three tweets were posted in April 2025. The first referenced a "trans-identified" male in a "female-only space." Meanwhile, the second included a picture of a group of protesters, with the caption stating that it was "a photo you can smell." The third tweet was him calling out "misogynists and homophobes."

He added that after the investigation at Heathrow police station, a nurse came to check on him and found that his blood pressure was over 200, "stroke territory." Due to his health, he was escorted to A&E, and the doctor suggested that the high blood pressure was "stress-related," "combined with long-haul travel and lack of movement."

According to the BBC, Graham is also facing an additional charge of harassment and is set to appear in court on Thursday.