The co-creator of Father Ted has been given a verbal warning by police for alleged harassment following a row on Twitter with a transgender woman.
Graham Linehan was told by West Yorkshire Police not to contact Stephanie Hayden.
She reported him for referring to her as a “he”, and for tweeting the names she used before transitioning. Miss Hayden, 45, is now suing the writer.
Mr Linehan, 50, told the BBC he is also considering taking action against her.
he row comes amid a continuing debate about gender recognition in the UK.
Currently, if someone wishes to have their gender identity legally recognised, they have to apply for a Gender Recognition Certificate – which requires a medical diagnosis.
Some argue the medical element should be removed and say there should be a system of gender recognition based on self-identification.
But not all agree, with some “gender critical” people believing the system could be abused by predatory men.
Mr Linehan – also known for writing Black Books and The IT Crowd – had given his backing to a support group of trans women who are opposed to self-identification and said he would back their campaign on social media.
Miss Hayden was also a member of the group, saying she is also gender critical, but said she had never met Mr Linehan.
An internal row saw the group disband, but led to a number of acrimonious tweets between Mr Linehan and Miss Hayden.
This included the Irish writer retweeting a post giving her previous names with pictures, and Miss Hayden tweeting links which revealed Mr Linehan’s home address.