Line of Duty

Line of Duty
Genre
Created by Jed Mercurio
Written by Jed Mercurio
Directed by
Starring
Theme music composer Carly Paradis
Ending theme "Line Of Duty End Theme"
Composer(s) Carly Paradis
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
No. of series 2
No. of episodes 11
Production
Executive producer(s) Stephen Wright (BBC)
Simon Heath (World Productions)
Jed Mercurio (Series 2)
Producer(s) Jed Mercurio (Series 1)
Peter Norris (Series 2)
Location(s) Birmingham (Series 1)
Belfast (Series 2)
Cinematography Ruairi O'Brien
Running time 60 minutes
Production company(s) World Productions
Distributor Content Media
Broadcast
Original channel BBC Two
Audio format Dolby Digital
Original run 26 June 2012 – present
External links
BBC Two website
Production website

Line of Duty is a British police drama, created by Jed Mercurio, which aired on BBC Two 26 June 2012. The first series was BBC Two's best-performing drama series in 10 years, with a consolidated audience of 4.1 million viewers.[1] The drama was recommissioned for a second series, and the first episode was broadcast on 12 February 2014.[2] The second series achieved widespread public and critical acclaim,[3] and, on 8 April 2014, the BBC commissioned two further series.[4] In April 2014, Line of Duty was included in a list of the Top 50 BBC Two shows of all-time.[5]

The first series was aired on Hulu in the United States in August 2012 as an exclusive series.[6]

Cast

Characters in series one
Character Portrayed By Character Portrayed By
DCI Tony Gates Lennie James Jackie Laverty Gina McKee
DS Steve Arnott Martin Compston Tommy Brian McCardie
DC Kate Fleming Vicky McClure Jools Gates Kate Ashfield
DC Nigel Morton Neil Morrissey Alf Butterfield Brian Miller
PSupt Ted Hastings Adrian Dunbar Chloe Gates Saffron Davies
DS Matthew "Dot" Cottan Craig Parkinson Natalie Gates Jordyn-Eve Davis Greene
PSupt Derek Hilton Paul Higgins DI Ian Buckells Nigel Boyle
DC Deepak Kapoor Faraz Ayub Rita Bennett Alison Lintott
PS Colin Brackley Darren Morfitt Ryan Pilkington Gregory Piper
DS Leah Janson Claire Keelan Keely Pilkington Lauren O'Rourke
PC Karen Larkin Fiona Boylan Ch Insp Phillip Osborne Owen Teale
PC Simon Bannerjee Neet Mohan Miroslav Tomi May
Characters in series two
Character Portrayed By Character Portrayed By
DI Lindsay Denton Keeley Hawes DS Steve Arnott Martin Compston
DC Kate Fleming Vicky McClure DCC Mike Dryden Mark Bonnar
PSupt Ted Hastings Adrian Dunbar DI Matthew "Dot" Cottan Craig Parkinson
DC Georgia Trotman Jessica Raine DCS Les Hargreaves Tony Pitts
DS Nicola Rogerson Christina Chong DC Nigel Morton Neil Morrissey

Production

Series one and two were created and written by Jed Mercurio and produced by World Productions, on behalf of BBC Two. David Caffrey and Douglas Mackinnon directed series one. Mackinnon was retained as Director for series two's first three episodes, whilst Daniel Nettheim directed series two's last three episodes. Mercurio produced series one and acted as executive producer for series two, with Peter Norris taking over as producer for series two.

Inspiration

The police refused to cooperate with the programme's producers. Consequently, the production team was advised both by retired police officers and anonymously by serving officers; production also made use of anonymous police blogs.[7]

Locations

Series one was filmed in Birmingham (including pub interiors in the Queens Arms[8] ) and series two in Belfast by BBC Northern Ireland, per the end credits, though the city is not identified in the script in either series. A photo gallery of exterior scenes from series two shows the 4th Street Station on Ormeau Avenue in Belfast.[9]

Series overview

Series Episodes Originally aired DVD release date
Series premiere Series finale Region 2
1 5 26 June 2012 24 July 2012 3 February 2014
2 6 12 February 2014 19 March 2014 24 March 2014

Series one (2012)

The first series of Line of Duty, consisting of five episodes, premiered on 26 June 2012. Through the episodes a large list of characters appeared, but the series mainly focused around the main characters DCI Tony Gates (Lennie James), DS Steve Arnott (Martin Compston), DC Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure), and PSupt Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar).
The main plot revolved around an anti-corruption unit, commonly referred to as AC-12. Arnott was set the task of investigating a detective inspector who was the Officer of the Year for the past three years running.

# Title Directed by Written by Original air date UK viewers
(million)[10]
1"Episode 1"David CaffreyJed Mercurio26 June 20123.76
A counter-terrorist police raid kills an innocent man, and DS Steve Arnott refuses to comply with a cover up. He is transferred to AC-12, an anti-corruption squad led by Superintendent Ted Hastings. DCI Tony Gates is awarded Officer of the Year; he has a suspiciously high clearance rate. Initially, Hastings interviews Gates on a minor charge but is unaware that Gates, married with two children, is covering up a fatal hit-and-run by his lover, Jackie Laverty. AC-12 member DC Kate Fleming joins Gates' team so she can investigate Gates from the inside.
2"Episode 2"David CaffreyJed Mercurio3 July 20123.84
Arnott discovers that Gates knew Jackie Laverty before her car was reported stolen and confronts her. Gates learns that she murdered the hit-and-run victim and that she is a money launderer. He arrests her, but she persuades him to release her. They return to her house, where masked intruders force their way in. Gates is knocked unconscious, Laverty is murdered, and the unconscious Gates's fingerprints are placed on the murder weapon.
3"Episode 3"David CaffreyJed Mercurio10 July 20123.80
Arnott speeds to Laverty's house following a tip-off from Fleming. Gates has tampered with evidence, hiding his whisky glass and wiping his prints from the bottle, just as his team arrives, and Laverty has vanished. Hastings and Arnott, quizzing Gates on his relationship with Laverty, get him to admit she was an old flame, but he denies knowledge of her money laundering. Gates is taken off the case. He is grabbed by masked men who threaten to frame him for Laverty's murder unless he takes over her money laundering racket.
4"Episode 4"Douglas MackinnonJed Mercurio17 July 20123.87
Gates suggests the money laundering investigation should be passed to the Fraud Squad. Hastings and Arnott interview Gates's team, and DS Cottan lies that it was Gates who ordered them to leave early from their surveillance, resulting in the murders of the two drug dealers. Gates assists in Arnott's capture by the gangsters.
5"Episode 5"Douglas MackinnonJed Mercurio24 July 20123.72
Gates returns to rescue Arnott. Arnott recalls that the torturers were receiving telephoned instructions from someone named Tommy. Arnott, who is convinced that Gates is innocent of the murders and believes Gates can lead him to the killers, persuades Hastings to let him use Gates to get to Tommy. Arnott arrests Tommy, and Gates commits suicide. Gates's team member, DS Cottan, is Tommy's inside man (having been recruited as a teenager when he caddied for Tommy at a local golf club). Cottan advises Tommy how to avoid conviction. Arnott tells Hilton that Gates was killed in the line of duty. Gates's family receives a death-in-service benefit of £107,000 plus a pension for life. Arnott and his former counter-terrorism colleagues are acquitted of all charges. The evidence obtained on Tommy is never used, and he is put in the witness protection system. The case against Gates is closed.

Series two (2014)

A second series was confirmed 26 July 2012; the first episode aired on BBC Two 12 February 2014.[11] Keeley Hawes, cast as DI Lindsay Denton, and Jessica Raine as DC Georgia Trotman, joined original cast members Martin Compston, Vicky McClure, and Adrian Dunbar for a six-part serial.[12]

Series two received even better reviews than its predecessor,[13] despite lower viewing figures,[14] and was ranked the best television drama of 2014 by The Observer.[15]

Robert Lindsay was originally cast in a lead role for series two but left partway through production due to "creative differences". He was replaced by Mark Bonnar.[16]

# Title Directed by Written by Original air date UK viewers
(million)[10]
6"Episode 1"Douglas MackinnonJed Mercurio12 February 20142.74
A police convoy escorting a civilian under a witness protection scheme is attacked. The witness is hospitalised and all three police officers are killed, except Inspector Lindsay Denton who organised the operation at very short notice and who only informed DCC Dryden. Ted Hastings asks Steve and Kate to investigate Denton, but Kate initially asks not to take part. Ostensibly this is because she and Jayne Akers, one of the dead officers, trained together, but Kate has been having an affair with Jayne's husband Rich. Her place is taken by Georgia Trotman, a less experienced officer who is troubled that the team are treating Denton as a suspect and delving into her finances. Denton is transferred to a missing persons unit and Kate, now undercover, becomes her assistant. Kate follows Denton to the nursing home where her mother lives and sees Denton ring the hospital where the injured witness is being treated. Georgia and Steve race to the hospital, but are unable to prevent a masked man from killing the witness. Steve is rendered unconscious; Georgia, who sees the killer's face, is pushed out of the window to her death.
7"Episode 2"Douglas MackinnonJed Mercurio19 February 20143.21

Steve discovers that a nurse on the witness' ward, Claire Tindall, was threatened into giving the killer access by a man she knows as Joe, but whom she is unable to identify. Denton begins her work in missing persons with the case of vanished teenager Carly Kirk. Whilst working together, Kate attempts to gain Denton's confidence but her ruse fails. Denton is questioned again by AC-12 and claims that she rang the hospital to ask that the witness exonerate her, but the team do not believe her and Hastings arrests her for conspiracy. At her interview Denton states and evidences, on the record, that Steve made an unofficial, romantic visit to Claire, Hastings has financial problems, and Kate's cellphone has an "interesting" call history (an allusion to the affair with Richard Akers). Meanwhile, a story surfaces in the press that DCC Dryden took penalty points for his wife when she committed a driving offence.

In a parallel sub-plot Denton has a dispute with her neighbour. The neighbour plays loud music late at night, and demands money in return for not doing so. One evening Denton attacks her, hitting her with a wine bottle which she wipes down and disposes off. When the neighbour reports the attack to the police, Denton flatly denies. However, upon noticing one night that her neighbour has fallen asleep with her door open and the music on - and a chip pan heating up - Denton turns the pan off and leaves after visibly considering instead allowing a fire to start.
8"Episode 3"Douglas MackinnonJed Mercurio26 February 20143.34
Denton is remanded in custody where she is victimised by both staff and prisoners, having her hands badly burnt and warned off speaking to the authorities. Meanwhile AC-12 discover the identity of the dead witness after Hastings requests access to witness protection records from Dryden. The witness was Tommy Hunter, the gang leader previously arrested by Tony Gates. Cottan believes that Jayne Akers, his liaison officer, was the real mole who betrayed the escort. Kate visits Denton in prison, who knows about Kate's affair with Jayne's husband whilst Cottan has similar suspicions. Denton's accusations also cause friction between Hastings and Steve, whilst Dryden's driving offence continues to occupy the press. To draw attention away from himself, Dryden leaks that Denton is the officer under investigation. At the site where Denton stole her phone and blew her cover Kate discovers a body, apparently that of the missing Carly. She returns to interview Denton who claims that Dryden, a married man, had an affair with her and has set her up. Kate discovers that Dryden and Denton did previously work together, lending some credence to this story. Cotton discovers from forensic accountants that Jayne Akers received a large sum of cash shortly before she died.
9"Episode 4"Daniel NettheimJed Mercurio5 March 20143.46

Steve and Kate convince Hastings to bring Dryden in for questioning but find the DCC uncooperative and frosty when the interview is undertaken. They face a further problem when the Major Violent Crimes team beat them to bringing Richard Akers in for questioning, as Steve mistakenly assumed Richard was unaware of his wife's corruption and decided he was not a priority. When they do get to interview him, he reveals that Akers kept recordings of Tommy as leverage at a PO Box. The recordings show Tommy threatening to inform on various parties, including corrupt police officers "from the two-faced bastard right down to The Caddy", unless they ensure his witness protection and immunity are maintained. A recording of Dryden publicly criticising the immunity Tommy and others like him receive suggest he is the former, AC-12 begin seeking the identity of 'The Caddy'.

Denton is granted permission to visit her dying mother at her nursing home, but on the return journey Denton's prison van is run off the road. Fleeing for her life, Denton finds herself confronted with two corrupt police officers, including the man who murdered Georgia Trottman.
10"Episode 5"Daniel NettheimJed Mercurio12 March 20143.73
Denton manages to escape her kidnappers in violent circumstances that lead to the death of one and the hospitalisation of the other, and AC-12 finds itself forced to choose loyalties between Denton and Dryden. With the evidence mounting against the latter the discovery of pictures showing Dryden and 15-year-old Carly Kirk in a compromised situation is the final nail in the coffin, resulting in Steve and Kate finally arresting the DCC. However, when presented with AC-12's evidence, Dryden still strongly maintains he is being set up. Meanwhile, Cotton approaches DC Morton from his old team. Morton is the officer who sold the story about Dryden's driving offence to the papers and Cotton blackmails him into falsely saying Jeremy Cole, the deceased kidnapper, was nicknamed 'The Caddy' by fellow officers.
11"Episode 6"Daniel NettheimJed Mercurio19 March 20144.12

Dryden claims that Denton was at the car park when he was photographed in the car with Carly. Steve gets closer to Denton but reveals to Kate that he is acting undercover, as she had done earlier. Steve finds the pay-off money hidden among the possessions Denton had taken from her mother's room.

In flashback, the events leading to the ambush are shown. Denton stalked Dryden to the reception where Carly met and attempted to seduce him, and had a brief conversation with her in the ladies' cloakroom. Denton then followed Carly and Dryden to the car park, and saw Tommy beating Carly up. Some days later, Denton approached Tommy but was surprised to find him accompanied by a police detective - Akers. Akers then visited Denton at her home to request help in handing Tommy over to his criminal associates, who wish to kill him out of fear he will inform on them in witness protection. With a pay-off, and appealing to Denton's desire to protect Carly from her pimp and abuser, Akers convinced her to assist in a handover. In reality the handover is being planned by Cotton, who is the mastermind and known only by Akers and Tommy. He orders two corrupt officers to ambush the convoy, using a tracker placed on Denton's vehicle. Akers and Tommy are both killed to protect Cotton's identity, but Denton is left alive to take the blame.

Further details are revealed in an epilogue. The buried body is not Carly; who had fled the country unknown to the authorities and criminal parties. DS Prasad, who carried out the ambush and kidnapped Denton, gives evidence against her in return for complete immunity from prosecution. DC Morton isn't suspected of any wrongdoing and will retire in a year on full pension, and continues to sell confidential data to the press. DCC Dryden is given a suspended sentence for perverting the course of justice around his wife's speeding ticket and resigns from the police force. Denton is convicted of conspiracy to murder and imprisoned for life. Cottan is asked to remain in AC-12. Major Violent Crimes continue to investigate who organised Tommy's murder, but no police officers beyond Denton are suspected.

Series three and four

On 8 April 2014, BBC Two announced the commissioning of a third and fourth series of Line of Duty.[17] [18] The writer and creator of Line of Duty, Jed Mercurio, promises new guest stars as police officers under investigation for corruption, and some reappearances from past series.

Awards and nominations

Year Association Category Nominee(s) Result
2012 2012 Royal Television Society Awards Actor (Male) Lennie James Nominated
Drama Series Line of Duty 1 Nominated
Writer - Drama Jed Mercurio Nominated
2012 Royal Television Society Midlands Awards Best Drama/Fictional Programme Line of Duty 1 Won
Best Acting Performance (Male) Lennie James Won
Best Acting Newcomer Gregory Piper Won
2012 Crime Thriller Awards The TV Dagger Line of Duty 1 Nominated
2013 2013 Broadcast Awards Best Drama Series or Serial Line of Duty 1 Nominated
2013 South Bank Sky Arts Awards TV Drama Line of Duty 1 Nominated
Broadcasting Press Guild Awards Best TV Drama Line of Duty 1 Nominated
2014 2014 Freesat Awards Best TV Drama Line of Duty 2 Won
2014 Crime Thriller Awards The TV Dagger Line of Duty 2 Nominated
Best Actress Dagger Keeley HawesWon
Best Supporting Actress Dagger Vicky McClureNominated
BAFTA ScotlandBest Actor - TelevisionMark BonnarNominated
2014 Royal Television Society Craft & Design Awards Best Editing - Drama Andrew McClelland Won
2015 Writers' Guild of Great BritainTV Drama - Long Form Jed Mercurio Nominated
2015 Broadcast Awards Best Drama Series or Serial Line of Duty 2 Nominated
International Programme Sales Line of Duty 2 Nominated
Broadcasting Press Guild AwardsBest Drama Series Line of Duty 2Nominated
Best Drama Writer Jed MercurioNominated
2015 Royal Television Society AwardsBest Drama SeriesLine of Duty 2Won
BAFTA Television Craft AwardsDrama: WriterJed MercurioNominated
BAFTA Television AwardsLeading ActressKeeley HawesPending
Supporting Actress Vicky McClurePending
Drama Series Line of Duty 2Pending
2015 South Bank Sky Arts Awards TV Drama Line of Duty 2 Pending

Censure by Ofcom

Following the complaint of one viewer, the media regulator Ofcom found the BBC guilty of a "serious lapse" in its duty of care for a 13-year-old actor, Gregory Piper, who had appeared in scenes which were "of a particularly violent nature and included sexually explicit language" by breaching broadcasting rules requiring that "due care must be taken over the physical and emotional welfare and the dignity of people under 18".[19] In its full report, Ofcom cited the programme's failure to involve an independent expert, such as a child psychiatrist, to determine the actor's intellectual and emotional capacity to participate in the controversial scenes; however, the regulator found that there was no actual harm, distress or anxiety caused to the child actor.[20]

Home media releases

Online

iTunes releases for Line of Duty

Name Release date Ep # Additional Information
Line of Duty, Series One 30 August 2013[21] 5
Line of Duty, Series Two 12 February 2014[22] 6
  • The complete second series
  • Ability to buy single episode(s) or whole series
  • Rated "Caution" by iTunes
  • High-definition & Standard-definition version
Line of Duty, Series One & Two 26 June 2012[23] 11
  • The complete first and second series
  • Ability to buy single episode(s) or whole series one and two
  • Rated "Caution" by iTunes
  • Standard-definition version

Blinkbox releases for Line of Duty

Name Release date Ep # Additional Information
Line of Duty, Series One 2013[24] 5
  • The complete first series
  • Ability to buy single episode(s) or whole series
  • Certificate 15
  • Standard-definition version
Line of Duty, Series Two 2014[25] 6
  • The complete second series
  • Ability to buy single episode(s) or whole series
  • Certificate 15
  • High-definition & Standard-definition versions
DVD

DVD releases for Line of Duty

Name Release dates Ep # Additional Information
Region 2
Line of Duty Series 1
(DVD)		 3 February 2014[26] 5 The two-disc box set includes all five episodes from series one, with a classification age of 15.
Running time: 300 minutes.
Line of Duty Series 2
(DVD)		 24 March 2014[27] 6 The two-disc box set includes all six episodes from series two, with a classification age of 15.
Running time: 360 minutes.
Line of Duty Series 1&2
(DVD)		 24 March 2014[28] 11 The four-disc box set includes all eleven episodes from series one and two, with a classification age of 15.
Running time: 660 minutes.

References

  1. ↑ Jed Mercurio: taking aim at target culture | In-depth | Broadcast
  2. ↑ Sperling, Daniel (25 July 2012). "'Line of Duty' renewed for second series by BBC". DigitalSpy. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  3. ↑ Moir, Jan (17 March 2014). "Is Line of Duty the best cop show ever?". Daily Mail.
  4. ↑ Sweeney, Mark (8 April 2014). "Line of Duty set to return for third and fourth series". Guardian.
  5. ↑ Hogan, Michael et all (18 April 2014). "The Top 50 BBC Two shows of all-time". The Telegraph.
  6. ↑ Thomas, June (24 August 2012), "The Global Network", Slate, retrieved 28 January 2013
  7. ↑ Jed Mercurio (26 June 2012). "Line of Duty – a police drama that swaps reassurance for reality". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  8. ↑ "Line Of Duty". Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  9. ↑ "Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery". BBC. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "BARB". BARB. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  11. ↑ "World Productions producing critically acclaimed award-winning drama". World-productions.com.
  12. ↑ "Line up for more Duty". The Sun. 9 October 2013.
  13. ↑ Hogan, Michael (26 February 2014). "Line of Duty review". The Telegraph.
  14. ↑ Munn, Patrick (27 February 2014). "Ratings:BBC2's Line of Duty Remains Steady". TV Wise.
  15. ↑ Ferguson, Euan (7 December 2014). "The best British TV Dramas of 2014". The Observer.
  16. ↑ Munn, Patrick (13 May 2013). "EXCLUSIVE: Robert Lindsay Exits BBC Two’s ‘Line Of Duty’, Mark Bonnar To Assume Role". TVWise. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  17. ↑ "BBC Two celebrates 50th birthday with ambitious new commissions". BBC Television. British Broadcasting Corporation. 8 April 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  18. ↑ "BBC Two announces Jed Mercurio’s Line Of Duty commissioned for further two series". BBC Television. British Broadcasting Corporation. 8 April 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  19. ↑ BBC censured over violent Line of Duty scene featuring child actor, The Guardian, 17 December 2012. Accessed 27 April 2013.
  20. ↑ http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/enforcement/broadcast-bulletins/obb220/obb220.pdf
  21. ↑ "Line of Duty – Series One (iTunes)". Apple Inc. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  22. ↑ "Line of Duty – Series Two (iTunes)". Apple Inc. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  23. ↑ "Line of Duty – Series 1&2 (iTunes)". Apple Inc. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  24. ↑ "Line of Duty – Series (Blinkbox)". blinkbox Entertainment Limited. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  25. ↑ "Line of Duty – Series 2 (Blinkbox)". blinkbox Entertainment Limited. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  26. ↑ "Line of Duty – Series One [DVD]". BBC Worldwide LTD. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  27. ↑ "Line of Duty – Series Two [DVD]". BBC Worldwide LTD. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
  28. ↑ "Line of Duty – Series 1&2 [DVD]". BBC Worldwide LTD. Retrieved 17 May 2014.

External links