Line of Duty

Line of Duty
Genre	British police drama Crime Detective fiction Thriller
Created by	Jed Mercurio
Written by	Jed Mercurio
Directed by	David Caffrey Douglas Mackinnon Daniel Nettheim Michael Keillor John Strickland Jed Mercurio
Starring	Lennie James Martin Compston Vicky McClure Gina McKee Adrian Dunbar Craig Parkinson Kate Ashfield Paul Higgins Neil Morrissey Owen Teale Brian McCardie Keeley Hawes Jessica Raine Mark Bonnar Liz White Tony Pitts Daniel Mays Polly Walker Will Mellor Arsher Ali Leanne Best Shaun Parkes Aiysha Hart Jonas Armstrong Maya Sondhi George Costigan Thandie Newton Jason Watkins Lee Ingleby Gaite Jansen Patrick Baladi
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	4
No. of episodes	23 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Stephen Wright (BBC) Simon Heath (World Productions) Jed Mercurio (Series 2–4)
Producer(s)	Jed Mercurio (Series 1) Peter Norris (Series 2–3) Cait Collins (Series 4)
Location(s)	Birmingham (Series 1) Belfast (Series 2–4)
Cinematography	Ruairi O'Brien(Series 1–2) Peter Robertson(Series 3) Anna Valdez Hanks(Series 4) Stephen Murphy(Series 4)
Running time	60 minutes
Production company(s)	World Productions
Distributor	Content Media
Release
Original network	BBC Two (2012–16) BBC One (2017–)
Picture format	16:9 1080i
Audio format	Dolby Digital
Original release	26 June 2012 (2012-06-26) – present
External links
BBC website	www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00yzlr0
Production website	www.world-productions.com

Line of Duty is a British police procedural television series created by Jed Mercurio that premiered on 26 June 2012. It is the most popular drama series broadcast on BBC Two in the multichannel era^[1] and is a winner of the Royal Television Society Award for Best Drama Series.^[2] Line of Duty was included in a list of the Top 50 BBC Two shows of all-time,^[3] in a list of the 80 best BBC shows of all time^[4] and was the highest ranked current series in a list of the best cop shows of all time.^[5]

The first series was BBC Two's best-performing drama series in ten years, with a consolidated audience of 4.1 million viewers.^[6] The drama was recommissioned for a second series and the first episode was broadcast on 12 February 2014.^[7] The second series achieved widespread public and critical acclaim,^[8] and on 8 April 2014, the BBC commissioned two more series.^[9]

In an interview on 28 April 2016, creator Jed Mercurio said that a fourth series would begin filming in the autumn of that year.^[10] It commenced broadcast on BBC One on 26 March 2017. A fifth series has been confirmed and will air in Spring 2019.^[11] A sixth series has also been ordered by the BBC.^[12]

In the United States, the first series was aired on Hulu in August 2012 as an exclusive series.^[13]

Main cast and characters

AC-12 personnel

• Martin Compston as Detective Sergeant Steve Arnott (series 1-)

Arnott is a detective sergeant assigned to AC-12, the anti-corruption unit within Central Police. He initially served as an anti-terrorism officer, but was transferred after he refused to collude with his fellow colleagues following the shooting death of an innocent man. During series three, Arnott is accused of being a gangland informant known as The Caddy, framed for the murder of DI Lindsay Denton, and is later arrested. He is cleared of all charges.

• Vicky McClure as Detective Sergeant Kate Fleming (series 1-)

Fleming is originally a detective constable and an undercover specialist. A consummate professional, Kate is willing to investigate officers both within, and outside of, AC-12. In series two, Kate begins investigating DI Lindsay Denton. She is promoted to Sergeant at the end of series three. Kate has a son, though her ex-husband retains custody.

• Adrian Dunbar as Superintendent Ted Hastings (series 1-)

Hastings, a police superintendent, is the Senior Investigating Officer of AC-12. He personally recruited Arnott, Fleming, and Cottan, and has a black-and-white view of the law. In series three, it is revealed that Hastings is a Freemason, which causes both Arnott and Fleming to doubt his commitment to AC-12.

• Craig Parkinson as Detective Inspector Matthew "Dot" Cottan (series 1–3)

Originally a DS attached to TO-20, Cottan is promoted to DI and transfers to AC-9 at the close of the Tony Gates investigation. During the Lindsey Denton investigation, he transfers to AC-12. Acting as Fleming and Arnott's supervising officer, Cotton oversees numerous anti-corruption investigations, though he is later revealed to be the notorious "Caddy". In series 3, he shoots and kills Lindsay Denton, and is later shot and killed himself.

AC-12 suspects

• Lennie James as Detective Chief Inspector Anthony "Tony" Gates (series 1)

As the head of the serious crime unit TO-20, Tony Gates is renowned for returning the best crime figures of any unit in Central Police. It is this reputation, however, that leads AC-12 to his team. Suspected of corruption, Gates faces an internal affairs investigation that adds further complications to his troubled home-life.

• Keeley Hawes as Detective Inspector Lindsay Denton (series 2–3)

Denton organises a convoy to transport a protected witness which is ambushed, resulting in the deaths of all the other police officers. As the only police survivor, Denton is arrested, charged with conspiracy to commit murder. She attempts to convince AC-12 of her innocence and regain her reputation, but eventually receives a life sentence. In series 3, Denton is granted an appeal, and is acquitted on the basis of an improper sexual relationship Arnott had with her while she was being investigated. She discovers crucial evidence pertaining to the Danny Waldron murder investigation and historical child sex abuse, but after refusing to accept a bribe to conceal that evidence, she is murdered by "The Caddy", a corrupt officer.

• Daniel Mays as Sergeant Danny Waldron (series 3)

Danny is an officer with an armed response unit who is investigated by AC-12 as a matter of routine, following the shooting of a suspect during an operation. When Arnott and Fleming discover the shooting may not have been lawful, a deeper investigation is initiated. Danny is shot and killed by a colleague, and his death results in the opening of an investigation into historic child sex abuse, as well as leading to the unmasking of "The Caddy".

• Thandie Newton as Detective Chief Inspector Roseanne "Roz" Huntley (series 4)

Acting as Senior Investigating Officer of Operation Trapdoor, Huntley finds herself at the centre of an AC-12 investigation for mishandling evidence. During a short interim in her leadership of the case, she becomes Duty S.I.O. of Major Crimes, and must head the investigation into the death of forensics specialist Tim Ifield.

Supporting cast and characters

AC-12 personnel

• Jessica Raine as Detective Constable Georgia Trotman (series 2)

Assigned to AC-12 following a stint as a patrol officer, Trotman is partnered with Steve Arnott during the initial stages of the Lindsay Denton investigation. She is later pushed from a hospital window and killed.

• Polly Walker as Gill Biggeloe (series 3)

Following the Lindsay Denton investigation, Biggeloe – a police federation legal counsellor – is assigned to AC-12 in order to ensure its credibility is maintained. However, her presence is disliked by Hastings and Arnott, and numerous conversations imply a "politicisation" of the department by the Police Federation. She later tenders her resignation at the end of Series 3.

• Maya Sondhi as Police Constable Maneet Bindra (series 3–4)

Maneet joins during the middle of the Danny Waldron investigation, and is later seen handing sensitive material to ACC Derek Hilton during Series 4.

• Royce Pierreson as Detective Constable Jamie Desford (series 4)

Jamie joins during the middle of the Roz Huntley investigation. Unintentionally, he is scapegoated for downloading the Dying Declaration for "The Caddy", after having given a username and password to his account to Maneet, which allowed Maneet to download the Dying Declaration for "The Caddy". He is later arrested by Armed Police officers.

TO-20 personnel

• Neil Morrissey as DC Nigel Morton (series 1–3)
• Claire Keelan as DS Leah Janson (series 1)
• Nigel Boyle as DI, later DCI, Ian Buckells (series 1, 4)
• Faraz Ayub as DC Deepak Kapoor (series 1)

Armed Response personnel

• Arsher Ali as PC Harinderpal "Hari" Bains (series 3)
• Leanne Best as PC Jackie Brickford (series 3)
• Will Mellor as PC Rod Kennedy (series 3)
• Lisa Palfrey as Insp. McAndrew (series 3)

Operation Trapdoor personnel

• Jason Watkins as FC Tim Ifield (series 4)
• Claudia Jessie as DC Jodie Taylor (series 4)
• Mark Stobbart as DS Neil Twyler (series 4)

Other police personnel

• Paul Higgins as Chief Supt., later ACC, Derek Hilton (series 1, 4)
• Owen Teale as Chief Insp. Philip Osborne (series 1)
• Tony Pitts as DCS Lester Hargreaves (series 2, 4)
• Christina Chong as DS Nicola Rogerson (series 2)
• Mark Bonnar as DCC Mike Dryden (series 2)
• Steve Toussaint as Chief Supt. Mallick (series 2)
• Sacha Dhawan as DS Manish Prasad (series 2)
• Aiysha Hart as DS Sam Railston (series 3–4)
• Shaun Parkes as Chief Supt. Terry Reynolds (series 3)
• George Costigan as Former Chief Supt. Patrick Fairbank (series 3)

Other supporting cast and characters

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 co-operate 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.^[14]

Locations

Series one was filmed in Birmingham (including pub interiors in the Queens Arms)^[15] and series two, three and four in Northern Ireland by BBC Northern Ireland, per the end credits. The city is not identified in the script in any series – set dressings and props indicate that the unnamed city is Birmingham (maps of Birmingham appear on walls, and telephone numbers use an 0121 area code), and the police force adjoins the East Midlands Constabulary, which is referred to in multiple series. A photo gallery of exterior scenes from series two shows the 4th Street Station on Ormeau Avenue in Belfast.^[16]

Series overview

Episodes

Awards and nominations

Censure by Ofcom

Following the complaint of one viewer, the media regulator Ofcom found the BBC had breached Rule 1.28 of the Code in 2012 . Specifically that there was 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".^[17] 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 and that programme makers had not followed the best practice advice of the BBC's Editorial Policy Unit. However, the regulator found that there was no actual harm, distress or anxiety caused to the child actor.^[18]

Home media releases

Online

iTunes releases for Line of Duty

Blinkbox releases for Line of Duty

BBC Store releases for Line of Duty

DVD

DVD releases for Line of Duty

Blu-ray

Blu-ray releases for Line of Duty

References

External links

• Line of Duty at BBC Programmes
  
• Line of Duty at Hulu
• Line of Duty on IMDb
• Line of Duty at epguides.com
• Line of Duty at TV.com
• Line of Duty, scripts at BBC TV Drama archive