Line of Duty…

Since the Christmas holidays I have been binge watching the British TV masterpiece “Line of Duty” on BBC Iplayer. It is one of the best shows out there and wonder why it has not received an international audience as of yet. The show involves three main characters, Arnot, Fleming and Hastings who form the Anti-Corruption Unit 12 (commonly known as AC-12 in the show) in a fictional police department whose job is to “policing the police”. The series begins with an explosive start, setting the precedent, and thus begins a chain of events that ripple throughout the entire series.

The beginning of the trio pulls you in their direction without you realising, and you easily can be disliking them at the start but then by the end you are sold on their mission. Lennie James as Gates, his portrayal as a genuine family man who's past mistakes catch up to him and drown him slowly is brilliant, the ideal broken antihero. Yes it's fiction and yes it's dramatised for effect, there's chases and torture scenes which perhaps happen too often for a police drama about corruption but the exploration of the deep and dark recesses of the criminal underworld gives serious thought as to how a small mistake can end up with someone paying the ultimate price. The writers cleverly added many key events are thinly veiled references to events from British history. For example, right off the bat in series 1, the "Karim Ali" shooting feels reminiscent of the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, which took place six years prior. 

The Anne-Marie McGillis storyline from season 5 seems like it could be drawing on elements of the murder of Jean McConville. More overtly, the overarching storyline of sexual abuse that started with Danny Waldron is a clear reference to child exploitation scandals in Rotherham. Also, the 'Lawrence Christopher murder' is clearly based on Stephen Lawrence, right down to the fact that a report was published into the investigation obviously the Macpherson report.

The obvious references to Jimmy Savile later in the series being well into the British government as well as the police force and Cyril Smith high ranking Police were not only aware of what he was doing but were complicit in his actions. The whole "Sands View/Danny Waldron" storylines are based on stories Jed Mercurio has learned from his connections within the police and social services. Gail Vela was based on Jill Dando who apparently was ready to expose a huge paedophile ring when she was assassinated.

Line of Duty hasn’t aired new episodes since season 6 ended in 2021, but there have been discussions of a seventh season. On November 18, the BBC finally confirmed that Line of Duty season 7, consisting of six episodes, is in the works for a possible 2026 release. So, it’s the perfect time to catch up on the first six seasons. It is clearly a must watch and thoroughly engaging.