How Line of Duty broke the law of the police | Television and radio

I I speak to the man high. As far as I know, this is not the real man of the world, although Superintendent Ted Hastings may also be H, the ultimate corrupt policeman who has been behind all the deadly plots that go through the world. Here Line of Duty, remains a subject of speculation. "I had pity on some of the guys who were in EastEnders, who had done something terrible to someone, and people were shouting at them on the street. I thought, "God, I'd hate it if it happened to me," says Adrian Dunbar, who has been playing Hastings since the show started in 2012. He's laughing. By the time he returns for his fifth series, Line of Duty is really the kind of drama that now inspires people to stop him on the street. "But it's wonderful, the reaction of the public. You must recognize that it is firmly in the consciousness of all who watch it. "

Jing Mercurio's panting and tense thriller tore up the rule book on what police procedures can and should look like. His horror twists, his narcotics counters and his desire to overthrow any character at any time have made him one of the most captivating blockbusters on television. In seven years, he has provided the nation with spectacular talking points on television, from the front page of the Lindsay Denton saga, played with a memorable ambiguity of Keeley Hawes, to DCI Roz's rotten arms. Huntley, more and more desperate, Thandie Newton. "You watch brilliant actors come in and watch them die," Dunbar said. "Daniel Mays, Jason Watkins and Jessica Raine came out to make a really intense film for one or two episodes – it's an amazing show for that kind of thing. You just hung for the ride, and it was amazing. "

Lennie James was on the way from the beginning. In the first series, he was at the forefront in the role of Tony Gates, the first policeman in conflict faced with the scrutiny of AC-12. "It was just a super thriller," he says. "And Jed knows how to ride a thriller. It was one of those rare occasions when I sent the first three episodes, and I just wanted to know immediately what was happening next. "

He stood out from other crime dramas for many reasons, from his frantic pace to his uncompromising approach to violence, but Mercurio's ability to make a decisive stoppage in the end was particularly impressive for James. "Jed knows how to end an episode, probably better than any other writer I've worked with." He knows how to get you off: "Oh my God" and wants to come back. "In the first series, Mercurio established that the traditional rules did not apply when Gina McKee experienced an untimely end in the second episode only. "I thought it was brave, risky and fantastic, and then pushing Gina McKee into the fridge was epic" James explains. "But the one who really surprised me, looking at him like a bettor, was Danny Mays [in series three]. I thought it was fantastic, just a brilliant narration. You bring an actor of the caliber of Danny, then you blindfolded the public by taking it out in the second episode. I was like: "Wow, really?" For the rest of the series, I thought it was a bluff and that it was going to show up again. "

Finding out what will happen during any series of online tasks is a task that the most knowledgeable of AC-12 might be reluctant to do. Often, the actors do not know each other: Mercurio writes the scripts in two blocks of three episodes, which means that everyone waits to know what will happen, even for his own characters.

Along with Dunbar and Vicky McClure, Martin Compston is one of the basic trios who have survived the four series. But for his character, Steve Arnott, there were times when it started to look a little dark. "Jed practically did everything for me. My fingers were in a vise. I was accused of murder. I was thrown over the stairs, "says Compston, who certainly went through the boom and did it with admirable devotion to the vests. ("As long as I'm wearing my vests, I'm happy," he says.) "I like playing Steve, but he's a little arrogant, so-and-so, that's one of the things that's so good. in Jed's writing, sometimes you take root for the villain, because you can see his personal story and what he's fighting for. "

In this line of duty mind, no one is safe, ever fearing that he will not succeed? "Yes, but me, Vicky and Adrian had five good series, or the start of five good series [in terms of spoilers, the cast are careful to cover all bases]. And knowing Jed, he would not do it for shock. If he decided that it was your turn, you could not complain, but you would be defeated because it really is the job of your life. "

Although the first series was shot in Birmingham and is a kind of generic Midlands Town, each series has since been shot in Northern Ireland. When the show is in production, Dunbar, McClure and Compston all live in the same building. "We live literally side by side. We love it, "says McClure, who plays Kate Fleming. Most of the time, they have lunch together. "There is a real friendship that means we can sit down and have dinner at night, and we can help each other learn our lines and just hang out and watch TV." During the fifth series, they broke the tension of the dark subject by, trying to blow themselves up. "To be fair, Martin was the best," McClure solemnly declares.

When Line of Duty started on BBC Two, it quickly became the best-performing drama of the channel in 10 years. When he switched to BBC One in 2017, he attracted even more viewers, with more than 10 million viewers for the final 4 of the series. "I never thought about the number of people watching," McClure said. "But when you had numbers like that, I could appreciate the enormity of it. When he switched to BBC One, he became very common. People come back, even if they have already looked at it, to prepare for this new one. Their dedication is incredible. "

McClure attributes this to the refusal of the series to make it easier for viewers. With its dense language, fiery rhythm and complex intrigue, it is a show that demands the spectator's full attention. Do not even think about checking your phone, in case you lose a suspicious look between two minor characters, which would be the key to solving the problem. "We do not feed anyone with a spoon," says McClure. "I hear brilliant theories in which you write:" Well, you know, you're probably not far, or you could be miles away. "It's fun to be able to solve this problem for yourself." Like her castmates, she has become very good at keeping secrets. "I say nothing now to everyone, to my family, to all those who ask me. I'm trying to say nothing and keep shtum, because I do not want to be the only one to give up.

McClure and Compston both say that the third series, which was the dramatic culmination of the long-running narrative starring Matthew "Dot" Cottan, aka AKA the Caddy, was a highlight for them. "I remember telling Jed that he ruined everything else," says Craig Parkinson, the caddy himself. "The scripts are so smart and smart. They are complex and not really publicized. It makes you sit down and work. If you turn off or your mind wanders for a moment, it ruins it. When people started calling bad names at the supermarket, Parkinson knew that it had become something huge. "It's still happening now!" He laughed.

At the end of his show, Parkinson had one of Line of Duty's infamous interrogation scenes, those long uninterrupted confrontations between AC-12 and their targets, although in his case it was AC-12 on AC-12. 12. "In the last two episodes, I had a 28-page scene with two other people, and then a 32-page scene. You must do your homework. Vicky always calls it "the duties of duty". "(Well, that's the case!" She laughs, I think everyone would agree that there are a lot of homework. ")

Even though the Dot show is over, Parkinson still considers himself part of the family. "Line of Duty means more to me today than anything else. But I remember going to watch the fourth series and it was so strange. Aidy is here, Vicky is here, Martin is here … wait a minute, I should be here! It was really hard for me to calculate, so I had to stop and go for a cup of tea and relax for a minute. Nevertheless, the appeal of the series is too great to be ignored even for the old members of the cast. "The next night I was better prepared and all was well after. I totally entered it.

In each workstation, there is a new person of interest on whom the AC-12 can focus their attention. For the fifth series, make this person of interest: instead of suspicion hanging over a new guest star, Mercurio is interested in organized crime (this is the "OCG", in loD language) and its links with police corruption at the highest level. means that viewers may be closer to knowing who is really H. Even if I try to get something from Rochenda Sandall, who plays the role of newcomer Lisa McQueen, she will not fail to party. "It's a bit of a situation without comment," she says with a laugh. "I have not seen it yet, so I do not know anything about the editing." It looks like the perfect movie. "I can not stumble then, it's a perfect scenario."

In the action-packed caravan, another newcomer, John Corbett, comes off his hood. It is performed by Stephen Graham, an actor whose talent for sinister and sinister violence is unprecedented. Does this mean that the mysterious Balaclava Man, who pushed Arnott up the stairs, was finally unmasked?

"I can not tell you anything," Graham said. "I did not even tell my mother. You're talking about MI5 shit here, is not it? I could tell you, but I will have to kill you. When he began writing the fifth series, Mercurio called Graham and asked him to watch the screenplay. "He wrote it thinking about me," he said, which was a charming compliment. Graham had worked with McClure on This Is England, but he had also known Compston since their appearance in The Damned United with Dunbar so it was an easy choice. "For me, it was like going to your aunt and staying with her for a few months. Aunt Vera in particular, he says. "It was like going to my Aunt Vera and staying there for a few months while our house was being redecorated. It was really charming, really nice. "

That's about all he can say. "It's very hard, you know!" He protests. "I feel really sneaky. I have the impression that I try to tell you what I have for Christmas, but I can not tell you because your mother will kill me, but you ask me lots of questions and I say to myself: Well, it's a bit like that, but like that … I just want to tell you, but I can not tell you. I am really sorry."

It's hard to feel too wrong. Line of Duty is at its best when these amazing twists come out of nowhere and who would like to get to the bottom of the story before AC-12?

Line of Duty Series 5 begins March 31, BBC One