Missed Line of Duty on BBC? Here’s all you need to know about hit police drama starring Thandie Newton and Jason Watkins
LINE Of Duty is one of the darkest and most unpredictable shows on TV thanks to its love of killing off major characters just when you least expect it.
With the introduction of Oscar-nominated Thandie Newton and Bafta-winner Jason Watkins, the new run spawns a whole new storyline — and murky minefields — for much loved characters Supt Ted Hastings, DS Kate Fleming and DS Steve Arnott to investigate. But new viewers need not worry — Series 4 is self-contained and you don’t need to know what happened previously.
Here is our great guide to get you up to speed at the double.
MOST READ IN SHOWBIZ
Line of Duty, BBC1, tomorrow, 9pm.
THE STORY SO FAR
AC-12 is a fictional department, led by Supt. Hastings, which investigates bent cops.
Officers are sent undercover to expose corruption and other dodgy dealings.
But their job is far from easy. In the three previous series Ted, Kate and Steve tried to work out who they could and couldn’t trust as they were thwarted at every turn by “The Caddy”, a copper who controlled a battalion of bent bobbies for his crimelord paymasters.
After finally cornering the bent officer following a tense gun chase, The Caddy’s dying declaration helped bring down a retired Chief Supt and finally get justice for the victims of a VIP child sex ring.
The anti-corruption unit team start series four on a high – but how long will it last?
THE NEW SERIES
THANDIE NEWTON’S character DCI Roz Huntley opens series four with a tense breakthrough in Operation Trapdoor – a hunt for a sexually motivated serial killer.
There have been two victims so far and in the past six months Roz’s team have found no leads. So when they apprehend a registered sex offender who fits the bill in almost every way, everyone is delighted by the breakthrough.
But forensic expert Tim Ifield insists they’ve got the wrong man. AC12 investigate whether Roz has ignored key evidence in her desperation to pacify an anxious public and impress her tough boss ACC Derek Hilton.
THE HEROES
DS Steve Arnott
Steve really suffered as baddie Matthew “Dot” Cottan tried to fit him up as The Caddy and make him take the fall.
Now he is determined to prove himself again – especially with Kate having also been made a DS.
Martin, 32, says: “A bit of time has passed since the end of Series 3 – we’re all back at the office and Steve’s back in his waistcoat being his arrogant little self again.
“He’s really pushing for a promotion and things are a bit frosty between him and Kate. They always have that love/hate relationship when they actually really need each other.
“They are there for one another but can annoy each other at times. The scenes where Vicky (McClure) and I get on each other’s nerves are probably my favourites.
“I love playing Steve. It’s a really tough part because he’s the moral compass of the story and a lot of the information comes through him.”
Supt Ted Hastings
TED is a zealot who believes wholeheartedly in the sanctity of the law and doing everything by the book.
Deeply moral, he prides himself on doing the right thing and will stop at nothing to uphold the law, even if it means bringing down his own men.
Adrian, 58, has played Ted since the start and says his professional- ism will be put under “a huge amount of pressure” in the new series.
He says: “People like him because he’s got a good sense of right and wrong. He sometimes struggles with what’s the best thing to do, but also he’s quite decisive and doesn’t suffer fools gladly.
“He’s also got a little bit of a sense of humour and, like a lot of people who on the surface appear to have it all together, his personal life isn’t that great. He’s flawed but he’s human and likeable. His problem is that the people who are lower or even higher than him are miscreants.”
DS Kate Fleming
AFTER being promoted for finally bringing down The Caddy, Kate is “raring to go” as AC-12 sets out to investigate another case.
However, with her ex-husband having custody of their kids, her personal life is far from perfect – though it does give her more time to devote to being a cop.
Vicky, 33, who recently starred in the hit BBC psychological drama The Replacement, says: “Kate’s got a lot to prove and she wants to make sure she makes Hastings proud and we see her ambition and drive are as strong as ever.
“Her personal life is not ideal but it’s settled.
“I love playing Kate – she’s a bright woman. She makes me seem like I know what I’m talking about and I love her determination.
“I think we’d be mates in real life but she’d scare me a little bit as well. I wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of her.”
THE NEW RECRUITS
Forensics expert Tim Ifield
FASTIDIOUS forensics officer Tim is on the scene when Roz captures her suspected serial sex killer.
However, he is soon pointing the finger at the senior officer when she interprets his findings differently.
But are Tim’s concerns a help, a hindrance or something more sinister?
Jason, 50, below, explains: “If you’re being meticulous in order to solve a case and you’ve got someone who is in a rush to prove what they think is right or they make assumptions about the case which are convenient to get it solved – for someone who is forensically minded that’s a difficult fit.
“The friction between Tim and Roz comes from that. There is a moral call to be made as well as a procedural one and I think if you are like Tim, then it is hard to square that.”
DCI ROZ HUNTLEY
AFTER five years at home raising her children, ambitious rozzer Roz is leading the hunt for a balaclava-clad serial killer with dark sexual fantasies.
The high-profile case has caused widespread panic and Roz is under pressure to catch her man.
When she has a likely suspect in custody, her superiors are delighted. But when she’s accused of ignoring forensic evidence she finds herself at the centre of an AC-12 probe.
Thandie, 44, reveals how Roz is driven by her desire to prove herself in a man’s world.
She says: “There’s a need to be recognised as the multi-tasking ninja that she and every woman has to be. There’s this patriarchal notion that what men do is worthy of respect and what women do isn’t and we see that in equality of pay and what women have to tolerate in the workplace.
“With a series like this, which is so respected and loved, there’s no better place than in Line of Duty to highlight these issues.”
THE VILLAINS
ACC Derek Hilton: Alive
(Paul Higgins)
Slippery Hilton is back and he has been promoted. He is still entrenched in power politics and loves nothing more than playing the heroic copper at press conferences. The ambitious plod is in charge of DCI Huntley – but how far will he push her to further his own career?
DCI Tony Gates: Dead
(Lennie James)
Crowned Officer of the Year in Series 1, but his world unravelled when mistress Jackie Laverty (Gina McKee), who was brutally slain in a gangland hit, tricked him into covering up a hit and run. Trapped by AC-12, Gates killed himself but it was made to look like he had died in the line of duty.
DC Nigel Morton: Retired
With a sour outlook on life thanks to his “leg injury”, nothing was too low for Nasty Nigel – from selling stories to the media and bribery to blackmailing criminals and colleagues. Last seen enjoying his retirement mowing his lawn – despite being on disability benefits.
DCC Mike Dryden: Quit
Married Dryden was a sexual predator with dubious tastes. Had an affair with Lindsay Denton (Keeley Hawes) and was blackmailed after being caught with an under-age girl. Had to quit the force but dodged jail after being given a suspended sentence in Series 2.
SGT Danny Waldron: Dead
The armed copper was investigated by AC-12 after an on-the-job shooting of a gangster. Danny later died after being shot by a colleague on a drugs raid in Series 3, but information he left led to the unmasking of corrupt cop The Caddy and the uncovering of a paedophile ring.
DI Lindsay Denton: Dead
The sole survivor of an ambush on a police convoy, dodgy Denton ended up in jail. After her conviction was quashed she found redemption with her refusal to accept a bribe from The Caddy in the last series. It might have been her bravest act, but it was also her last.
DI Matthew ‘Dot’ Cottan: Dead
(Craig Parkinson)
Cunning Cottan had a great run as bent copper The Caddy. Just as he was about to get out, leaving Steve Arnott to carry the can for his crimes, he was exposed by Kate Fleming. Following a dramatic shootout he gave a dying declaration that nailed his underworld contacts.
Retired Chief Supt Patrick Fairbank: Jailed
(George Costigan)
The ex-vice cop used his position to facilitate a VIP paedophile ring at Sands View care home and even covered up the death of a whistleblowing social worker. But masonic handshakes, faked dementia and a network of bent coppers couldn’t save him from prison.