We haven’t got a clue, Ted
Belfast tops web searches for Line of Duty as fans dig for hidden hints
THERE have been more online searches for Line of Duty-related content in Belfast than any other UK city over the last year, as fans of the show filmed in the city get clued up on the police drama.
According to new research, Belfast is the hotspot for fans of the BBC show, as they search out information on acronyms and characters from the drama.
Line of Duty is currently in the middle of its fifth series, and the fourth episode on Sunday evening sparked an increase in searches for acronyms such as CHIS — an informer or Covert Human Intelligence Source — and characters who have resurfaced from the past.
According to research of regional search trends for True Crime Mania, a study of people’s fascination with crime documentaries and unsolved mysteries produced by online casino Jackpot City, there have been more searches for Line of Duty from Belfast than any other city, with 20.5% more searches than Aberdeen.
Southend-on-sea, Romford and Glasgow make up the top five cities for interest in the show.
Newcastle and Leeds are other major UK cities to have a large following of the hit drama, while Bolton and Warrington are also high up the list.
The majority of the police procedural drama created by Jed Mercurio was filmed here after the first series in Birmingham, and has made for compulsory viewing for fans in Northern Ireland as they spot local streets and landmarks.
One of the central Line of Duty characters, ‘The Gaffer’ Superintendent Ted Hastings, hails from Northern Ireland and is played by Enniskillen actor Adrian Dunbar, which also helps to pique the interest of viewers here.
Sunday night’s episode caused uproar after Hastings was told to retire by Detective Chief Constable Andrea Wise, and that his anti-corruption unit AC-12 will merge with AC-3 and AC-9.
Search volume data over the last 30 days shows that many in Northern Ireland are taking to Google to search for theories and plot lines surrounding the hit show.
The most popular internet searches are attempts to figure out the many acronyms used in Line of Duty.
In the last 30 days, searches for ‘Chis, ‘Chiz’, ‘Line of Duty Chis’, ‘Chis meaning’ have soared.
New characters and others who have resurfaced from previous series were also a source of interest in searches such as ‘Terry Line of Duty’ — relating to the character Terry Boyle, who has Down’s Syndrome and is exploited by an organised crime group — Carl Banks, and Jackie Laverty.
A strong Scottish contingent in the drama is also said to have driven an interest among viewers there, with searches for terms associated with Line of Duty spiking in Aberdeen and Glasgow.
Another star of the show Martin Compston is Glasgow-born and plays DI Steve Arnott. The chief antagonist in the latest series, DSI Jo Davidson, also hails from Scotland and was the subject of a major cliffhanger viewers hope will be resolved in episode five, after her DNA is found to match with an unnamed male in the police database. The late Superintendent Derek Hilton and DCC Mike Dryden have also driven interest in the show in Scotland as Scottish characters.
Other research showed how the interest in true crime documentaries has more than doubled since lockdown was introduced in the UK.
Unsolved Mysteries is the UK’S favourite Netflix series related to the subject, and with Line of Duty proving to be such a hit it is clear that the UK public love a crime series.