Back to basics:
Top UK crime drama Line Of Duty comes to TVNZ 1.
British police procedural drama Line Of Duty comes to TVNZ 1 for the first time this week after screening on Sky and Netflix. The series, which attracts an average audience of 10.6 million viewers in the UK, centres on a team investigating police corruption and the search for a high-ranking corrupt officer known only as ‘H’. It stars Martin Compston, Adrian Dunbar and Vicky McClure with Kelly Macdonald joining the cast as a police officer under investigation. Jim Maloney reports.
Good news for the many fans of the fast-paced, engrossing cop drama Line Of Duty ... The latest run is longer than normal and, according to star Martin Compston, one of the best ever.
“Every year I think, ‘This is the year that Jed (writer Jed Mercurio) maybe doesn’t pull it out of the bag’, but he does every time,” says Compston.
“This sixth season is a lot closer to the first three, which were my favourites. Back then the drama was all in these big interview scenes and the back alleys and the back-stabbing and shifting loyalties. Then it got a bit broader and bigger.
“Now it feels like we’re back to the core of what made Line Of Duty really good.
“But there are still a couple of big set pieces and a great ‘bombshell’ at the end of episode four.”
The final episode of the last series revealed that there was not just one person known as ‘H’, the corrupt high-ranking member of the police force, but four. With three of them either dead or in prison, that leaves one still unmasked. And Supt Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar), who heads up the anti-corruption unit, AC-12, was seemingly in the clear. For now, at least.
In the new series, which is seven episodes instead of the usual six, AC-12’s Hastings, DI Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure) and DS Steve Arnott (Compston) are having suspicions about DCI Joanne Davidson (Kelly Macdonald), who
was the senior investigative officer working on the unsolved murder of high-profile journalist Gail Vella (Andi Osho). When new information comes to light about a possible suspect, Davidson seems keen to nail the case.
But as AC-12’s investigation uncovers deeper and darker information, will Joanne Davidson turn out to be their most enigmatic and dangerous adversary yet?
“As ever with Jed, everything is not quite as it seems,” teases Compston, 36, who lives in Las Vegas with his American actress wife, Tianna Flynn. “There are some big shocks to come and people are in for a few surprises.”
Another surprise to some people is that Compston does not talk like Londoner Arnott in real life but has a Scottish accent, hailing from Greenock in Renfrewshire.
“Doing Steve’s accent is a big help for me to get into character. A couple of weeks before we start shooting I start practising the voice. Once I have that and the suit, with the waistcoat on, I do feel myself slipping into AC-12 mode.
“I try to stay in his accent during filming. I still speak in my Scottish accent to my wife and my mum. They probably wouldn’t speak to me otherwise.
“But I try as much as possible to stay in character just because the language is so challenging.
“They’re amazing scripts but they’re so in-depth, complex and full of police jargon that you really need to keep on top of the voice work.
“I really enjoy playing Steve and that’s one of the beauties of Jed’s writing.
“It’s a grey area because although he is sort of the hero, he’s not instantly likeable.
“He thinks a lot of himself which is why he’s always in a waistcoat. He’s a bit of a smart-arse and thinks he knows better all the time.
“He’s probably the most in line with Hastings out of all the characters as he’s always after the truth. And he’ll go after anybody, regardless of rank, but maybe he rubs people up the wrong way with the way he goes about it.”
The quality of the evolving scripts, the much-loved regular characters as well as top-rank guest stars, keeps the show fresh for viewers and for Compston too.
“It was the best drama I’d ever read when I auditioned for it the first time and I am still amazed by the scripts every year. And we’ve been incredibly lucky with our guest stars – Lennie James, Danny Mays, Keeley Hawes, Thandie Newton, Jason Watkins and Stephen Graham. And this year is no different. We have the wonderful Kelly Macdonald.”
“He thinks a lot of himself which is why he’s always in a waistcoat. He’s a bit of a smart-arse and thinks he knows better all the time.” – Martin Compston on Steve Arnott