9m reporting for Duty! TV police hit is most watched show of year

A TOTAL of 9.1million viewers tuned into the finale of Line of Duty on Sunday night – making it the most-watched TV show of the year so far.

It was the biggest ratings for a Line of Duty series and the highest for a drama since 10.4million watched the finale of Bodyguard last September.

The previous series of the police corrupton drama had an average audience of 5.9million with 7.5million seeing the final episode.

Critics hailed Sunday’s 90-minute show but some viewers branded it an ‘anti-climax’ as it was revealed that mysterious criminal mastermind H was actually code for four people. A sixth series of the show, which stars Adrian Dunbar and Vicky McClure, has already been commissioned. It is written by Jed Mercurio who also created Bodyguard.

Meanwhile, star Stephen Graham revealed his performance as undercover anti-corruption officer John Corbett was shaped by a brawl in which he was almost run over by a car.

The 45-year-old actor’s father was struck with a knuckle duster and his wife, actress Hannah Walters, was left with scars across her leg following the fight in Liverpool.

He said: ‘I’ve been in situations where things have been very dangerous. When I was younger, me and my missus and my dad were attacked outside a pub in Liverpool. So, I can draw upon that.’

Graham’s character Corbett was killed when he had his throat slit in the fourth episode of the latest series of Line of Duty.