vicky mcclure, adrian dunbar & martin compston
as Line of Duty returns to our screens, stars of the BBC thriller reveal how it Feels to Be part of a tv phenomenon
If you’ve never watched Line Of Duty it’s time to rethink that decision. The BBC One crime thriller brings a whole new meaning to appointment viewing, as it combines razor-sharp dialogue – including those famous interview scenes – with heart-in-your-mouth action.
The series follows police anti-corruption unit AC-12 as it roots out the force’s bad apples and attempts to get to the bottom of a complicated crime conspiracy.
And there’s plenty to come in the much-anticipated sixth series. Long-running cast members Vicky Mcclure, Adrian Dunbar and Martin Compston reprise their roles as DI Kate Fleming, Superintendent Ted Hastings and DS Steve Arnott. They’re joined by new recruits – AC-12’S latest addition DC Chloe Bishop, played by Shalom Brune-franklin, and guest lead Kelly Macdonald, who plays enigmatic cop DI Joanne Davidson.
We caught up with the stars of the show to talk about why this series could be the strongest yet, and how it feels to have struck TV gold…
Welcome back. Do you get excited when the scripts come through? Adrian: We’re always reading to see if Jed [Mercurio, the show’s writer] has kept the standard up. Of course, as each series has progressed he’s managed to up the ante – provide something that’s more exciting than the last. We all get the scripts and Vicky reads them first. Then she calls us up to tell us things that are lies about the characters. She gets a really kind of evil satisfaction out of it. Martin: That’s absolutely right. She did it when we got the link for episode one. Vicky watched it first, before everybody, and then put on our Whatsapp, “Oh my God, have you seen it?” You go, “No, why?” And she doesn’t answer, she leaves you hanging... Vicky: I was making my tea. Genuinely!
Were you excited to hear about Kelly joining the cast?
Martin: A huge part of the success of the show has been the magnificent guest leads we’ve had. On a personal note, it’s probably the most excited I’ve been, having the great Kelly Macdonald. She’s a bit of a Scottish icon.
What does this series have in store? Martin: For us, series three was probably our favourite because it felt like a culmination of the first three series. It feels like we’re back to that point where four or five have been building to this sixth. There’s a lot going on. But it’s really exciting. The show goes back to what made it great in the first place – a lot of the drama takes place in back alleys, and double-crosses and big interview scenes. There are also a couple of big set pieces, which were great to do, but I really feel we’re back to the essence of what made the show great.
Do people constantly ask you for spoilers? Vicky: I don’t think they do, to be fair.
I was watching episode one yesterday and Jonny [Owens, Vicky’s fiancé] walked into the room and asked me something. I said, “Do you want to know?” and he said, “No, actually.” People quite enjoy the fact that not only do we not drop all the episodes at once, which gives them the chance to build up the suspense, but that they can work it out for themselves and have all these theories.
‘we’re back to the essence of what made the show great’
What has the fan reaction been like?
Adrian: The craziest reaction that’s happened to me was one day when I was down at
the Lido on Hampstead Heath with a mate of mine. There was a young couple with a baby coming up the path, and it turned out they’d just binge-watched Line Of Duty over a weekend. This was the first time they’d been out in like five days. They came to a stop in front of me, looked up, and both went, “Whoa!”
It just really scared them.
Vicky: Before we shut down, me, Adey and Martin went to a sports bar in Belfast and it was carnage. Everybody’s just really excited and they just want to tell you that they’re fans of the show and scream Adey’s lines at us.
Which of the catchphrases seem to be most popular?
Adrian: You get a lot of “fellas” and stuff like that in the shop. It’s a nice thing. I love doing all the “mother of God” stuff, because that’s something that my dad used to do, so it’s kind of in memory of him.
Martin: It’s nice for Adey, as well. He’s from Northern Ireland and has become a little bit of an icon over there. He’s got his own mural – and the murals in Belfast are such a big thing.
Vicky shared some hilarious dancing videos of the three of you behind the scenes this year…
Adrian: Once again, this is Vicky and her evil sense of humour. She ambushes you. You’re sitting in the room and she goes, “Come here.” Then she sets something up and says, “Right, we’ve all got to dance.” The next thing you know a million people have watched it!
Vicky: We were going through a rough time as a country and I just wanted to make people smile. I knew if I got you two on a Tiktok it would do just that. Martin: We also spent days perfecting an AC-12 Christmas song, which we never got round to releasing. I thought it was pretty good in the end.
You obviously have a tight friendship. Do you keep in touch between series? Vicky: We do. We had a Zoom curry on Friday, but I was the only one with a curry, so nobody took that seriously. We’ve always been very tight.