Is bent ‘H’ finally in AC-12’S line of fire?
AFTER keeping TV viewers guessing for six series, will we finally discover who H is tonight?
In this dramatic scene from tonight’s Line Of Duty finale, DI Kate Fleming and DI Steve Arnott clearly have someone in their sights but is it Him...or Her?
And whose leather-clad hands can we see on top of their head behind the car?
Whether the millions who tune in will get all the answers they crave, a former detective believes the hit drama is “enhancing the reputation” of police, just as The Sweeney did in the 1970s.
Peter Bleksley, who also presented Channel 4’s hit Manhunt show, thinks Line Of Duty may be driving police recruitment.
Despite criticism from some senior officers that it presents an “unrealistic” image of police work, Bleksley insisted “the show is a drama not a documentary”.
He said: “In many regards, the police come out of it very well. What you have is hugely popular characters who are police officers. I would think police the length and breadth of the country are grateful for that. There are far more positives coming out of it for the police than negatives.”
Bleksley, a former undercover Met detective, said: “When you have an organisation with 100,000 officers, and thousands of support staff, there will be corrupt activity from what is now, gratefully, a tiny minority.
“Since I’ve left the force, many officers deserve credit for rooting out corruption, racism, the fitting up of people – things that were almost compulsory back in the day when I joined in the late-70s.
People have worked tirelessly to make sure there is no room for the racist and the rampantly corrupt. The opportunities for corruption are shrinking rapidly.”
Even so, he admitted some officers would be “shouting at the telly in their living rooms” over some “fanciful” details in Line Of Duty, now on its sixth series.
Arfon Jones, North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner, described the show “totally unrealistic” saying “a police and crime commissioner wouldn’t be getting involved in the operational side of policing as that police and crime commissioner does”.
Bleksley said: “I think Mr Jones has lost his way. He clearly needs to be reminded that it’s a drama and not a documentary.
“If a police and crime commissioner can’t distinguish one from the other, we’re in deep trouble.”
Bleksley said the show, which attracted 11 million viewers last week, could be helping recruitment. He added: “I get contacted regularly by people who want to join the force, and that’s hugely gratifying because, while it’s an incredibly challenging job, and they now get paid less and have to work longer for their pension, it’s still a job where you can make a difference every day. I would recommend it in a heartbeat.”
Bleksley is currently campaigning, through the charity group SAMM (Support After Murder & Manslaughter), for a victims’ law.
He explained: “We have such a skewed criminal justice system that when a suspect is arrested there’s a raft of parliamentary legislation that dictates how they should be treated.
“I’m not criticising that but there is no such law protecting a victim’s rights. We desperately need one.”
Meanwhile, speculation has increased that series seven of Line Of Duty is in the planning. However a BBC source said: “No news yet on a series seven”.
● Line Of Duty, tonight, BBC One at 9pm.