This week on TV
Which mysteries will finally be solved as LINE OF DUTY concludes?
Line of Duty’s explosive finale, plus Samson Kayo and Jane Horrocks in paramedics comedy
Bloods, Johnny Vegas trying glamping, and a terrifying villain in Batwoman
LAST ONE DRAMA
Line of Duty
Sunday, BBC1 HD, 9pm
THE SIXTH RUN of BBC1 thriller Line of Duty has certainly kept viewers guessing. Curveballs galore have been thrown our way, from jaw-dropping murders to shocking blasts from the past.
As the series draws to an epic close this week, the forced retirement of Superintendent Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar) looms closer, while DI Steve Arnott (Martin Compston) faces possible suspension if he continues to evade a medical review to hide his painkiller addiction.
Meanwhile, can they and DI Kate Fleming
(Vicky Mcclure) finally crack the
Operation Lighthouse investigation into the murder of journalist Gail Vella and unmask the elusive ‘H’ or ‘Fourth Man’, the corrupt police figure linked to organised crime?
With myriad knotty threads still to be unravelled, here are seven burning questions that need to be answered in the final episode… WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MURDER OF GAIL VELLA? Carl Banks, part of the organised crime group (OCG), appears to have killed journalist Gail and has now been murdered himself. But who ordered Gail’s assassination? She was investigating corruption in the police concerning historical cases, some of which involved ex-detective Marcus Thurwell (James Nesbitt), who has now apparently
been murdered, dodgy cop Ian Buckells (Nigel Boyle), and seemingly shifty Chief Constable Philip Osborne (Owen Teale). Did one of them request the hit? ‘The Vella case is something the police force is struggling to solve,’ says the show’s writer Jed Mercurio. ‘There’s been no closure.’
WHO DID JOANNE THINK WAS HER
FATHER? Now on remand for the misdeeds she was forced to carry out, troubled cop Joanne Davidson (Kelly Macdonald) has discovered that her uncle, murdered crime boss Tommy Hunter (Brian Mccardie), was also her father as he had raped her mother Samantha, his sister. But who was the ‘bent police officer’ she believed to be her real father? Is he Thurwell, Osborne, or even Hastings? WHAT IS CARMICHAEL UP TO? DCS Patricia Carmichael (Anna Maxwell Martin) has taken control of AC-12 and shut down their inquiries, particularly those linked to Osborne or the search for ‘H’. Are Pat’s actions down to her jobsworth desire to stick to budget cuts? Or is she protecting a corrupt colleague, or even herself?
IS CHLOE THE DAUGHTER OF TONY
GATES? Efficient DC Chloe Bishop (Shalom Brune-franklin) has unearthed vital evidence for AC-12. But in series one, dishonest cop Tony Gates (Lennie James) had two daughters, one of whom was called Chloe... Is Chloe working with AC-12 to atone for her late dad’s shady past, or is she continuing his legacy and leaking information to the OCG?
WHO KILLED RYAN? Murderous rookie cop Ryan Pilkington (Gregory Piper) was shot dead,
‘The police force is struggling to solve the Vella case. There’s been no closure’
JED MERCURIO
but we didn’t see who pulled the trigger. Joanne deliberately added her fingerprints to Kate’s gun and confessed. But was she making an act of self-sacrifice to spare a guilty Kate? Or did someone else carry out the shooting and scare Kate and Jo into keeping quiet?
IS KATE
CORRUPT? An ‘H’ was seen beside Kate on the graffiti in the subway where she meets her AC-12 colleagues. Is this a telling clue? Did the seemingly upstanding cop leave AC-12 and join Operation Lighthouse in order to control the murder investigation for the OCG? CAN HASTINGS BE RULED OUT AS H? Although suspicions that Hastings was ‘H’ seemed to have been assuaged last series, his behaviour has still been giving cause for concern. Steve was shocked to discover that Hastings gave money to widow Steph Corbett (Amy De Bhrún) – who has an ‘H’ on her kitchen tiles! But was this to ease his guilt over the role he might have played in her husband John’s brutal murder, or to buy her silence? And was there an ulterior motive for him blocking corrupt PC Ryan Pilkington’s arrest? ‘We’re looking forward to how it plays out,’ smiles Dunbar. ‘All will be revealed in the fullness of time.’