Get ready everyone, because Line Of Duty is about to dominate the national conversation again (Brexit who?) when it returns to BBC One later this month.
Ahead of its on-screen debut, the BBC held a special media launch earlier this week, where members of the press – including HuffPost UK – were invited to get in on all the excitement a little early.
As well as getting an exclusive look at the first episode, the show’s cast, Adrian Dunbar (Superintendent Ted Hastings), Martin Compston (DS Steve Arnott), Vicky McClure (DS Kate Flemming) and Rochenda Sandall (Lisa McQueen) sat down with writer Jed Mercurio to answer everyone’s burning questions about the show.
While we can’t tell you everything they said (spoilers!), here’s the eight things we can – including what the future might hold for the show in the years to come...
The cast are very involved in the scripts and where the story is going
“They are really helpful in terms of helping remember things and we talk a lot,” Jed says of his actors. “We’re always talking about the scripts and story construction, so I get a lot of help.
“We actually kick around a lot of ideas together. Sometimes we start thinking about a loose end from a previous series and if we can do anything with it. Sometimes what happens is that we’re in the middle of a current episode and we see a opportunity to refer back to something.”
The actors don’t receive all their scripts in one go – so there’s always one thing to check when a new one comes through
“The first thing you to is to check you’re not dead,” Adrian laughs, with Vicky agreeing not even she always feels safe in a show that is constantly killing off high-profile characters.
“Yeah we all panic,” she admits.
Revealing how the process of shooting the show works, Adrian continues: “We get a part of the story and you shoot the first block of three episodes, which is great because you don’t make decisions based on an arc of where the story is going. It keeps it very alive when we’re filming it.”
Vicky adds: “I’d be lying if I said in certain scripts I don’t read my own part first, but with Line Of Duty, you want to look at what everyone is doing because we’ve been doing this eight years and everyone is invested in each other and the characters.
“You don’t want to fast forward and enjoy the suspense as viewers do.”
We totally get you, Vicky.
Vicky has heard a wild theory of who ‘H’ could be
With the hunt on to find the shadowy figure who is heading up the organised crime group from inside the police force, speculation continues among fans as to who it can be.
While many haven’t yet turned their suspicions to Flemming, Vicky reveals: “Someone has suggested Kate ‘Helen’ Flemming,” she says, pointing out the famous author, Helen Fleming. “Just throwing in a middle name without me even knowing anything!”
“I’m just keeping my mouth shut,” she adds, clearly knowing the outcome of the story arc.
Although when Jed is asked if the ‘H’ plot will spill over into the already-commissioned sixth series, he says with a wry smile: “You’ll have to watch. I think you’re going to have to endure this series.”
The cast don’t have chance to escape each other while shooting in Belfast – even if they wanted to
That’s because they actually live next door to one another in the same block of flats during filming.
Martin says: “We have some sort of space, but Vicky makes sure she organises mine and Adrian’s lives.”
Adrian continues: “We have three flats, my flat is where they come to eat and I cook, Vicky’s flat is where we go to learn lines, and Martin’s flat is the party flat.”
“I like to run a tight ship,” Vicky adds.
Newcomer Rochenda Sandall celebrated joining the series with Ikea meatballs
The actor reveals she was en route to Ikea to buy some wardrobes when she landed the part of Lisa McQueen.
“Totally lost it in the car, then I went all round and bought loads of unnecessary candles and batteries, a stuffed elephant for my nephew and then I went and had some Swedish meatballs and a bottle of wine!” she says.
“And I got some more expensive wardrobes!”
Jed is “really proud” of the diversity they’ve achieved on the show
“We’re always looking for ways to keep it as near to a 50/50 gender balance, because it’s a precinct drama and I like to reflect modern workplaces,” Jed says. “Having come from a background where women are doing exactly the same jobs as men, that’s very important to have as a message in TV.”
He continued: “What we do is see a diverse range of actors for every role. So in the part of Lisa McQueen, we saw actors of all kinds of ethnicities and picked the best person for the job.
“There is so much diverse talent out there, it’s really important that they go up for roles that aren’t compartmentalised.
“I’m really proud of what we’ve achieved over the years,” he adds.
Vicky will be reunited with Stephen Graham on this series – but don’t expect to see much of them together
Vicky’s former This Is England co-star Stephen is joining Line Of Duty as organised crime boss John Corbett, and she is delighted to be working alongside him again – even if it did mean having to raise her game.
“I’ve worked with him a lot and he’s one of my best mates, so the minute I heard about him coming on this, I was like, ’oh god, we’re all going to have to pull our socks up again,” she says.
“He’s a powerhouse – he’s something else and you see that the minute he steps on screen.
“There’s not a lot with me and Steve, but that’s fine, I’ve done my bit with him,” she adds.
Jed “doesn’t know” how long the show can go on for
We know we’ve got two full series of Line Of Duty still ahead of us under the current BBC deal, but who knows what the future holds beyond the sixth series.
Jed is coy when pressed if it could run and run, saying: “We all love making the show but I think a lot depends on how people respond to it. It’s great when people get very excited about it and get to the end of the series and are talking about what they want to know and what they want to see next.
“But I think we recognise that it’s got a lifespan and we’ve got to calibrate against what the audience response is.”
On how he could possibly end a show like Line Of Duty, he adds cryptically: “I have some thoughts…”
Line Of Duty returns on Sunday 31 March at 9pm on BBC One.