Line Of Duty’s Penultimate Episode Attracts Highest 11 Million Viewers To Date

The episode leading to the finale of Line of Duty was the most watched installment in the show to date, with an estimated 11 million viewers tuning in on Sunday night.

The record ratings came as BBC One unveiled a trailer for next weekend’s series finale, that suggested it may be the police drama’s last ever episode.

Criminal Mastermind

“All inquiries have led to this,” the announcement said.

A lingering H in the caption hinted that the mysterious criminal mastermind known as ‘H’ would be unveiled at last.

Line of Duty was relaunched on TV screens in March with 9.6m viewers watching the first episode of the series – up from 9.07m preparing for the end of the previous series.

The Penultimate Episode

Sunday’s episode showed Kelly Macdonald’s character, Joanne Davidson, confronted with mammoth grilling that led to secrets about her background being revealed.

It accounts for 51.7% of UK TV viewers, according to one-night statistics.

It was the highest nightly audience in the drama since Doctor Who’s Christmas Day special in 2008, which was watched by 11.7 million viewers.

Macdonald did not say anything about the series when she appeared on BBC Breakfast on Monday, giving a brief “no comment” to presenter Dan Walker’s requests for details of the plot.

However he pointed out that the recording of one scene has turned into a joke when one of the actors misrepresented the “racist thugs” and said “racist slugs” instead.

Longest Series To Date

The latest series of popular crime drama has featured seven episodes, making it the longest series so far.

The second series is currently being repeated on BBC One, while all of the past five seasons can be viewed on BBC iPlayer.

The exploits of the fictional AC-12 unit have gripped audiences ever since the BBC drama first hit screens in 2012.

Lennie James, Keeley Hawes and Thandie Newton are among the names of stars who have played their most complex characters in antagonist roles.

More than nine million viewers watched to watch the final episode of the fifth series of Line Line Duty when it aired in May 2019.