The wait is very nearly over for Line Of Duty fans, as the BBC has finally confirmed an air date for the hit show’s anticipated fifth season.
In a tweet posted on the official BBC One account, it was revealed that the new series will kick off on March 31.
“The fans have already called it,” the post read. “Confirming for the record, #LineOfDuty Series 5 starts on Sunday 31st March on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.”
The announcement comes shortly after a minute-long teaser trailer gave viewers a sneak preview of what to expect from the coming season.
The critically acclaimed police drama follows anti-corruption unit AC-12, and stars Vicky McClure as DS Kate Fleming and Martin Compston as her colleague DS Steve Arnott.
Creator Jed Mercurio has previously revealed that this time around, his characters will be tasked with tackling an “organised crime group” rather than a single corrupt officer, as they finally unveil the identities of the shadowy ‘Balaclava men’ who have appeared in past seasons.
“That is the fresh ground that we break in the series,” he told Pilot TV magazine.
“That we’ve had these shadowy figures, ‘the Balaclava Men,’ who are part of an organised crime group and have featured on and off through the previous four seasons. But we’ve never really gone behind the mask and identified them as proper characters and found out about them.
“That was something that we felt was overdue.”
Actor Stephen Graham has joined the cast as balaclava man John Corbett, while Girlfriends star Rochenda Sandall will play Lisa McQueen, a pivotal figure in the crime ring.
In a recent interview with Red magazine, McClure promised that fans will be “shocked” by the new episodes.
“Oh. My. God. The audience is going to be shocked,” she told the publication, before revealing that she would love to work with the show’s team for the “entirety” of her career.
“I would love nothing more than to work with Adie [Adrian Dunbar], Martin [Compston] and Jed [Mercurio] for my entirety, but everything has a shelf life, which won’t be determined by me,” she said.
