Line Of Duty’s penultimate episode secures highest ratings yet

Line Of Duty secured its most-watched episode on Sunday night.

The penultimate episode of the police procedural, created by Jed Mercurio, earned an average of 11 million viewers and 51.7% of the audience share, according to the broadcaster.

The sixth series of the BBC One show, starring Vicky McClure, Adrian Dunbar, Martin Compston and Kelly Macdonald, will come to an end this weekend. A seventh series has not yet been announced.

Line Of Duty returned to screens in March with 9.6 million viewers, up on the last series’ finale, which earned 9.07 million.

Mercurio, whose credits also include Bodyguard and Bodies, said: “Thanks so much to everyone watching #LineofDuty6. The whole production team is thrilled and flattered by the amazing response.”

The new series has seen anti-corruption unit AC-12 take on a new case, but Detective Inspector Kate Fleming (McClure) is no longer on the squad and is working on a murder investigation with a different department, which has come under suspicion from AC-12.

Sunday’s episode saw Acting Detective Superintendent Joanne Davidson (Macdonald), boss of the suspected department, unmasked by AC-12 and secrets about her family background revealed.

The final episode on Sunday will see the search for “H” – the corrupt officer responsible for the mass conspiracy – come to an end.

A trailer released on Monday offered fans a first glimpse of the series finale.

“All these suspicious deaths were orchestrated by one officer in particular – H, the fourth man,” says Superintendent Ted Hastings.

The AC-12 team are seen in a shootout before viewers are told: “Every investigation has led to this.”