Line of Duty becomes biggest TV show of 2019 so far as 7.8 million viewers tune in

The gripping first episode of series five was a major ratings hit 
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Line of Duty has become the biggest TV show of 2019 so far, with more than 7 million people tuning in.

Jed Mercurio’s police drama returned to the small screen on Sunday night for its fifth season, and received the highest ratings of any episode in the show’s history to date, according to the BBC’s overnight figures.

An average of 7.8 million viewers tuned in for the gripping opener, with a peak of 8 million, giving the show a 39 percent audience share.

The impressive stats mean that the show is now the highest rated programme across all UK TV channels for 2019 to date.

Unmasked: Stephen Graham joined the cast as Balaclava Man (BBC/World Productions)
BBC

The first episode of the last series, which aired in 2017, was watched by an average of 5.4 million, while the finale was watched by 7.5 million.

Line of Duty has also proved to be a major hit with younger viewers, with the BBC stating that only FA Cup coverage from January 25 has been more popular with the 16-34 demographic.

The show’s ratings success comes after Mercurio’s thriller Bodyguard proved a major hit with viewers in 2018, with 14.3 million tuning in for its gripping finale.

Stephen Graham and Rochenda Sandall joined the series’ cast for season five, with the former playing the now-unmasked criminal Balaclava Man, who is a target of AC-12’s investigation.

Adrian Dunbar, Vicky McClure and Martin Compston returned as Hastings, FC Fleming and DS Arnott respectively, while fans were surprised to see Maya Sondhi briefly return as PC Maneet Bindra.

Compston previously teased that series five will be the “scariest yet,” as the AC-12 team find themselves taking on their most dangerous enemies to date.

“Usually AC-12’s remit is going after bent cops, so we got to a stage where we were chasing this mythical character, H, so we changed tack,” he said.

“Before we’ve been dealing with bent cops, with some forced into crime – but this, they’re just murderers.”

Line of Duty continues on BBC One at 9pm on April 7.

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