Line of Duty gains impressive new accolade
Mother of god!
Last updated 19th May 2022
Ultimate TV crime drama Line of Duty has officially been announced as BBC iPlayer’s biggest show of 2021 and we’re not surprised!
The BBC has officially revealed their streaming figures for 2021, and Line of Duty has surpassed all their competition as the most-watched boxset and the most-watched single episode of this year.
Since the sixth series of Line of Duty kicked off in March, its premiere episode has been seen 9.2 million times on the iPlayer and the series as a whole has been streamed an incredible 137 million times throughout the entirety of this year. The show even beat the Olympics coverage!
This isn’t the first record Jed Mercurio's hit crime drama has won, back in May the show officially became the most-watched drama of the 21st century, drawing in an audience of 15.24 million!
A pretty big deal, don’t you think?
The finale of series six, that aired earlier this year where AC-12's Superintendent Ted Hastings, DI Kate Fleming and DS Steve Arnott finally uncovered the identity of the elusive ‘H’, also became the most-watched episode of any drama since modern records began in 2002.
Addressing the show breaking records, Jed said at the time: 'We're honoured and flattered by the viewing figures for #LineofDuty6," he tweeted. "We knew attempting to explore the real nature of corruption in our society wouldn't appeal to everyone, but we do sincerely thank you all for watching.
'It's been our privilege to share your Sunday nights.'
Line of Duty acronyms explained:
OCG - Organised Crime Group: Serious crime planned, coordinated and conducted by people working together on a continuing basis, mostly acting in different roles depending on their skills and expertise.
PACE - Police and Criminal Evidence Act: Established in 1984, a code of practice that regulates police powers and protects public rights.
REG 15 - Regulation 15 notice: A notice that advises an officer that a complaint has been made or a conduct matter has come to light that warrants investigation by professional standards department.
RIPA - Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000: An act of Parliament of the United Kingdom, which regulates the powers of the public bodies to carry out surveillance and investigation, and covers the interception of communications.
RTC - Road Traffic Collision
ANPR - Automatic Number Plate Recognition: Technology is used to detect, deter and disrupt criminality at a local, force, regional and national level.
AC-12 - Anti-Corruption Unit 12: A dedicated unit that holds responsibility for investigating corruption within the police force.
CHIS - Covert Human Intelligence Source: A person who establishes or maintains a personal or other relationship with another person for the covert purpose.
AFO - Authorised Firearms Officer: A police office, who has been selected, trained, accredited and authorised by their chief officer to carry a firearm operationally.
ARVs - Armed Response Vehicles: ARVs are crewed by Authorised Firearms Officers to respond to incidents believed to involve firearms or other high-risk situations.
DIR - Digital Interview Recording: Digital device used to record police interviews.
IOPC - Independent Office for Police Conduct: A non-departmental public body in England and Wales which, since 8 January 2018, is responsible for overseeing the system for handling complaints made against forces in England and Wales.
FI - Forensic Investigator: The FI gathers and preserves physical evidence at a crime scene to take to a lab where they examine what they or other law enforcement personal have found.
I.P. Address - Internet Protocol Address: A numerical label assigned to each device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication.
SFC - Strategic Firearms Commander: The SFC has overall strategic command of firearms operations, with responsibility and accountability for directions given.
UCO - Undercover Operative: A method use by law enforcement and intelligence agencies. They wear civilian clothes that fit in to avoid detection.
TFC - Tactical Firearms Officer: A TFC provides guidance on the appropriate use in respect of different tactical options involving the deployment of AFOs.
VPN - Virtual Private Network: The extension of a private network that includes links across shared or public networks, such as the Internet.
You can watch all six series of Line of Duty on the BBC iPlayer now.
Now read:
Line of Duty: What do all the technical acronyms really mean?
Line of Duty series 7: Everything we know so far