Line of Duty: Here's how filming has changed because of COVID
Series 6 was delayed due to Covid-19
Last updated 19th May 2022
Just like many popular TV shows, including the likes of The Apprentice, Peaky Blinders, Love Island and the soaps, hit BBC drama Line of Duty had production for series six suspended last year, due to the Coronavirus pandemic which swept the world.
Thankfully, filming for the hugely-anticipated new series was able to resume in 2020, and series 6 of the show is currently airing on the BBC. But many fans are curious as to whether show bosses had to make any huge changes to production to accommodate for social distancing - here's everything we know...
Vicky McClure (AKA DI Kate Fleming), March 2021
Vicky spoke at a press event in March 2021, commenting that she didn't think too much had been changed in the script, "I actually don’t think Jed changed anything massively in terms of action and stunts that was originally in the scripts, because there was a possibility that he was going to have to change certain things.
"The biggest changes for us was studio set. Say, like, the AC-12 interview room – that’s like a no-no for COVID-19 because it’s an enclosed space and this glass box, and we shoot it in the BT Tower in Belfast.
"We built that into a studio so there was no roof and it was ventilated and it’s much safer to do 20-minute, half an hour scenes in that environment. So things like that changed, but we were set into these cohorts and there was so much safety put in place that we were able to do the scenes."
Adrian Dunbar (Superintendent Ted Hastings), February 2021
Adrian appeared on The One Show in February 2021, confessing that he'd found filming the scenes "difficult" as they'd been filmed out of order, "Like everybody else, we went into lockdown in March when episode one and a bit of episode two had been filmed, and then we came back and we shot it all out of sequence. It was difficult.
"But it was hard to get our heads around, you know, the storylines are complicated and when you’re shooting a scene out of sequence. It’s easy shooting two blocks, so you can keep all that complicated stuff in your head. I’m actually dying to see it with everybody else because you know sometimes it gets a bit confusing but it will all be fixed in the edit as they say."
Jed Mercurio (writer and creator), November 2020
Jed admitted in an interview with Lorraine that it had been "tough" filming the show with restrictions in place, "Firstly I’ve got to pay tribute to our brilliant cast and crew. We’ve been diligently and rigorously wearing masks the whole time, social distancing, sanitising any objects that pass between people, fogging spaces that we go into as well as having to take other steps such as changing scenes from interior locations to exterior locations.
"Some of our on-location shoots have been moved into the studio so that we were able to ventilate the spaces… so there has been a lot that we’ve had to do. We hope that these changes will be invisible to fans when they watch the series."
Martin Compston (AKA DS Steve Arnott), August 2020
When Martin Compston, who plays DS Steve Arnott, appeared on The One Show last August, our ears pricked up. Sporting a lockdown hairstyle and beard, Martin told presenters Alex Jones and Chris Ramsey that he expects a lot of changes when the crew return to filming.
He said, "I'm kinda torn because, as you can see, I'm in dire need of a haircut but I've also got a few lockdown pounds I need to lose before we get back.
"It's one of those ones where we've got a definite date that we're working towards, but there's no point announcing it because the situation is so fluid and it can change daily. Hopefully, we can get it done before Christmas."
Confessing how different he thinks the filming procedure will be in this new world we live in, Martin added, "I think there will be changes. There's going to be massive changes off-camera, just in terms of the protocols and social distancing, how many people can be on set… just people off-camera wearing masks and what not. So, it's going to be a completely different feel.
"In terms of changes on-screen, if there are changes that are possible in terms of moving scenes which were indoors to outdoors where possible. But, we really wouldn't want to compromise the scripts. The scripts are so good. People are so loyal to the show.
"There would be no way, no point, in coming back if we were going to compromise quality."
Check out all of the Line of Duty acronyms below:
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.
Line of Duty series 6 airs on BBC One every Sunday at 9pm.
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