Line of Duty series five: Everything you need to know about the fifth season

As one of the biggest shows on British telly of the last decade, it's no surprise that Line of Duty is coming back for a seventh season - despite audiences being firmly told that season six would be the last!

If you're looking to familiarise yourself with the previous series of the show, look no further. Read on for a summary of season five, and then click through to read recaps of season one, season two, season three, season four and season six. Enjoy!

What happened in Line of Duty season five?

Episode 1

The opening of the series saw four police officers ambushed, with three being killed and one left critically injured. We saw a female attacker named Lisa spare the life of the one female officer and viewers spent the remainder of the episode believing Lisa must be the undercover agent.

However, the twist at the end of episode one was that Stephen Graham's character John Corbett AKA Balaclava Man is, in fact, the undercover agent who hasn’t been in touch. Viewers were left wondering if he really is a criminal or if he still is working undercover.

AC-12 - Steve Arnott, Kate Fleming and Ted Hastings - were enlisted to investigate who had leaked information about the drug transportation, and stumbled upon a highly confidential undercover operation. After being told to walk away, Arnott and Fleming decided that they needed to continue their investigation.

Elsewhere, we saw Balaclava Man and his team arrange the sale of drugs, only to then frame the rival criminals for the initial ambush.

Episode 2

After another nail-biting instalment of Line Of Duty in which genius Jed Mercurio played with our emotions, made us second-guess everything and flipped what we thought we knew on its head (again), here are five things we gleaned from the second episode...

1) Maneet Bindra wasn’t all bad

Yes, PC Maneet Bindra had engaged in illegal activity but she’s no Dot Cottan (not the old dear from ‘Enders, the bent copper from series 1-3). Maneet was just trying to help her family and ultimately, she did provide vital information that helped Steve make contact with the organised crime group (the OCG). We’re really happy Ted rescinded the red notice against her so she officially died in the line of duty.

2) Kate Fleming’s changed

In the past DS Kate Fleming has prioritised work over her life with husband Mark and son Josh and has been a bit of ‘selfish a-------’ – as labelled by John Corbett’s wife – but she’s clearly trying to nail her work-life balance, and is making another go of it with Mark.

3) Steve Arnott’s new bromance

We’re still wrapping our heads around the fact that menacing master forger John Clayton is in fact undercover agent Detective Sergeant John Corbett who has gone rogue during Operation Pear Tree (a covert operation to infiltrate the OCG), killing fellow officers and actively participating in illegal activity.

But now, to mangle our minds further, it seems that Corbett is still a force for good. Identifying DS Steve Arnott as a straight down the line officer, Corbett handcuffs him in a car (and so the bromance begin…) and explains his motives.

Apparently he wasn’t happy with Detective Superintendent Alison Powell pushing the mission in a different direction, so is doing his own thing. He enlists Steve to help him bring down the OCG and the corrupt officers linked to it and Steve agrees.

4) DS Jane Cafferty is bent

We’ve said the word ‘bent’ so many times now that it’s kinda lost its meaning, but as it goes DS Jane Cafferty is proper bent. While we thought she was the kind officer who stopped to help a trapped baby before the OCG’s heist of ED905 (let’s just call it the heroin, because that’s what it is), actually she’d been feeding the criminal gang crucial police intel to help them with their illegal activity.

Why? They are blackmailing her over an affair she was having and threatening to release CCTV footage of her car park bunk up if she didn’t help them. But once apprehended by AC-12 and shown photos of police officers thought to be ‘H’, the high-ranking official in cahoots with the OCG, WHO DOES SHE POINT TO?? As cliffhangers go, this one was particularly tantalising, not least because…

5) Everything is pointing at Ted Hastings being ‘H’

The furtive glances, the fact that when Kate and Steve were discussing Maneet’s apparent deception and "how you think you know someone", Superintendent Ted Hastings walks in and stands by the whiteboard next to a big fat ‘H’.

All the signs are pointing that Ted is the senior corrupt official, but with arch manipulator Jed capable of leading us up and down the garden path with a few laps of the lawn, this could just be a giant red herring.

For the love of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, we certainly hope so, because we LOVE Ted – love him so much we’ve Googled Super Ted t-shirts with his face on them. No, if Ted’s found to be ‘H’ then we’re starting a petition and going on a march or something. Who’s with us?

Episode 3

We discovered that the OCG is running a brothel, keeping girls there against their will, and secretly saving evidence of their clients’ visits. There was also trouble in paradise for DS John Corbett and DS Steve Arnott’s fledging bromance as Corbett was furious Steve had used the intel to raid the brothel and printing shop, rather than using it for the bigger prize of catching ‘H’.

Plus a daring raid of Eastfield depot, home to millions of pounds of seized goods, resulted in the death of a senior corrupt police officer who was dramatically shot by Corbett.

All of which leaves us with five big questions...

1) Why is John Corbett SO hell-bent on his mission?

Yes, we know he’s a member of her Majesty’s constabulary on a covert operation to infiltrate an OCG and bring major criminals to justice, but the man is obsessed with finding the high-ranking police officials who are helping them. “We go after the bent b------s no matter how high ranking or what it takes. We’re in it together,” he spits at DS Steve Arnott.

Corbett’s gone rogue on a UCO (undercover operation), is actively orchestrating criminal activity which has led to police fatalities and will face prosecution – so why is he doing it? Has he got another, more personal vendetta against ‘H’? Or could this be the ultimate double bluff and he is a corrupt copper after all?

2) What’s Lisa McQueen’s game?

The only female in the OCG, Lisa McQueen clearly has doubts about John’s ambitious plans and is suspicious of some of his actions – like clearing out the printing shop just before the police raid – but she hasn’t said anything about it.

Why? Some conspiracy theorists have suggested Lisa is an undercover officer who could be surveilling the OCG and Corbett himself. Either way, the written response from the OCG’s head honcho saying: “You know what to do” was very intriguing...

3) Who is DCS Hargreaves?

For at least five seconds when the balaclava was removed from the fatally wounded bent copper after the Eastfield raid, we thought it might be our beloved Superintendent Ted Hastings, but fortunately it wasn’t – it was DCS Hargreaves. But WHO HE?

He’s been floating around since series 2, but he’s now working for the Serious and Organised Crime Unit and was seen attending the aftermath of the ED905 raid in episode one with DS Sam Railston – Steve’s ex, who we also think could be fishy, FYI.

4) Why is Gill Biggeloe being such a cow?

Senior legal counsel Gill Biggeloe has always been the queen of snark and obviously her and Ted have got history professionally, plus Ted rebuffed her advances in series 3 – but why is she gunning for him so much? All the jibes about him being sexist, bringing up the fact that he’s a Mason, and suggesting early retirement, what’s her agenda, eh?

5) Why is Superintendent Ted Hastings acting so shifty?

We are convinced Ted isn’t ‘H’ – mainly because we don’t want him to be – but he’s still acting mighty shifty. We can put his decision to raid the brothel, instead of trying to catch ‘H’, and diverting the firearms unit to assist with the status zero, down to him being by the book and always doing the right thing.

But what’s with him hastily packing away his laptop in bubblewrap? Hasn't he heard of a laptop case? We would suggest Ted may be one of the men who’ve unwittingly had their sperm frozen and is being blackmailed by the OCG, but we know Ted’s strong moral compass wouldn't allow him to seek out the services of prostitutes, so it must be to do with his dire financial situation.

Episode 4

Holy moly, even by Line Of Duty’s exceptional standards the fourth episode was awesome, ticking all the boxes with its big revelations, super tense stand offs and the mother of all twists we did NOT see coming. With our heads still reeling from all the drama, here are the four big things we learned.

1) John Corbett’s got beef with Ted Hastings

So, we know John is hell-bent on identifying ‘H’, but his brutal attack of Ted’s wife Roisin is next level – and personal. Inflicting paramilitary punishment wounds so violent that even Steve Arnott and Kate Fleming looked shocked, Corbett insists Ted will have to explain the significance of them. Also, it’s revealed Corbett was born in Belfast and adopted, so this is clearly a case of settling some historic scores.

2) Steve Arnott thinks Ted Hastings is ‘H’

Steve might not want to believe the gaffer is as bent as a nine bob note but during the gun-toting stand-off with Corbett, when Corbett insists he removes his wire so he can confidentially disclose details of his meeting with ‘H’, he does it – against Hastings’ express instructions.

Earning a royal roasting, Steve holds off as long as possible before finally telling Hastings the OCG’s meeting place with ‘H’. And when the meeting subsequently falls through, it looks like his concerns about Super Ted could be well-founded.

3) Ted Hastings is definitely up to something dodgy

We are still clinging to the idea that Ted isn’t ‘H’ but all the signs are pointing to the fact he’s up to his eyeballs in something bad. First up, he didn’t even bat an eyelid when DCI Mark Moffat rocked up and gave him an envelope full of cash – when usually he’d be outraged and start reciting a few Hail Marys.

Then there was Kate’s observation that his ‘Fahrenheit order’ during the stand-off was irregular. And finally, there was his visit to Blackthorn prison to see Lee Banks, which we don’t actually get to see, but leads to one of the most dramatic scenes of the series so far...

4) Lisa McQueen CANNOT be trusted!

As we neared the end of the episode we knew something awful was going to happen but we never thought it would be Corbett getting it in the neck – literally. As the OCG were making their trade in ‘livestock’, Corbett made a pact with Lisa to take back control and stop it, as he couldn’t stomach it.

But what he didn’t realise was Lisa – suspecting he was the rat in the group – had double-crossed him and pre-arranged his assassination. WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL? Is Lisa an undercover officer or is she just a heartless cow? Only time will tell...

Episode 5

The OCG dumped John Corbett's body - along with the body of Jackie Laverty, who they'd murdered back in series one, being discovered at a scrapyard by police officers who later called Arnott and Fleming as part of Operation Peartree.

The pair also made a discovery about Hastings' surreptitious visit to former OCG member Lee Banks. Although their conversation wasn't shown on-screen, he later claimed the visit was to glean information about current OCG members.

After Hastings' questionable actions raised suspicions among his own team, Fleming took her concerns to a senior group. This led DCS Patricia Carmichael to open an investigation into him - and to his arrest for conspiracy to murder John Corbett.

Episode 6

It all came to a head in the season finale - with Hastings getting a proper grilling from DCS Carmichael about his suspicious actions over the last couple of episodes. However, Arnott and Fleming discover a recording that proves Senior Legal Counsel Gill Biggeloe was corrupt.

The recording proved that she'd recruited John Corbett and lied to him that Ted Hastings was culpable for his mum's murder - ultimately organising the whole operation to frame Ted as "H". Attacked by another corrupt officer who was shot by Arnott, Gill was ultimately arrested for her actions.

Ted was cleared for the conspiracy to murder Corbett - albeit getting slapped with a Final Written Warning for his dodgy dealings - but manages to keep his job as head of AC-12. In the final minutes of the episode, the audience were shown Ryan Pilkington (who killed John Corbett) enrolling at the police academy.

The BBC's official synopsis reads: 'When three police officers are shot dead during the hijack of a seized drugs transport, AC-12 move in to investigate possible police collusion. Stephen Graham joins the series as John Corbett, the ruthless leader of an Organised Crime Group (OCG), who hijack a seized drugs transport.

'AC-12 investigators Superintendent Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar), Detective Inspector Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure) and Detective Sergeant Steve Arnott (Martin Compston) suspect corrupt police officers of leaking information. As the body count rises, AC-12 realise they’re facing their most vicious adversary yet.'

When did it air?

The fifth season of Line of Duty aired between March and May in 2019. The first episode came out on 31st March and the final episode of the series aired on 5th May 2019.

Who was in the cast of series 5?

We saw Martin Compston, Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar return as DS Steve Arnott, DI Kate Fleming and Superintendent Ted Hastings respectively, with new faces Anna Maxwell Martin playing DCS Patricia Carmichael and Stephen Graham as DS John Corbett, also known as John Clayton.

What channel was it on?

As with the previous series, Line of Duty series five aired on BBC One.

How many viewers?

According to Digital Spy, the first episode of the series saw a whopping 8 million people tune in, which is 2.8 million more than the first episode of the fourth series.

How many episodes are in the fifth season?

There are six episodes in the fifth series. However, there was another episode, jokingly billed as a "deleted scene" produced in 2020 for Sport Relief, which saw Martin Compston, Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar return along with actor Jason Isaacs and comedian Lee Mack.

How can I watch it?

It's on BBC iPlayer and also available to watch on Netflix for subscribers of the streaming platform.

Who wrote the TV show?

Line of Duty was written by Jed Mercurio, the mastermind behind many of TV's most captivating dramas. Jed, a former doctor, has worked on the likes of Bodyguard, Bloodlands and Trigger Point among many others.

Where was it filmed?

The series was filmed in various locations in and around Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Check out the Line of Duty filming locations below:

Read more:

Line of Duty: Everything that happened in series one

Line of Duty: Everything that happened in series two

Line of Duty: Everything that happened in series three

Line of Duty: Everything that happened in series four

Line of Duty: Everything that happened in series six

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