Line of Duty
Episode 5
TV Flash files “Episode 5” as hour 16 of 36 in the TV Flash guide — Line of Duty (2012–2021) on BBC, season 3, episode 5, aired 2016-04-21, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S03E05: listed hour 16 of 36 in the Line of Duty guide, hour 5 of 6 in season 3. It aired 2016-04-21 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Episode 4” (S03E04). Next is “Episode 6” (S03E06).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Following new evidence obtained by DC Kate Fleming, the former Head of Vice Patrick Fairbank is questioned by AC-12, but despite Kate's best she is left frustrated. Worried by Arnott's contact with Lindsay Denton, DI Dot Cottan takes matters into his own hands, with shattering consequences. Under pressure from AC-12 legal counsel Gill Biggeloe, Ted Hastings has no choice but to make a dramatic and heartbreaking decision.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Episode 5 sit in the Line of Duty guide?
S03E05 is listed hour 16 of 36 — hour 5 of 6 in season 3, season 3 episode 5.
When did Line of Duty S03E05 air?
Episode 5 aired 2016-04-21 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Do I need to watch every series in order?
AC-12's long game of institutional rot rewards order. Guest antagonists change; Hastings, Steve, and Kate are the through-line. Skipping a series drops a rung on the conspiracy ladder.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Jed Mercurio's AC-12 interview rooms are gladiatorial: bent coppers, Hastings catchphrases, institutional rot that keeps climbing. British procedural paranoia as national event, scaled all the way to finale mania. Dialogue-heavy thriller craft — the anti-corruption unit as sport, and watercooler television that never needed a car chase.
The first look is an interview-room fluorescent that does more than a car chase. Jed Mercurio's BBC anti-corruption unit AC-12 interrogates bent coppers while institutional rot climbs higher — Martin Compston's Steve Arnott, Vicky McClure's Kate Fleming, Adrian Dunbar's Ted Hastings, plus guest-copper turns from Lennie James, Thandie Newton, Stephen Graham. Long interview scenes are gladiatorial. Catchphrases entered British vernacular. Tessa's tags will gif *Mother of God* until the H speculation Olympics…
Filed against
- Martin Compston as Steve Arnott
Martin Compston sat in the interview room as Steve Arnott on Line of Duty — Jed Mercurio’s AC-12 gladiatorial hours, bent coppers, Hastings catchphrases, institutional rot that keeps climbing. British procedural paranoia as national…
- Vicky McClure as Kate Fleming
Vicky McClure’s Kate Fleming sat Line of Duty’s AC-12 interview rooms like a gladiator — Jed Mercurio’s bent-copper paranoia, Hastings catchphrases, institutional rot that keeps climbing. British procedural as national event, scaled all…
- Adrian Dunbar as Ted Hastings
Adrian Dunbar’s Ted Hastings made Line of Duty’s AC-12 interview rooms a national sport — bent coppers, catchphrases, institutional rot that keeps climbing, Jed Mercurio’s dialogue-heavy thriller as event television. Finale mania…
- Lennie James as Tony Gates
Lennie James's Tony Gates walked Line of Duty into AC-12's gladiatorial interview rooms — Jed Mercurio's bent-copper paranoia, Hastings catchphrases, institutional rot that keeps climbing, British procedural as national event. TV Flash…
- Thandie Newton as Roz Huntley
Thandie Newton interrogated Line of Duty as Roz Huntley — AC-12 interview rooms as gladiatorial sport, bent coppers, institutional rot that keeps climbing, British procedural paranoia as national event. Dialogue-heavy thriller craft. TV…
- Stephen Graham as John Corbett
Stephen Graham’s John Corbett walked Line of Duty’s AC-12 interview rooms like a gladiator — bent coppers, Hastings catchphrases, institutional rot that keeps climbing — then co-signed Adolescence’s four-episode continuous-take trap.…