Line of Duty

ITV commissions new thriller starring Vicky McClure

Set in contemporary London, the six-part series portrays the death-defying and life-saving work of the Metropolitan Police Bomb Disposal Squad, also known as “Expo”.

A summer terrorist campaign wreaks havoc on the capital, and it’s up to Expo to defuse a series of improvised explosive devices.

Vicky McClure (Line of Duty) plays the experienced but reckless operative Lana Washington. As Lana begins to suspect her unit is the bomber’s true target, she sets out on a desperate search for proof and the bomber’s identity.

Filming begins on Line of Duty series six

Series six of the police procedural will rejoin AC-12 a year and a half on from the closure of Operation Pear Tree, following the Unit in their investigation of Detective Chief Inspector Joanne Davidson (Kelly Macdonald), who is working on an unsolved murder case.

“DCI Joanne Davidson will prove the most enigmatic adversary AC-12 have ever faced,” said writer and showrunner Jed Mercurio.

Winners of the RTS Midlands awards announced

Vicky McClure awarded Best Female Actor at the RTS Midlands Awards 2019

Coventry’s Guz Khan took home the Best Male Actor award for his performance in Tiger Aspect’s BBC Three comedy series Man Like Mobeen and the Best Writer prize, jointly with co-writer Andy Milligan. The two prizes, presented at the late-November ceremony, brought Khan’s tally to five RTS Midlands Awards in just two years.

Kelly Macdonald to join BBC's Line Of Duty for series six

Kelly Macdonald (Credit: BBC)

Davidson is the senior investigating officer of an unsolved murder, but her unconventional methods raises suspicion at AC-12.

Macdonald is best known for her roles in Trainspotting, No Country for Old Men and has recently starred in The Victim and Giri/Haji.

Filming for series six begins next year and Macdonald will join Martin Compston, Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar, who have all been confirmed to return.

Jed Mercurio shares his writing tips at RTS Futures NI Careers Fair

Jed Mercurio at the RTS Futures Northern Ireland Careers Fair.png

More than 350 people attended a series of workshops, masterclasses and panel events run by industry professionals from across the creative sector.

BBC Studios talent manager Julie Forbes and BBC NI senior resourcing advisor Nicola McConville ran a CV masterclass. The duo offered advice on how to break into the competitive TV and film industries, and gave one-to-one “creative clinics” to hone interview skills and CVs. Their tips included: “Never send the same CV twice – get to know the companies around you.”

Top writers discuss their craft: “First drafts don’t have to be perfect, they just have to be written"

Reece Shearsmith, Jed Mercurio, Melvyn Bragg (Chair), Heidi Thomas and Steve Pemberton (Credit: Paul Hampartsoumian)

Melvyn Bragg was talking at a special live edition of The South Bank Show, featuring four of the UK’s leading TV writers – Jed Mercurio (writer and creator of hit police corruption thriller Line of Duty); Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith (black comedy anthology Inside No. 9); and Heidi Thomas (period drama Call the Midwife) – discussing their craft.

Gurinder Chadha: The relationship between Britain and India didn’t just start in the 1960s

Gurinder Chadha (Credit: Rex Features)

It’s 4pm on a Friday afternoon, a time of the week when most of us are preparing to wind down the working week. Not Gurinder Chadha, co-creator and director of ITV’s new period drama, Beecham House, otherwise known as “Downton in Delhi”.

She’s at work in a Soho edit suite, putting the finishing touches to another project, her latest movie, Blinded by the Light. The film is based on journalist and broadcaster Sarfraz Manzoor’s memoir, Greetings from Bury Park.