Line of Duty boss reveals he pushes guest star characters into their ‘deepest dilemma’ as series one rerun ends
LINE of Duty 's Jed Mercurio has revealed he pushes the show's guest star characters into their 'deepest dilemma' as the series one re-run comes to an end.
The BBC drama's first season concludes tonight, and sees Lennie James' Tony Gates go on the run in a bid to save his career and his family by proving his innocence.
Tony is played by Lennie James, and the show's creator Jed paid tribute to him and the legacy he left on the show ahead of tonight's final episode.
Jed tweeted: "The dramatic ambition of #LineofDuty has been to push the guest lead character into their deepest dilemma.
"Series 1 set the template. Tony Gates must choose between his honour and his family. Watch @RealLennieJames's heartbreaking performance in tonight's finale 9.00 pm."
Jed has clearly been feeling nostalgic as the first series of his hit show - which is now preparing to return to filming season six - aired each week on TV again.
He wrote on Twitter on Sunday evening: "Series 1 was the first series I'd produced since #Bodies.
"It was great to collaborate so closely with such brilliant directors, crew and cast. It's thanks to them we were able to grow from a little cop show on BBC2."
Since Lennie played the first guest lead character in series one, the show has also had stellar performances from the likes of Thandie Newton, Daniel Mays and most recently, Stephen Graham.
Jed previously revealed a last-minute name change that had to be made during season one as he continued to tweet fun facts about the detective drama while fans have been enjoying the reruns.
Perhaps the most mind-blowing revelation so far is about Lennie James’ character Tony Gates, who was originally given a different name.
Jed tweeted: "Last night’s episode featured the first ever clandestine meeting between Steve and undercover Kate, filmed in Paradise Circus, Birmingham. Sharp-eyed viewers may have spotted that you never see their faces when they say ‘Tony Gates.'"
He added: "That’s because a couple of days into filming, we had to change the name of Lennie James’ character.
"The actors re-voiced their lines in postproduction and we had to hide their mouths delivering the original names."
Line of Duty series one concludes tonight at 9pm on BBC One.