How does Line of Duty series 5 end? Jed Mercurio’s shock twist has divided fans

LINE of Duty definitely left fans puzzled after revealing that 'H' never existed.

A misunderstanding between Kate and ‘Dot’ Cottan led to endless theories, with viewers trying their best to work out the mystery. But what has Jed Mercurio said about the finale and how have fans reacted to the revelation?

What happened in the finale?

In dramatic moments of the episode, viewers had learned that Gill (Polly Walker) had been the one to frame anti-corruption unit AC-12’s boss, Supt. Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar), who spent most of the episode frantically trying to clear his name.

It emerges that Gill Biggeloe had, in fact, picked John Corbett to go undercover. She had also told him that Ted was the policeman working closely with his mum before she was killed – knowing that Corbett would quite literally do anything to bring Ted down.

John – who was seen getting his throat slit earlier in the season – believed Ted was ‘H’ because of Gill’s information but he had died in vain after spending his time looking for the wrong person.

Fans were clearly stunned by what they were seeing, having taken to social media to comment on it.

An unshaven Ted was seen mostly in prison clothing being grilled by his nemesis, DCS Patricia Carmichael, who is played by Anna Maxwell Martin.

It’s only near the end of the episode that DS Steve Arnott (Martin Compston) and DC Kate Flemming (Vicky McClure) manage to find the truth to the case and discover that they have been searching for more than one person all along.

Dot Cottan, with his dying proclamation, had hinted that there were four people already involved; his gesture to signify the four dots (H) was ultimately mistaken to be the beginning letter of a person.

As fans begin to uncover the truth about Gill, she attempts to contact the OCG on her phone but no one makes the attempt to help her and she's arrested.

What has Jed Mercurio said about the finale?

When questioned about Kate Fleming failing to understand what Dot had tried to tell her in his last moments, Jed revealed: "He's trying to say something and when she reaches the letter 'H', he blinks. Because he wants the letter 'H' to be in their minds.”

Another question came at the end of the series finale when Ted approaches Corbett with a package.

Inside, there’s £50k that had never been found by the police, also known as half of the £100k Mark Moffatt gave Ted in the attempt to frame him.

It’s explained by Jed that Ted “used multiple hiding places” to hide the money. And while Ted had tried to return it, he also knew he wasn’t being all that smart leaving money in a hotel room.

"So we didn't see where he put the other £50k, but he must've put it somewhere else – another hiding place – and that money was then something he could use for his personal gain, but he chose to use it as a form of atonement."

Jed also explained the scene in episode one of the fifth series, where Lisa is seen ignoring a call.

The camera then cuts to Ted hanging up his own mobile device, giving the impression that he was trying to get in contact with her, but Jed says it was a "misdirection".

"Ted was actually calling his wife – we had the shots of who he was calling on the phone, and then we chose not to use them in the final cut.”

And given the suspicious things Ted Hastings has committed throughout the series, how much of his story can fans actually believe? Even if he's not 'H'.

When asked about Ted potentially being the fourth ‘dot’, Mercurio says that nothing can be ruled out at this given point.

But how can Ted’s behavior such as when he misspelled the word “definately” be explained?

He argues that he had studied messages between the mysterious employer and the OCG, and basically mimicked the spelling on purpose.

It’s a “plausible” defence, Mercurio argues.

"Because we haven't witnessed that, it's something where we're relying on the audience to make up their own mind on."

How fans have reacted to the revelation of H

One fan questioned whether the explanation of the morse code was genuine or not, particularly since Dot was dying and wouldn't necessarily have been able to come up with such a plan that fast.

"The Morse code thing reminds me of Brody in . But would Dot have really managed to come up with that in his dying seconds?" the Twitter user shared on the platform.

Another fan questions Jed's words, stressing that there would have been no way that the show's creator himself would have known who 'H' was when Dot died - unless 'H' has changed.

"The (possibly unfair) disappointment for me is that Mercurio clearly hadn’t decided who H was when Dot was dying. Or if he had, he’s changed it. Cos there’s no way he was thinking about the Morse code when he wrote that scene."

Many viewers questioned why Dot wouldn't have just held four fingers up to signify that he was referring to multiple people as opposed to using the letter 'H'.

"Still trying to figure out why Dot Cottan decided to tap out the letter H in Morse code rather than hold up four fingers. Seems like an unnecessary, and frankly convoluted, effort for a dying man."

When does season six start?

Line of Duty was renewed for a sixth series in 2017.

And while the show's fifth series has officially come to an end, there's no word on an actual release date for season six just yet.

According to reports, Jed is balancing writing sessions for this show along with his new BBC hit Bodyguard, which has done tremendously well for the network.

On top of that, the release of Line of Duty's fifth series took two years, so it's too early to tell whether it will be back next year at this given moment.