Kelly Macdonald Shares Most 'Traumatising' Aspect Of Line Of Duty

"I found it quite traumatising; there was a weird sort of stress involved."
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Kelly Macdonald as DCI Joanne Davidson
via PA Features Archive/Press Association Images

Line Of Duty star Kelly Macdonald has spoken out about the success of the show’s most recent season, admitting its popularity is something she has mixed feelings about.

Having already racked up appearances in Trainspotting, Boardwalk Empire, Disney’s Brave and the feature-length Black Mirror episode Hated In The Nation, Kelly joined Line Of Duty in its sixth season, which began filming in 2020 and eventually aired the following year.

She played DCI Joanne Davidson in the latest series, sharing the screen with long-standing cast members Vicky McClure and Martin Compston.

The BBC police drama was a huge ratings hit and essentially got the whole nation talking, though in a new interview with i News, Kelly shared that she struggled with the show’s popularity.

Line Of Duty was a strange one,” she explained. “People have told me the audience figures and I can’t get my head around them; I just can’t compute them at all.” 

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Kelly Macdonald and Vicky McClure on the set of Line Of Duty
via PA Features Archive/Press Association Images

Kelly continued: “I was so used to flying vaguely under the radar and then suddenly I was famous. Everyone knew my name and everyone was talking about the show, but it was also during lockdown, so I was at home going through all of that by myself.

“I found it quite traumatising; there was a weird sort of stress involved. I think it’ll be a retrospective thing – I’ll look back one day and have an idea of what happened. But I’m not there yet.”

It’s not yet known whether Line Of Duty will be back for a seventh series, with the show’s creator Jed Mercurio allegedly “snapping” when asked about the police drama’s return in an interview last year.