Just like that, another series of Line Of Duty is over – but if you thought you were going to get all the answers to the questions you had, turns out you were wrong.
Sunday night’s blockbuster finale may have revealed that bent copper ‘H’ doesn’t actually exist and that legal counsel Gill Biggeloe was framing AC-12 boss Ted Hastings (more on that here), but it posed just as many questions as it served up answers.
With a sixth series already commissioned by the BBC, writer Jed Mercurio is obviously teeing things up for the hit show’s next run, so here’s a closer look at those loose ends that were left hanging...
Was Hastings hiding cash?
While AC-3 discovered the £50,000 in Hastings’ hotel room (with it subsequently revealed Biggeloe had used the cash from the OCG’s stash to help frame him), it was later claimed this was only half the amount Mark Moffatt had given him.
Hastings was later seen visiting Corbett’s wife at his graveside ready to hand her a big brown envelope, suggesting he had been holding on to some cash. Does this imply he might be bent after all?
Who were the OCG talking to online?
With H revealed as not actually being a name, the OCG can’t have been talking to him online – so who exactly was at the other end of the chat service? Could it have still been Hastings? Was it this fourth corrupt member of police staff? Or was it someone else entirely?
What was on Hastings’ computer?
Hastings explained he had his laptop destroyed as he had been looking at pornography (“nothing extreme”, apparently) while alone in his hotel room, and was ashamed. But with the hard drive wiped, we only have his word for this.
Don’t forget, he took the computer to be destroyed on the day he found out Arnott had made contact with Corbett, and ahead of the Eastfield Depot raid later that night – was there more to this than he was willing to admit or DCS Carmichael was able to prove?
Who gave the order to PS Tranter to kill Biggeloe?
We took an immediate dislike to kiss-ass AC-3 officer Tina Tranter during Carmichael’s interrogation of Hastings, and it turned out we had absolute reason to, after it was revealed she was bent, attempting to stab Biggeloe to death in the toilets in order to stop her revealing secrets about the OCG.
However, it appeared she’d received an order to bump Biggeloe off – but who did she receive it from?
Did Hastings tell Banks about Corbett?
With Hastings still insisting he didn’t visit OCG member Lee Banks in prison to tip him off about Corbett’s real identity, his story was seemingly backed up when McQueen claimed Banks had only informed the OCG that there was a rat inside the unit, and not who the information came from.
Carmichael was still convinced Hastings blew Corbett’s cover, but was unable to prove it when DCC Wise insisted the case against Hastings was shut down. However, it could still be that Banks did not tell McQueen his source.
What was the nature of the relationship between Hastings and Anne-Marie?
Corbett’s wife heavily hinted the relationship between Hastings and Anne-Marie McGillis (Corbett’s birth mother) turned inappropriate prior to her disappearance. While he maintained this was not the case, was Hastings covering up an affair he’d had? It would certainly explain his emotional reaction to the revelation Corbett was Anne-Marie’s son and his apparent guilt at the situation.
Could it even be that Hastings was Corbett’s real father? Or that he was inadvertently responsible for Anne-Marie’s death? Either theory could explain the fact he later visited Corbett’s grave to seemingly hand his wife money.
What is the deal with PC Simon Bannerjee?
When OCG member Ryan Pilkington was seen attending his police interview seemingly set on embedding himself in the force to carry on with the gang’s work from the inside, he mentioned officer PC Simon Bannerjee as being a source of inspiration to “turning his life around” after serving time as a child.
Obviously lying about having turned over a new leaf after leaving the young offenders institute, does his mention of Bannerjee carry more meaning?
For reference, Bannerjee (played by Casualty actor Neet Mohan) appeared back in series one as a Constable who responded to a complaint about trouble Ryan was making on his local estate.
With it looking likely Ryan will make future appearances in series six thanks to his new job on the inside, will we learn more about this relationship?
Who is the fourth corrupt person Dot was referring to?
Following re-examination of DI Matthew ‘Dot’ Cottan’s dying declaration, it was revealed he was actually using morse code to communicate there were four corrupt police staff, and the idea of ‘H’ heading up the OCG had been misinterpreted.
Apparently, the bent staff are Cottan himself, ACC Derek Hilton, legal counsel Gill Biggeloe, and one remaining person who is still to be identified.
Now, obviously this is setting us up very nicely for the next series, so unfortunately it looks like we’re going to have to wait a lot longer yet to find out who this is.
Line Of Duty’s fifth series is available to watch again on BBC iPlayer, with the previous four series also on Netflix.