Line of Duty: BBC viewers confused over spelling error in latest episode

The mistake could be a key clue from the show’s creator Jed Mercurio

When 9pm hits on a Sunday, you’ll find most UK households popping on their detective hats for a brand new episode of Line of Duty.

Last week, viewers tuned in for the third episode of the crime procedural’s fifth series spotted another clue left by its creator Jed Mercurio – a spelling mistake.

Gang members John Corbett (Stephen Graham) and Lisa McQueen (Rochenda Sandall) received an online notification from UNKNOWN reading: “Eastfield Depot is definately high risk.”

Fans of the show will realise that Mercurio isn’t one for sloppy errors but this didn’t stop audiences turning to Google to check the spelling of the adverb.

A Google Trends search shows a spike in the number of people searching the terms “definitely” and “definately” as the episode was broadcast. There were twice the number of searches for “definitely” as “definitely”.

A spelling error in the latest episode of 'Line of Duty' saw viewers flock to Google

Audiences are desperate to uncover the mystery identity of crooked copper “H”. Potential suspects range from AC-12’s Superintendent Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar) to Detective Superintendent Alison Powell (Susan Vidler), the officer in charge of the highly sensitive undercover case known as Operation Peartree.

The fourth episode will air on BBC1 on 21 April at 9pm