Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio calls his own series 6 scripts ‘ludicrously implausible’

The writer nonetheless praised the series’ cast after an early table read

Jed Mercurio has stated that his scripts for the upcoming series of hit BBC cop drama Line of Duty are “ludicrously implausible”.

Writing on Twitter, Mercurio said he was “humbly grateful to the whole cast” of Line of Duty “for making great drama out of the ludicrously implausible scripts in today’s readthrough for Series 6”.

He singled out series stalwarts Martin Compston, Adrian Dunbar and Vicky McClure for praise, alongside Trainspotting’s Kelly Macdonald, who is joining the cast for the next run of episodes.

Macdonald will play Detective Chief Inspector Joanne Davidson, the senior officer investigating an unsolved murder whose conduct raises suspicions with Line of Duty’s central anti-corruption unit.

While Mercurio’s comments were likely intended as a way of self-effacingly flattering his cast, Line of Duty has come under fire for some melodramatic plot developments in the past.

Most of series five focused on the hunt for a corrupt police officer known as “H”, with signs pointing towards Dunbar’s Superintendent Ted Hastings.

In the end, however, it was revealed that Hastings was innocent, and that “H” was in fact four separate people.

If Mercurio’s comments are anything to go by, there are sure to be even more credibility-straining twists and turns in store for series six.