After six series of playing dedicated cop DI Kate Fleming in Line of Duty, Vicky McClure has become adept at keeping the show’s many twists and turns a secret.
As Line of Duty Season 6 begins on Sunday March 21 on BBC1, Kate and DS Steve Arnott (Martin Compston) find life tough after the allegations that were made against AC-12 boss Superintendent Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar) in the last run, while the anti-corruption team’s new nemesis DCI Joanne Davidson (Kelly Macdonald) proves their most enigmatic adversary to date.
So, we unleashed our best AC-12-style interrogation techniques and took McClure in for questioning to find out more…
Vicky on how Kate is feeling at the start of 'Line of Duty' Season 6
“We're about 18 months on and facing the consequences of what went on because things have made them question the trust within the team. Also, Kate's tricky personal life is in there too…”
Vicky on working with new cast members Kelly Macdonald, who plays DCI Joanne Davidson, and Shalom Brune-Franklin, who plays AC-12’s new recruit DC Chloe Bishop
“Shalom has got some of the most difficult dialogue in the history of Line Of Duty. I don't know how she did it! And Kelly is a great laugh and an incredible actor.
"We were really grateful to have a new guest lead that fits straight into the Line of Duty family. We had some brilliant scenes to do together and enjoyed many jigsaws together! I think everyone will be blown away with Jo’s storyline. It couldn’t have been in better hands.”
Vicky on stopping filming during the pandemic
“It was a strange time, personally, for everybody. We'd all just got into our stride really and were about four weeks into filming, so, it was a real shame. But the production have been amazing at keeping everybody safe.
It helps that Jed [Mercurio, the writer] is a doctor, so he knows his stuff! But we hope that you won't really notice when you actually watch the show that it was tricky, and hopefully the social distance doesn't feel too obvious.”
Vicky on building up the tension on 'Line of Duty'
“I think people enjoy the fact that we don’t drop all the episodes at once, which is quite old-fashioned now but it gives people the chance to build up the suspense, work it out for themselves and have all these theories.
"And social media is a great platform for everybody to share their thoughts. We just enjoy playing with people!”
Vicky on 'Line of Duty’s' continued success
“We never expected the show to take off in the way that it has. And it's just quite surreal. It's not lost on us the sort of anticipation for this series, every time it just feels quite intense. And more so now than ever.”
Vicky on getting Adrian Dunbar and Martin Compton to dance on social media
Good day at work with my besties! 😂🥰 #dancelikenooneiswatching pic.twitter.com/3LefklRYqkOctober 8, 2020
“We were going through a rough time as a country and I wanted to make people smile and I knew if I got those two on TikTok, it’d do just that, so it was a worthy cause! When you’re on set and it's stressful, messing about has to happen.”
When can I watch 'Line of Duty' Season 6?
The new seven-part series of Line of Duty airs on Sunday March 21 on BBC1 at 9pm and will also air on BBC iPlayer, where you can also catch up with the previous five series.
