Line of Duty series six premiere draws in its highest ratings of nearly 9.6 million viewers

Series returned to screens last night 21 March

Line of Duty’s sixth season return was watched by nearly 9.6 million people, a record number for the hit series.

The critically acclaimed police procedural drama, created by Jed Mercurio, returned to screens last night (21 March) for its sixth outing.

According to overnight BARB figures, as reported by Deadline, the debut episode has beaten the series’ previous best overnight performance of 9.1 million viewers, which was achieved during its season five finale in 2019.

The new figures have made Line of Duty the best performing drama on UK television since Bodyguard (also created by Mercurio) aired in 2018, which drew an overnight audience of 10.4 million with its final instalment. 

Line of Duty’s return, however, was unable to beat Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey earlier this month.

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The two-hour special – which aired exclusively on ITV – was watched by 11.1 million viewers, and hit a peak of 12.4 million.

Audience numbers for last night’s episode of Line of Duty are likely to still rise after streaming and catch-up viewing are factored in. 

Line of Duty, which stars Martin Compston and Vicky McClure as inspectors in the anti-corruption unit AC-12, originally started on BBC Two in 2012 but now airs on BBC One. 

Trainspotting star Kelly Macdonald has joined the sixth season as DCI Joanne Davidson, the series’ latest “guest lead”.

You can read The Independent’s five-star review of season six’s debut episode here.

The sixth series will be the longest to date, comprising seven episodes in total.