Entertainment
Line Of Duty ‘sparks massive rise in Metropolitan Police job applications’ for those wanting to catch their own bent coppers
Line Of Duty has inspired fans to become their own members of AC-12 – with a sudden surge in people applying to become part of the Metropolitan Police’s anti-corruption teams.
The Jed Mercurio drama, which is currently gripping the nation every Sunday, is proving to provide more than just light entertainment on a weekend.
In fact, now people reckon they have what it takes to hunt their own bent coppers, and are applying to the real-life equivalent, the Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS).
Since 2018, the number of applicants for positions within the DPS have trebled, according to a Freedom of Information Act request obtained by The Sun.
It falls in line with the stark rise in popularity of Line Of Duty, which has shot up over the past few years – from 5.42million on average in 2017, through to a massive 13.36m when series six returned to our screens two weeks ago.
Series four brought in a respectable 9.55m in 2018, and series five earned 12.85m on average.
The juggernaut of a series resulted in the DPS to rise from 96 in 2017, to 354 in 2020, directly following the show airing.
While it’s definitely helped in recruitment numbers, one person who isn’t a fan of the show is police chief Dame Cressida Dick, who was ‘outraged’ by the series depicting the police in such a negative light.
‘I found myself sitting next to the lead actor [McClure] at an event and I thought she was quite interesting and so I thought, “I’d better watch a bit of this”,’ she told Radio Times back in 2019.
‘But I was absolutely outraged by the level of casual and extreme corruption that was being portrayed as the way the police is in 2018-19.
‘It’s so far from that. The standards and the professionalism are so high. But I could see that it was good drama.’
Line Of Duty continues Sunday at 9pm on BBC One.
Got A Story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
MORE : Matt Lucas ‘landed Line Of Duty role’ and we almost fell for it
