Line of Duty series four: What will AC-12 investigate next?

Line of Duty finale: Five big shocks of season three

28 April

Line of Duty series three has had its fair share of twists and turns – and we haven't even reached the finale. A special 90-minute episode will wrap-up the drama tonight at 9pm on BBC2. Here's a recap of the major surprises so far…

Bye bye Danny

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Actor Daniel Mays won high praise for his "troubled and terrifying" portrayal of Sgt Danny Waldron, who executed a surrendering suspect within the first few minutes of the third series. As he was torturing another man later in the episode, a motive began to materialise: was Danny actually the victim of a wider conspiracy? The idea was just sinking in when – bang – he was shot dead during a police house raid. His three harassed colleagues claimed suicide, but AC-12 were not convinced.

Denton gets out

Just when we thought we'd seen the back of Lindsay Denton, played by the Bafta-nominated actress Keeley Hawes, she returned to court to appeal her conviction. After convincing a jury that she might have been framed, she was free - albeit without a home, a job or her beloved cat. Viewers even found themselves cheering as she wreaked revenge on her sleazy offender management officer, who tried to offer her money for sex. Although she wasn't allowed to return to the force as a police officer, it seemed she might be the one to crack the Waldron case.

Jimmy Savile pops up

While a historical sex abuse conspiracy was fairly predictable, audiences were not expecting to see a photograph of Jimmy Savile shaking hands with one of the show's fictional suspects. The doctored image was criticised as inappropriate by some, including one of Savile's victims, but others said it was a "brave" move from the BBC.

Arnott in the frame

The show's hero, DS Steve Arnott (Martin Compston), has had a rough ride this season. On the back foot since Denton accused him of having inappropriate sexual relations with her, he's now being targeted by bent copper DI Matthew "Dot" Cottan (Craig Parkinson) – the "Caddy", who has been pulling strings for criminals from within the force since he first joined up.

THAT Denton scene

Finally, the most shocking moment of the series so far came last week, just as Denton appeared to be getting somewhere with the case. She'd unearthed Waldron's list of abusers and planned to use it to get her old job back – but Dot wasn't having any of it. Denton discovered his true identity, but refused to be bribed into keeping quiet. Showing her true colours, with a gun pointed to her head, she told him: "You want to shoot me? You go ahead. If it sends you to prison, that is my job done." He pulled the trigger – but not before she managed to email the list of abusers to AC-12.

Line of Duty: Dramatic cliff-hanger has critics on tenterhooks

31 March

Police-corruption drama Line of Duty has been back for just one week and critics are already on tenterhooks.

Creator Jed Mercurio proved time and again in series one and two that he is not afraid to kill off key characters when the audience least expects it.

"The message the shock-whack sends to the audience is one of ever-present jeopardy: it says the crazed writers of this show are prepared to sacrifice even your most beloved characters on the altar of story," says Benji Wilson at the Daily Telegraph. "And so I spent the whole first episode of Line of Duty on tenterhooks, trying to guess who would be for the chop."

Within the first minutes of the third series, newcomer Sergeant Danny Waldron (Daniel Mays) executed a surrendering suspect, before bullying his team into corroborating his cover-up story.

But Waldron is not the stereotypical bent copper he appears in the opening scenes.

"He's Robocop. Physically, mentally – with a photographic memory, and a knowledge of criminal law that extends to every last act and section. If anything, the baby face adds to his menace," says Sam Wollaston at The Guardian. "And yet he is also lonely, shy and socially vulnerable, gentle with children and animals."

The complexity of Waldron's character is matched by the complexity of the plot, as viewers learnt last week that he was possibly a victim of a wider conspiracy. The police sergeant appeared to be picking off a list of men, which intriguingly included the crazed Scottish crime boss, Tommy Hunter (Brian McCardie), from the first two series.

But then, "everything [was] thrown into disarray", says Wollaston, of the shock ending. "It's stomach-clenchingly tense, visceral, shocking – television best watched in body armour."

While tonight's show is set to be equally unpredictable, one thing looks certain: Line of Duty should give Mays's acting career a boost.

After the first episode was screened at Bafta in London a few weeks ago, Mark Jefferies at the Radio Times said he had "rarely heard such universal praise for a TV show and its leading man".

Mays was "rarely off screen in the entire hour" and his character was a "troubled and terrifying" presence, says Jefferies. "This feels like a big moment for him."