Line Of Duty creator Jed Mercurio has said he does not write the show’s characters to be “goodies or baddies”.

The police drama returned to BBC One on March 31 and has been the biggest show of 2019 so far, with more than 11 million people tuning in for the first episode.

Mercurio, also behind last year’s hit drama Bodyguard, remained tight-lipped when asked about his favourite “baddie”.

Speaking at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival, he said: “I don’t really consider them baddies.

The cast and crew of BBC’s Line of Duty (Ian West/PA)
The cast and crew of BBC’s Line of Duty (Ian West/PA)

“In the show, we actually call people who fulfil that specific role the antagonist.

“Because what we’re trying to avoid is whether they’re good or bad, we’re saying that, like a lot of people who do very challenging jobs, they sometimes do bad things and they sometimes do good things.”

The drama follows the work of AC-12, a controversial police unit which investigates corruption within the force, with each series focusing on a different case.

“The way the series works is that it tries to devise characters who are allegedly corrupt police officers who have quite complex motivations, some of which the audience can regard as ethical and some which they don’t regard as ethical,” he said.

“And that’s obviously generally quite different from real police corruption, which is generally motivated by greed.

“Our characters are very deliberately not designed whether to be goodies or baddies.”

The show is currently in its fifth season, with the broadcaster confirming it will return for series six at a later stage.

Martin Compston plays DS Steve Arnott in the drama alongside Vicky McClure as DS Kate Fleming and Adrian Dunbar in the role of Superintendent Ted Hastings.