Thandie Newton signed up to ‘Line of Duty’ before she even read the script.
The 44-year-old actress – who will play Detective Chief Inspector Roz Huntley in the hotly-anticipated new series of the BBC show – was sold on the idea the minute she watched the third series.
Asked why she decided to swap Hollywood for the BBC television show, she said: "It’s because it’s the best thing on British TV. When I saw the third season I was transfixed. I couldn’t believe how daring they were to get rid of the star in the first f***ing episode.
"I watched all the episodes, met Jed [Mercurio] the next day and before even reading the script, I was in. I was like, ‘Oh my God, the golden age of television is back.’"
And creator Jed Mercurio feels his team has led the way in "authentically" showing how the police system works.
He told The Sun’s TV magazine: "We were the first to start doing police interviews in a way that was more authentic. Now I’m beginning to see that happen in other crime dramas – the writers who take that stuff seriously, such as Chris Chibnall [Broadchurch] and Sally Wainwright [Scott & Bailey, Happy Valley] care about the authenticity in their programmes.
"We’re very careful about things on set. We define what the crime scene is and we don’t have people walking through it. Our police adviser often sends me a screen grab from another TV series where people traipse through one for no good reason."
Thandie Newton transfixed by Line of Duty’
