Line of Duty fans stunned by Jimmy Savile reference in latest episode

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Line of Duty fans were left stunned by a reference to paedophile Jimmy Savile in last night’s episode (28 March).

The late Jim’ll Fix It presenter, whose prolific history of abuse came to light in 2012, was mentioned in reference to a fictional police investigation in the hit BBC One drama.

Line of Duty’s sixth season revolves around the murder of investigative journalist Gail Vella, played by Andi Osho.

In last night’s episode, investigators Steve Arnott (Martin Compston) and Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar) are seen watching footage of Vella covering the court case of Chief Superintendent Patrick Fairbank, a character in the show with ties to a child sex abuse ring.

In the fictional report, it is suggested that senior members of the police could be connected to Savile’s historic crimes. A photo of Savile had been shown during an episode in Line of Duty’s third season, but this episode represents the first time Savile had been explicitly name-checked.

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Viewers were unsure what to make of the decision to tie in the real-life crimes of Savile to the show’s fictional universe, with many writing about the moment on social media.

“There seems to be a greater sense of ‘truthiness’ to this season of #LineOfDuty as the show makes references to Jimmy Savile,” wrote one Twitter user. “Previous seasons had only referenced Savile by using his image and describing his profile without mentioning name which I think worked better.”

“The direct Savile and Daniel Morgan references were quite something,” wrote someone else.

“A Savile storyline? Poor taste to put it politely,” wrote another viewer.

Former Chief Prosecutor Nazir Afzal wrote: “Jimmy Savile has been involved in more criminal conspiracies than anyone I’ve ever dealt with - real & fictional. No surprise he turns up in #LineOfDuty.”

Line of Duty continues at 9pm next Sunday on BBC One.