Line of Duty III (Written by Jed Mercurio)

You've got to watch that Jed, he's a crafty bugger. In the gripping final episode, the tables are turned on the dogged and faithful DS Steve Arnott (Martin Compston) when he finds himself in the AS12 questioning room. So much of these shows take place in that questioning room, using technical language and references and quoting chapters of the law that it's amazing how suspenseful it remains - the ballet of the eyes and the acting helps (Vicky McClure, Adrian Dunbar, Craig Parkinson). I read afterwards they're shot in long takes with three cameras, and that the two interviews in the last episode are amazingly half an hour each.

Another stroke of genius though is to incapacitate our hero and leave the dangerous stuff to Vicky who comes over strong at the tremendously exciting finale (where in another writing masterstroke the 'caddy' dies without revealing his trove of secrets).

Keeley Hawes must have been hating Mercurio by the end for what happens to her character (though the scene in which she stands up to a predatory social worker is terrific). With Neil Morrissey, Polly Walker (who we first spotted in Enchanted April), Arsher Ali, George Costigan, Jonas Armstrong (children's home survivor) and Will Mellor. But, best of all, and sadly for only one episode, the great Daniel Mays, who makes the meatiest role.

It was just tremendously good, proven by the fact that we were still talking about it weeks later - it sure pissed on Happy Valley's bonfire.