Line of Duty fans share excitement about new series which airs tonight - as the shows creator reveals why the drama series is so popular

There's been previews and behind-the-scenes photos from the show's actors - but today is finally Line of Duty day - and fans are excited.

The BBC show, which is set to air the first episode of series 6 at 9pm tonight, has won an army of fans since its first series back in 2012 with its plot twists and dodgy coppers.

While the shows creator, Jed Mercurio, has revealed he believes that 'word of mouth' is the key to the cop drama's success. 

In a new interview with the BBC, the scriptwriter for Line of Duty said: "I think we really have benefitted from the fact that television is discussed much more.

"Through social media, through fan forums, you can create really strong word of mouth."

Almost to prove his point today the #LineOfDuty trended on Twitter with fans explaining how excited they were to watch the new series.

One comedian joked: "The whole day is just a time-killing exercise until #LineOfDuty starts."

Another excited fan tweeted: "In 12 hours time, I hope I’m up to my neck in bent coppers, OCGs and all the regs. MOTHER OF GOD! #LineOfDuty"

While another joked: "Spending my day rewatching all season finales of #LineOfDuty and then honestly when it gets to around 8pm I think I’ll just have to sit alone silently in a room and try and compose myself for an hour."

Like many TV series, the sixth season of Jed Mercurio's hit police drama was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite ongoing restrictions, the team was still able to finish filming last year.

The BBC show, which stars Martin Compston as Steve Arnott, Vicky McLure as Kate Fleming and Adrian Dunbar as Ted Hastings as AC12, had record viewing for its fifth season - with an average peak of 12.34 to 13.67 million viewers per episode.