Martin Compston has dedicated Line Of Duty’s National Television Award (NTA) to their fans and said their “enthusiasm and dedication never ceases to amaze” him.
The police drama won the award for returning drama, beating programmes including The Crown and Call The Midwife.
Jed Mercurio’s hit police procedural, which aired its sixth and potentially last instalment earlier this year, was also awarded the special recognition award at the NTAs with star Adrian Dunbar hinting at a new series, saying: “Who knows, we might be back.”
Compston said in the winners room: “I think we must be the most nominated show who’s lost it so it felt great.
“We started as this wee show on a Wednesday night on BBC Two, and to see how its grown and it’s all because of the fans.
“Their enthusiasm and dedication never ceases to amaze me, so this is for everybody who’s voted for us so thank you very much.”
While discussing Mercurio’s writing on the show, Compston added: “I think that’s the strongest he’s ever written, so it makes you go, ‘Will we ever go again’, which we know we won’t but it gets you hoping because he was writing better than ever.”
Nigel Boyle, who plays Ian Buckells in the show, added: “It’s been over a decade now, it’s been 11 years when I first auditioned back in 2010.
“But yeah, it’s just evolved and evolved and it’s just this massive web of deceit that’s just been amazing to see and every time we get a new script it’s just amazing.”
During their acceptance speech Tommy Jessop, who plays Terry Boyle, danced on stage to applause from the crowd.
While talking about Jessop, the show’s producer, Simon Heath, said: “We put him through everything on that season six.
“We tried to drown him, batter him, interrogating him, and he came through it all, what a star he is”