WARNING: LINE OF DUTY SPOILERS LIE WITHIN
Fans that tuned in to last night's episode of Line of Duty have taken to social media to highlight the similarities between Detective Superintendent Ian Buckells and Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
After a decade of the fan-favourite crime drama, H - or 'the fourth man' - was finally revealed to be the unexpected police officer, a plot point which left fans divided.
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But after the discussions about the revelation began to die down, viewers began comparing Buckells to Johnson, saying that show creator Jed Mercurio was 'trolling' the country's leader.
Judging by his Twitter feed, it seems Mercurio isn't exactly a fan of the PM, having referred to him as 'bent Boris' just last week. But still, some viewers were happy to infer a little more from what they'd seen in the show's finale.
Taking to Twitter, one fan wrote: "Holy s***. Buckles is Boris Johnson, some stupid t*** that's seen as a joke, incompetent & promoted to be used by corrupt powers.
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"That finale is genius, we know he can write epic scripts, watch any previous episodes, but that finale is direct trolling of BJ."
Alastair Campbell, a key part of Tony Blair's UK government between 1997-2003, agreed. He quoted a couple of lines from the show as he wrote: "'We have stopped caring about truth, integrity and accountability' - Ted whacks off a few Nolan Principles there. @borisJohnson is H, @jed_mercurio is a genius."
Continuing his theme, Campbell later added: "'How some people can fail upwards beggars belief' - the best @jed_mercurio troll of @BorisJohnson yet."
In agreement, another person wrote: "I got the message and I'm sure many others did too. The problem is, people want escapism. Not to have the 1hr of joy on a Sunday evening to be reminded of the s*** show the government is running. Basically made Buckells into Boris Johnson. Bumbling idiot who's a 'genius'."
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While the final episode left some viewers feeling 'disappointed' at how things were left, the show's creator has revealed why Buckells was chosen in the end.
Speaking on the Obsessed With... Line Of Duty podcast, the writer said: "I suppose it was really down to the decision to kind of hold him to account, sort of mid season.
"You know there were suspicions around him in the first two episodes and then Jo points the finger at him, AC-12 get him in, they charge him, off he goes to prison, and it feels like he's done and dusted.
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"And I think that if we kept him as part of the action, all the way through, then it would have been very hard to misdirect the audience, so we were trying to present other candidates to take the focus away from him.
"But it was always really important to me that it was someone who had been in season one, someone who had been there the whole time."
You can catch up with all six seasons of Line of Duty on the BBC iPlayer.
Featured Image Credit: PA/BBCTopics: Entertainment, TV and Film, Line of Duty
