How to watch Line of Duty

Line of Duty has had the nation gripped over the last few weeks, with a series of episodes that have been leading up to a huge moment for the show. In fact, this series finale could possibly be the last episode of the police drama altogether. 

If you’d like to watch along live, then we’ve rounded up everything you need to know. We’ve also got instructions for catching up on old episodes, and a way of watching the Line of Duty finale from abroad if you’re not in the UK.

How to watch Line of Duty in the UK

If you’re in the UK and have access to broadcast TV, then watching the Line of Duty finale is pretty simple. Tune into BBC One at 9pm BST on Sunday 2 May 2021.

If you don’t have a TV, then you can still watch along live on the BBC website. If you’ve not already, you’ll need to sign up for an account and confirm that you’re in a household with a valid TV Licence. An account with iPlayer is completely free.

If you’re not up to date, you can actually catch up on all six seasons over on BBC iPlayer. However, the show may not stay on here forever, so watch it whilst you still can.

Check out the trailer for the finale below:

How to watch Line of Duty abroad

As stated above, Line of Duty is available to stream and watch on BBC iPlayer. However, iPlayer is only available if you’re browsing from the UK. Fortunately, you can use a VPN to get round this.

VPNs (virtual private networks) allow you to browse the internet as if you’re from another country by rerouting your IP address. This means that you can connect to a UK server to watch Line of Duty from anywhere in the world.

For the best performance, servers and prices, we recommend either NordVPN or ExpressVPN. There are some free VPNs, but these options won’t likely have enough servers to be able to stream successfully.

It’s worth noting that Line of Duty will come to BritBox US sometime in May, but at the moment it isn’t available. Therefore if you’re in the US, the only way to watch it right now is through BBC iPlayer.

Here’s what you need to do:

• Sign into your VPN and connect to a UK server

• Head to the BBC iPlayer website

• Register for a free BBC account – you’ll need to give your date of birth, gender, and email address, along with a valid UK postcode

• Search for Line of Duty and watch the episodes you want 

It’s worth noting that the BBC states that the reasoning being creating accounts isn’t to pursue iPlayer users who haven’t paid for a TV Licence, but the company will cross-reference details to see if the user has paid for a Licence fee or not in the past.

If you don’t have a Licence because you’re based abroad and are hoping to access iPlayer anyway, you’ll still need to give a valid UK postcode and your details to get access. But be warned – this is against the BBC’s terms of service.

For more details, check out our guide to watching BBC iPlayer abroad.