Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio has appeared to confirm that the upcoming sixth series of the drama will not air until 2021.

The new series was one month into being filmed when production was brought to an abrupt halt by the coronavirus pandemic and there is no firm date yet for cast and crew to return to work.

The BBC had planned to air the show in the autumn but the significant delays mean that it will almost inevitably now be delayed until the spring.

Speaking to the A Stab in the Dark podcast, Mercurio revealed: "We shot for four weeks before we were forced to reach the conclusion that it wasn't safe to carry on. We shut down nine days before the government lockdown.

"We're having talks currently with the BBC and the production company to determine when we might be able to resume. There are a number of issues still to be resolved on an industry-wide basis, things like insurance and finance and social distancing guidelines that specifically apply to filming.

"So, there are people working on those, some involve the unions, some involve the producers bodies, some involve the broadcasters, some involve the department of culture, media and sport.

"Eventually, there will be a set of guidelines that apply to so-called high end TV. We are hoping that we can get the series shot before the end of this calendar year, if all those measures are reached which allow us to film in the way that we need to be able to do."

The fifth series of Line of Duty was a runaway success for the BBC last year, peaking with almost 14 million viewers.