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The Real Ted Hastings: The True Story of the Copper at the Heart of Line of Duty
Line of Duty holds its status as the defining TV crime drama of today. The conspiracy theme of the series chimes at a time when public institutions and representatives are distrusted.
Ted Hastings, the show's head of anti-corruption, has emerged as the beating heart of the series. This book reveals how the compelling drama reflects real crimes, events and figures, most notably that of Robert Mark and his battle against Met corruption.
‘None of my people would plant evidence. They know I would throw the book at them… followed by the bookshelf’
Starting with a bang – ‘I’ll put you all back in uniform’ were his first words to his team. New Met Commissioner Robert Mark – the inspiration for Ted Hastings – took on his entire corruption-riddled detective branch in his first brutal speech. The scale of the problem facing Robert Mark was institutionalised corruption in CID.
During his four years eleven months as commissioner, he saw 478 men leave the force following or in anticipation of criminal/disciplinary proceedings. Departures in the previous decade had averaged about 16 a year.
Mark's extraordinary career established the need for a dedicated team to investigate corruption that lives on today.
Ted Hastings, the show's head of anti-corruption, has emerged as the beating heart of the series. This book reveals how the compelling drama reflects real crimes, events and figures, most notably that of Robert Mark and his battle against Met corruption.
‘None of my people would plant evidence. They know I would throw the book at them… followed by the bookshelf’
Starting with a bang – ‘I’ll put you all back in uniform’ were his first words to his team. New Met Commissioner Robert Mark – the inspiration for Ted Hastings – took on his entire corruption-riddled detective branch in his first brutal speech. The scale of the problem facing Robert Mark was institutionalised corruption in CID.
During his four years eleven months as commissioner, he saw 478 men leave the force following or in anticipation of criminal/disciplinary proceedings. Departures in the previous decade had averaged about 16 a year.
Mark's extraordinary career established the need for a dedicated team to investigate corruption that lives on today.
243 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 11, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 18, 2023
Corrupt Police.
The Real Ted Hastings book had its moments but sadly when I first started this book it spoke more about the TV programme In The Line Of Duty. This I thought would disappear once we started reading the first corrupt police story. The book sadly jumps from each story with a series in a police programme on TV and the comparisons or how the series matches the real story.
If You are happy and watch a lot of TV programmes this book will be for you but sadly, I had looked forward to reading the stories about the corrupt police but was disappointed as I just wanted to read about the different stories from around England. I finished the book, but I could not engage in each story so for this reason I marked the book down to 3 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and to the publishers of this book for giving me a free advance copy of the book to preview and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The Real Ted Hastings book had its moments but sadly when I first started this book it spoke more about the TV programme In The Line Of Duty. This I thought would disappear once we started reading the first corrupt police story. The book sadly jumps from each story with a series in a police programme on TV and the comparisons or how the series matches the real story.
If You are happy and watch a lot of TV programmes this book will be for you but sadly, I had looked forward to reading the stories about the corrupt police but was disappointed as I just wanted to read about the different stories from around England. I finished the book, but I could not engage in each story so for this reason I marked the book down to 3 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and to the publishers of this book for giving me a free advance copy of the book to preview and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
November 11, 2023
In the name of Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the wee lamb - The Real Ted Hastings is a supplement to the great show Line Of Duty. True crime and real life corruption, this book is so interesting and a must for fans of the series or those that would love to be part of AC12. I wouldn’t recommend reading unless you have seen all seasons of the show and for this.
Grateful to NetGalley and the publishers for this arc
Grateful to NetGalley and the publishers for this arc
April 15, 2023
Corrupt Police.
The Real Ted Hastings book had its moments but sadly when I first started this book it spoke more about the TV programme In The Line Of Duty. This I thought would disappear once we started reading the first corrupt police story. The book sadly jumps from each story with a series in a police programme on TV and the comparisons or how the series matches the real story.
If You are happy and watch a lot of TV programmes this book will be for you but sadly, I had looked forward to reading the stories about the corrupt police but was disappointed as I just wanted to read about the different stories from around England. I finished the book, but I could not engage in each story so for this reason I marked the book down to 3 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and to the publishers of this book for giving me a free advance copy of the book to preview and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The Real Ted Hastings book had its moments but sadly when I first started this book it spoke more about the TV programme In The Line Of Duty. This I thought would disappear once we started reading the first corrupt police story. The book sadly jumps from each story with a series in a police programme on TV and the comparisons or how the series matches the real story.
If You are happy and watch a lot of TV programmes this book will be for you but sadly, I had looked forward to reading the stories about the corrupt police but was disappointed as I just wanted to read about the different stories from around England. I finished the book, but I could not engage in each story so for this reason I marked the book down to 3 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and to the publishers of this book for giving me a free advance copy of the book to preview and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
May 4, 2023
Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book early via an arc copy.
I previously read a book talking about events that inspired Line of Duty as I loved the series but unfortunately I DNF’d that book as it didn’t really have much substance.
The real ted Hastings on the other hand is a really interesting read! It has many references and comparisons to the Line of Duty TV show whilst focusing on the real stories more themselves!
The main thing that let this down honestly was the version I was reading. I read via my kindle and at the time of reading it hadn’t formatted properly. Some sentences had no gaps whilst some were partially missing, so I found it difficult to read at times. However, I did check the NetGalley library version of the book and the formatting is fully functional there, so I’m sure when this is published it will be a great read on the kindle also!
I previously read a book talking about events that inspired Line of Duty as I loved the series but unfortunately I DNF’d that book as it didn’t really have much substance.
The real ted Hastings on the other hand is a really interesting read! It has many references and comparisons to the Line of Duty TV show whilst focusing on the real stories more themselves!
The main thing that let this down honestly was the version I was reading. I read via my kindle and at the time of reading it hadn’t formatted properly. Some sentences had no gaps whilst some were partially missing, so I found it difficult to read at times. However, I did check the NetGalley library version of the book and the formatting is fully functional there, so I’m sure when this is published it will be a great read on the kindle also!
November 6, 2024
Quite an interesting read but the tag line would lead you to believe this was a book about Robert Mark, the corruption fighting Commissioner of The Met. It is, sort of but it’s really a vehicle for the inside story of TV’s “Line of Duty”. That’s not an issue in itself but I bought it thinking it was going to be a more in depth biography of the man who stood up to and got rid of over 400 corrupt cops during his tenure.
August 25, 2025
Line of Duty is today’s defining TV crime drama, its conspiracy themes echoing public distrust of institutions. At its heart is Ted Hastings, inspired by real-life Met Commissioner Robert Mark, who waged war on corruption within the CID. This book explores how the series draws from real crimes, events, and figures, showing how Mark’s relentless crackdown forcing nearly 500 corrupt officers out in under five years shaped modern anti-corruption policing
May 13, 2023
A must for any true crime fan. The real life corruption that inspires tv's line of duty. Just be warned it contains lots of spoilers for the TV show
July 17, 2023
This was a decent read however I felt it gave too much information concerning Line of Duty and not enough about real-world police corruption scandals.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews