Line of Duty car used in dramatic stand-off sold by Wolverhampton dealership

A car that played a starring role in the latest series of Line of Duty has been sold to a fan of the show at a Black Country dealership.

The Mazda MX-5 RF driven by DI Kate Fleming on the latest episode of the hit BBC drama series had been on sale at Brindley Mazda in Wolverhampton since the middle of April.

And now the 2020 sports car, which sells for around £30,000 new, has been snapped up for an undisclosed price.

Brindley Mazda general manager Jason Devey said the car had been purchased by the dealership as part of a fleet of used cars and they hadn't realised what they'd bought until they saw the episode.

He said: "When cars are finished with for whatever reason, whether they are company cars or a demonstrator or whatever other reason, Mazda UK will advertise the cars to the dealers to allow them to buy new cars.

"We've been the biggest purchaser from Mazda UK's fleet programme, with so many cars from there, and we bought the car because of the model and because it's an iconic sports car.

"We didn't know it had been used in filming of the show until we saw it, so it was a nice surprise to find that out."

The Mazda played a key part in episode six in series six of the BBC show when it was driven by DI Fleming, played by Vicky McClure, with Acting DSU Joanne Davidson, played by Kelly McDonald, in the passenger seat.

In the show, the car actually belonged to DI Fleming's old friend colleague DI Steve Arnott who left the keys in a locker for DI Fleming to find.

"Steve's been made a DI, about time he got a grown-up car," DI Fleming said as she unlocked the Mazda ahead of a typically-dramatic Line of Duty scene involving a chase and stand-off with armed police.

McClure revealed after the episode that all of the driving for the scene was done by the stunt team.

"It pains me to say that’s as far as we got," she wrote on Twitter next to a picture of the Mazda on set.

"I was well up for the challenge but we did everything by the letter of the law!

"Amazing stunts & special effects team!! Now just one more week to go for the big finale!"

The hit show, created by Cannock writer Jed Mercurio, has seen Dudley actor Gregory Piper play a major supporting role as Pc Ryan Pilkington throughout series six which concludes on Sunday.

Mr Devey said while the dealership had used the show to promote the car on social media, its role on Line of Duty had not influenced its price.

He said: "We've had the MX-5 owners club come down and take pictures and fans of the show come to take a look.

"We put out a post on Facebook that it was a bit of TV drama history for us as while it was being aired on Monday night, that car was sitting in our forecourt."

Mr Devey said the car had been put on sale a couple of weeks ago and had just been bought by a fan of the show, who wanted a Mazda and found out the car was on sale at the dealership.

He said: "It's all positive for us at the dealership as we've looked after this car and it's going to someone who likes the show and is over the moon to get the car.

"We can't say how much it went for, but we didn't do anything to increase the price once we found out it was from Line of Duty.

"We've just acquired a 100th anniversary MX-5, which is really rare, so you never know what we might have on sale at our dealership."