Tonight's thrilling finale of series four of police corruption drama Line of Duty had the nation gripped.
Up to seven million people are thought to have tuned in as Det Chief Insp Roz Huntley, played by Thandie Newton, confessed that she killed Tim Ifield.
But the creator of the BBC show has revealed fans will have to wait two years for the next series.
Jed Mercurio added that even the main characters are not safe from being killed off.
He said: “The plan is we won’t shoot Line of Duty series five until next year and that means it won’t be on air until 2019.
“I am not planning to write it until next year because I am working on [something else].
“We haven’t even decided if the next antagonist will be male or female, we are that far off from puzzling it out.
“I have got various ideas but what is crucial is whether we are approaching series five as being the last series, and that depends if we can persuade the BBC to commission a series six.”
Jed said he was “optimistic” of a deal to make several more seasons of the drama. The show, which moved from BBC2 to BBC1 this year, centres on anti corruption unit AC-12, led by Supt Ted Hastings, played by Adrian Dunbar, Det Sgt Steve Arnott (Martin Compston) and Det Sgt Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure).
Jed refused to confirm the trio will definitely be back for series five, adding that bosses had considered killing off one or more of them in the past.
He said: “No one is guaranteed to survive every series. We obviously have a massive investment in Hastings, Arnott and Fleming and we want to keep them together.
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“But... when the audience is really invested in characters, that is when the deaths are all the more shocking.”
Jed said of last night’s finale: “Roz is the most devious character we have ever created...
“The only way she can gain redemption is to admit she has been defeated.”
- Line of Duty series four and Complete Series 1-4 are available on DVD from May 8.