Line of Duty to 'make shock comeback' with new episodes 'as early as next year'
22 December 2022, 05:45 | Updated: 22 December 2022, 08:04
Fans of the hit police drama Line of Duty could be in luck, as the show may be making a comeback as early as next Christmas, according to reports.
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Stars Vicky McClure, Martin Compston and Adrian Dunbar are all onboard for a three-part special of the show, which dramatises the lives of anti-corruption cops.
Some viewers of the BBC drama were disappointed with the ending to the long-running saga in 2021, when long-running target 'H' was finally unmasked.
Incompetent officer Det Supt Simon Buckells was seen by many as an anticlimactic villain, and those fans will be hoping the new series, to be written by the show's mastermind Jed Mercurio can reveal the true 'H'.
"There was a very strong feeling, particularly among fans, that there was unfinished business with Line of Duty," an insider told the Sun.
“Viewers weren’t satisfied with the ending of series six and were crying out for a more sensational conclusion — now Jed can deliver that.
:The question is whether the person we were led to believe was H really is the villain that AC-12 has been hunting or if it was another nemesis.
“There’s also a theory another, darker puppet-master is at work.
“The fact that they’re looking at taking the unusual step of making three episodes rather than the usual six or seven is a reflection of just how special this is for the show.”
Mr Mercurio has never ruled out returning to the beloved show, which ran for six seasons, and whose finale drew an audience of 13 million people.
The stars have also dropped hints recently about returning to the anti-corruption squad.
Vicky McClure, who plays DI Kate Fleming, said on Tuesday: “I speak to the lads all the time and we’d all love to, we’re all game.
She told Good Morning: “I think it’s just a case of now . . . Martin, I think he’s in about nine shows or something. He’s busy, so I’m sure we’ll get there.”
Mr Compston, who plays DI Steve Arnott, said of Line of Duty last week: “I’m so chuffed that people want it back.
“But who knows? I’d love to work with the guys again. Adrian, Vicky and Jed are genuinely some of my closest friends.
“It’s been ten years together and we speak every other day, really.”
Mr Dunbar, who played Chief Supt Ted Hastings, said several weeks ago: “I think generally there’s a willingness amongst everybody to do something but I think we’re just going to have to wait a little bit longer."
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He added that making the final season under Covid restrictions made filming less satisfying.
“It wasn’t quite as fun," he said. "We couldn’t hang out. We couldn’t go out.
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“We were all in a kind of bubble so it just didn’t have the same feel — which is one of the reasons we’d like to do another one.”
The BBC did not comment.
