The Line Of Duty cast sent fans into a frenzy on Tuesday as they reunited for a script read-through ahead of the upcoming sixth series.
Another run of Jed Mercurio’s hit
BBC drama was confirmed before the fifth had even aired last year, and the countdown to the new set of episodes is now officially on.
Here’s what we can tell you about them...Back to work for this lot at the #LineOfDuty Series 6 read-through! 🚔 @line_of_dutypic.twitter.com/ulMQ45wWfS— BBC One (@BBCOne) February 11, 2020First off, how did series five end again?Series five revolved around the hunt for mysterious organised crime boss “H”, who was believed to be a high ranking
police officer.
But after Ted Hastings was arrested, the final episode revealed that “H” didn’t actually exist at all, and legal counsel Gill Biggeloe had been framing the Superintendent.From a closer examination of DI Matthew Cottan’s dying declaration, it was then confirmed that “H” was actually a clue, indicating there are four high ranking officers in league with organised crime.
So far, Cottan, ACC Derek Hilton, Biggeloe have already been unmasked, with another still at large...So what will series six be about?While the specific plot of series six has not been confirmed, it is highly likely the hunt for the fourth officer in league with organised crime will be central to it.
There’s also a heap of unanswered questions left over from the end of the fifth series.
While Hastings was cleared of being “H”, there’s still a question mark over whether he is corrupt, after he was seen giving a bundle of cash to John Corbett’s wife.
A spokesperson for Line Of Duty confirmed to HuffPost
UK that suspicions about Hastings had been left deliberately vague ahead of the sixth series.Who is returning to the cast?All three lead actors, Martin Compston, Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar, are back as DS Steve Arnott, DI Kate Flemming and Superintendent Ted Hastings.Although they are the three officially announced to return, there are other characters likely to appear as well.
Series five ended with OCG member Ryan Pilkington (Gregory Piper) attending a police interview seemingly set on embedding himself in the force to carry on with the gang’s work from the inside.Let’s not forget that Biggeloe (Polly Walker) is still alive and living under a new identity after helping police with their investigations, while organised crime gang member Lisa McQueen was given witness protection after sharing information on the OCG, now working to help teens avoid crime.
Rochenda Sandall, who played McQueen, later admitted she didn’t think we’d seen the last of her character, telling Digital Spy: “If you think about it, nobody who’s gone for immunity, in the whole series, has ever got away with it.
“Myself and Ryan [Pilkington] are the only two OCG members left and I know about his police school... so I don’t think it’s the end. I hope it’s not the end. But I won’t know until the time comes!
“I definitely think there’s an open door for Lisa.”Who is joining the cast?Kelly Macdonald will play Detective Chief Inspector Joanne Davidson, whose suspicious conduct will be investigated by the police anti-corruption unit.
Her character, DCI Davidson, is the senior investigating officer of an unsolved murder, who Line of Duty writer and showrunner Jed Mercurio described as “the most enigmatic adversary AC-12 have ever faced”.Kelly follows in the footsteps of previous AC-12 adversaries DCI Tony Gates (Lennie James), DI Lindsay Denton (Keeley Hawes), Sergeant Danny Waldron (Daniel Mays), DCI Roz Huntley and DS John Corbett (Stephen Graham).
The actress is best known for her roles in Trainspotting, Gosford Park, Boardwalk Empire and, most recently, The Victim and Giri/Haji.What else has been said about series six?Martin had his first script through for the new series in December, and admitted that he was “scared” by it in a cryptic
Instagram post. View this post on InstagramA post shared by Martin Compston (@mrmartincompston) on Dec 21, 2019 at 9:29am PSTAs you would expect with Line Of Duty though, the show is shrouded in mystery, but the BBC has said it will announce further details about the new series “in due course”. And most importantly, when is Line Of Duty back on TV?The cast is already working on the series, with a picture of Martin, Vicky, Adrian and Kelly tweeted on 11 February at a script read-through.
They will soon begin filming the episodes, and while no actual date has been set for when it will air, the show featured in a BBC
trailer previewing the shows coming up in 2020 at the end of last year.
If we were putting money on things, we’d suggest a likely autumn launch for the new series.MORE LINE OF DUTY: 21 Reactions To The Line Of Duty Finale That Summed Up What We Were All Thinking The 8 Questions The Line Of Duty Series 5 Finale Left Unanswered A Bit Confused By The Line Of Duty Finale? Here's The Blockbuster Episode Explained