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Line Of Duty is officially set to return for a seventh series with stars Martin Compston, Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar all reprising their roles.
Jed Mercurio’s hit thriller last aired in 2021 with the series six finale coming in as the biggest drama episode since modern records began in 2002, with 17 million viewers recorded after 28-days.
However fans were left disappointed by the controversial ending of series six, when bumbling Det Supt Ian Buckells (Nigel Boyle) was unmasked as ‘H’ – the shadowy criminal mastermind behind the police corruption.
Hoping to win back fans the new six-part series will start filming in Belfast in the coming spring.
In series seven AC-12 has been disbanded and rebranded the Inspectorate of Police Standards as Martin, Vicky and Adrian return to their roles.
Anticorruption work has never been more difficult and in this challenging climate Steve Arnott (Martin), Kate Fleming (Vicky) and Ted Hastings (Adrian) are assigned their most sensitive case so far.
Detective Inspector Dominic Gough, a charismatic officer winning plaudits for a string of takedowns of organised crime, is accused of abusing his position of trust to act as a sexual predator.
But is Gough’s case a deliberate distraction from a bigger threat still operating in the shadows?
Speaking about the show’s return, Martin gushed: ‘Line of Duty has been a job of a lifetime. Not only in terms of the show’s success but the people I’ve had the opportunity to work with I now call some of my closest friends.
‘I can’t wait to pull the waistcoat on again and get the team back together.’
Vicky added: ‘It goes without saying I’m so excited Line of Duty is back! Can’t wait to work with Jed, Martin and Adrian again. Belfast, we’ll see you soon!’
Adrian said: ‘As we count down the AC12 days of Christmas what a joy it is to know that the Three Amigos will be back filming together next year.
‘Delighted with the news and looking forward to those mercurial twists and turns.’
Meanwhile the creator, writer and executive producer Jed Mercurio said: ‘Everyone involved in Line of Duty feels enormous gratitude to the show’s fans.
‘We’re privileged to have had so many of you follow the ups and downs of AC-12 over six previous seasons and we couldn’t be more delighted to be returning for a seventh.
‘Corruption in this country is supposed to have come to an end while Line of Duty was off air so I’ve been forced to use my imagination.’
Simon Heath, World Productions’ CEO and creative director added: ‘There have been a number of significant reunions in recent years, but few more keenly anticipated than the return of AC12. It’s a privilege to be back with Jed’s terrific new chapter of the Line of Duty story.’
The final series averaged a massive 16 million viewers making it the biggest drama across the market since 2018.
Director of BBC Drama Lindsay Salt said: ‘Line of Duty is beloved by audiences and critics alike and its amazing ratings are a true testament to the success of Jed’s writing, the work from the brilliant team at World Productions and the entire cast and crew.
‘I’m so pleased that after four long years Line of Duty will be back filming soon and can’t wait for BBC viewers to be back on the edge of their seats.’
Some disappointed fans were left with unanswered questions at the end of series six with Jed taking to social media at the time to respond to the backlash.
He admitted that the episode ‘divided social media opinion’ yet he found a ‘a far less extreme picture’ when taking in the audience research.
He tweeted: ‘1. No one disputes the Line of Duty finale divided social media opinion but the audience research so far shows a far less extreme picture.
‘We knew a “down” ending would rate less favourably with some viewers, however all 7 episodes varied by under 10% on average viewer score…’
Jed continued: ‘2. The research determines the episode ratings based on randomly polling viewers, rather than sites like imdb where scores can be skewed by users strongly motivated to register their immediate anger/adulation …
‘3. 1000 random viewers submitted scores from 1-10 which have been used to calculate the Appreciation Index (AI) as a score out of 100. The AI for the “down” finale was only 7 points below the next lowest in Season 6 (Ep 1) …’
Jed concluded with: ‘4/4 These figures won’t stop the debate, of course, nor should they – that’s still all part of the experience of shared TV viewing. Thanks again for watching.’
He also clarified his statement with: ‘Some clarification on specific numbers has been requested.
‘I’m not permitted to disclose the AI figures, however for LoD they are in the top tier of the range for BBC1 drama, including for the finale, and over 50% of those polled rated the finale as either 9/10 or 10/10.’
