By Minnie Wright

Published: Monday, 06 June 2022 at 12:00 am


The future of Line of Duty remains unknown following the culmination of a six-season story arc which revealed the identity of the Fourth Man in last year’s tense season 6 finale.

However, it sounds like Steve Arnott star Martin Compston remains enthusiastic about the potential to reprise the role.

Speaking to Radio Times for this week’s issue, he noted the existence of “ideas” for more episodes.

Asked if there’s any chance Line of Duty could return, Compston replied: “We’re so delighted that after all that time, people still want us.”

Echoing previous comments, he continued: “If Jed [Mercurio, the creator] thinks there’s a story, we’d all love to work together again.

“There’s always ideas, but nothing concrete,” the actor added, keeping anything he might know tightly under wraps.

There’s no official word on whether the show’s sixth season was its last, but RadioTimes.com previously revealed that Line of Duty bosses want season 7 but aren’t sure whether or not it will happen.

Speaking to RadioTimes.com at the Radio Times Covers Party earlier this year, the Fourth Man himself, Nigel Boyle, explained: “I was chatting to [executive producer] Simon Heath earlier and I was saying, ‘Come on mate. [What’s happening?]” And he was like, ‘We’d kind of like to but we don’t know if it’s going to happen.’

“I said, ‘What’s the official line?’ And he said, ‘Well, there isn’t one.’”

As for creator Mercurio, he hasn’t committed to another season but he also hasn’t ruled it out.

In the run-up to season 6 last year, he told RadioTimes.com the prospect of a continuation was uncertain.

“We’re in a situation where it’s not entirely clear that there will be a seventh series,” he said. “We would hope there could be. But we’re having to do our planning coming out of COVID, and a whole bunch of other things, around the idea that these things aren’t guaranteed at all now.

“A lot of it depends on the key creatives – that’s me and the main actors – finding new stories to tell within that universe,” he added.

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