The Sun<\/a> has claimed that the show\u2019s three main stars \u2013 Adrian Dunbar,\u00a0Vicky McClure and\u00a0Martin Compston \u2013 are all in line to reprise their roles for a shorter final season, and that the episodes will bring the show to an \u201cexplosive climax\u201d.<\/p>\n The BBC declined to comment when approached by RadioTimes.com<\/a> about the report.<\/p> The potential future of the \u2018bent copper\u2019 series has long been a hot topic. It last appeared on our screens in May 2021 when its sixth season came to an extremely divisive conclusion following the unmasking of criminal mastermind H.<\/p>\n Since then, fans have been eagerly awaiting official news regarding a further run, but although the main stars have all gone on record to state their desire to return, no renewal has been confirmed.<\/p>\n Following the finale, BBC\u2019s chief content officer Charlotte Moore said she was \u201clooking forward to having a conversation with the team about where we go next and what the future of the series might be,\u201d but Mercurio has previously stated that the series \u201cmay have reached \u2018the Chandrasekhar Limit\u2019, at which a mass collapses under its own gravitational force\u201d.<\/p>\n According to The Sun\u2019s report, a TV insider was quoted as saying: \u201cThere was a very strong feeling, particularly among fans, that there was unfinished business with Line of Duty. Viewers weren\u2019t satisfied with the ending of season 6 and were crying out for a more sensational conclusion \u2014 now Jed can deliver that.\u201d<\/p>\n The article also claims that the potential closing season could essentially retcon the reveal at the end of the sixth run and unmask a different figure as H \u2013 proving that Det Supt Ian Buckells (Nigel Boyle) was just a red herring all along.<\/p>\n Previously, Adrian Dunbar had told Radio Times magazine <\/strong>that he was \u201choping something might happen next year\u201d<\/a> and that there was \u201csomething in Jed\u2019s laptop \u2013 a couple of templates as to how things could go\u201d while more recently he reiterated to RadioTimes.com <\/strong>that he would be \u201cvery keen\u201d to return.<\/a><\/p>\n If the reports are true, the finale could air over the Christmas period in 2023, but we\u2019ll keep you updated as and when more official developments come through.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re looking for more to watch, check out our\u00a0TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Streaming Guide<\/a>, or visit our\u00a0Drama<\/a>\u00a0hub for all the latest news.<\/strong><\/p>\n The Christmas double issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0<\/strong>subscribe now<\/strong><\/a>. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the\u00a0<\/strong>Radio Times View From My Sofa podcast<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div> <\/body><\/html>\n By Patrick Cremona Published: Thursday, 22 December 2022 at 12:00 am Jed Mercurio\u2019s beloved police corruption drama Line of Duty could be set to return for a special three-part finale in 2023, according to recent reports. The Sun has claimed that the show\u2019s three main stars \u2013 Adrian Dunbar,\u00a0Vicky McClure and\u00a0Martin Compston \u2013 are all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":27616,"template":"","categories":[1,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/line-of-duty-returning-for-explosive-final-episodes-next-year.jpg",1576,1080,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/line-of-duty-returning-for-explosive-final-episodes-next-year-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/line-of-duty-returning-for-explosive-final-episodes-next-year-300x206.jpg",300,206,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/line-of-duty-returning-for-explosive-final-episodes-next-year-768x526.jpg",768,526,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/line-of-duty-returning-for-explosive-final-episodes-next-year-1024x702.jpg",800,548,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/line-of-duty-returning-for-explosive-final-episodes-next-year-1536x1053.jpg",1536,1053,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/line-of-duty-returning-for-explosive-final-episodes-next-year.jpg",1576,1080,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Patrick Cremona Published: Thursday, 22 December 2022 at 12:00 am Jed Mercurio\u2019s beloved police corruption drama Line of Duty could be set to return for a special three-part finale in 2023, according to recent reports. The Sun has claimed that the show\u2019s three main stars \u2013 Adrian Dunbar,\u00a0Vicky McClure and\u00a0Martin Compston \u2013 are all…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/27615"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/04\/NINTCHDBPICT000650551200-822f9bb.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
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