Line of Duty star Adrian Dunbar has issued a fresh hint that the BBC drama will return – but he admits there is a stumbling block as there’s currently no script. Fans of the crime series were left devastated when co-star Martin Compston first broke the news that there were “no immediate plans” for a series revival.
Back in May, Vicky McClure, who rose to prominence through Line Of Duty, evaded questions about any potential series resurgence while being probed on ITV’s This Morning.
However, whispers of a new season have recently gained momentum as reports suggested that Martin, Vicky, and Adrian joined forces with show creator, Jed Mercurio, to negotiate terms and potential shooting schedules for a seventh instalment. Adrian, aged 66, now teases a potential BBC comeback, with only the script yet to materialise.
During an interview with Times Radio this Monday, November 11, Adrian commented on the prospect of Line Of Duty returning, saying: “I hope so. Looks like it. All the signals and everything is kind of, you know, (positive) but as somebody said, until the script hits the desk you can’t be 100% sure. So we’re all hoping that someone somewhere will make an announcement and say, yes, it’s happening. And we can all take it from there. I can tell you one thing…the day they announce it, it’s going to burn up the internet,” reports the Mirror.
He reflected on portraying Superintendent Ted Hastings in the hit series by saying: “To end up creating what is an iconic character on British television and also within an iconic TV show would have been a huge ambition of mine. And so to do it is a very humbling and very satisfying experience. So that’s how I’d describe it. It’s been, it’s something that kind of when you think about it keeps you warm. It’s very, very nice.”
It’s not the first time Adrian has sparked excitement among Line Of Duty fans. Recounting a July 2024 interview on Good Morning Britain, he was quizzed by Susanna Reid about the possibility of the show’s comeback, to which Adrian enthused: “I think so, Vicky [McClure] thinks so, Martin [Compston] thinks so. Everybody thinks so. It’ll be down to the BBC and Jed Mercurio I think, when and whether we do it.”
Subsequently, he hinted at the collective eagerness to proceed: “We’re all up for it” and are “keeping their fingers crossed”, before expressing his hope with the words: “Hopefully somebody will make a decision at some point and everybody will go ‘Oh they’re off again!'”
Speaking with The Daily Mirror in April, Martin Compston offered a more guarded view: “I’m sorry. They’re some of my closest friends, we all love Jed [Mercurio], and we’d all love to work together at some point, but there are no immediate plans.”
Reinforcing this sentiment, he added: “It’s just getting us all together and stuff. We’d like to but, yeah, these things are a bit complicated. But there are no immediate plans.”