Line of Duty seasons 5: Trailer, release date and cast revealed

4 March 2019, 17:19 | Updated: 4 March 2019, 17:21

DS Steve Arnott, Superintendent Ted Hastings and DC Kate Fleming all featured in the season five trailer on the BBC, which dropped straight after the Bodyguard finale.

Line of Duty fans were treated to an unexpected teaser trailer for season five ahead of it's season

Creator Jed Mercurio has the nation gripped with his thrilling and gritty drama, which focuses on the AC-12 anti-corruption unit in the Central Constabulary police force.

READ MORE: Bodyguard creator planning 'three or four' series after epic TV finale

Here's what we know about the upcoming fifth series of Line of Duty including the cast and release date:

The Line Of Duty season plot and trailer

A new trailer shows DS Steve Arnott, played by Martin Compston, held at gunpoint by an assailant in a black balaclava.

Fans are met with a hijacking of a police transport, which leaves three officers dead and members of anti-corruption unit AC-12 suspecting it was an inside job.

The clip shows the return of Vicky McClure as DS Kate Fleming and Adrian Dunbar as Ted Hastings, and we're also introduced to Stephen Graham as a new criminal.

After the hijacking, Graham can be seen removing his balaclava and saying: "Job done, nice work lads."

There is also a reference to H, the corrupt senior officer that was thought dead at the end of series four.

The Line of Duty 5 cast

Fans of the show will be pleased to see the three key characters make a return.

DS Arnott (Martin Compston), Superintendent Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar) and newly-promoted DC Kate Fleming (Vicky McGlure) all appeared in the series 5 trailer, which saw a concerned Hastings announce: "AC-12 is being met with an institutional cover-up".

No other characters were present in the quick teaser, but it is rumoured that Little Boy Blue actor Stephen Graham is set to take on the new 'baddie' role after Thandie Newton's DCI Roz Huntley was written out last year.

When will Line of Duty series 5 air?

The trailer announced series 5 will return in 2019, but failed to reveal any exact dates.

Series 1 premiered on BBC Two in June 2012, with the follow-up returning to the same channel in the February two years later.

The third and fourth series were then broadcast on BBC One, with both airing in March of 2016 and 2017, so we can probably expect to see series five returning in spring next year.

Series curator Mercurio said: "With Line of Duty we’re shooting series five now, and series six has been commissioned which we’re gonna shoot hopefully in the next couple of years. “So yeah Line of Duty should be on air, series five early in 2019.”