Line of Duty season seven could begin in months, teases Martin Compston

4 March 2022, 11:34

Martin Compston has hinted that Line of Duty could return to filming in just months.

It’s good news for Line of Duty fans, as a new series could be in the works.

The popular sixth season of the BBC drama was thought to be the last, after viewers finally found out who H is.

But now Steve Arnott actor Martin Compston has teased this might not be the end of AC12 during an appearance on The One Show.

Reading out a viewer’s question, host Alex Jones asked: “Is there any truth about series seven of Line of Duty?”

• Inside Martin Compston's relationship with actress wife Tianna Chanel Flynn
• What is Martin Compston's net worth?
• Line of Duty season 7: Will there be another series of Line of Duty or is this the last?

The 37-year-old replied: “Look, it’s really satisfying how much people have taken it to their hearts and that there’s so much interest in whether we’re coming back or not.”

“We always take at least a year off,” he said, continuing: “And then Jed decides if there’s a story or not to tell.”

Martin then went on to say a new series would only be created if there is a story worth telling, finally telling viewers: “He wouldn’t do it just for the sake of it.

“He’d only do it if he thinks it would take the story forward or there’s something there for people to respond to.”

Martin stars alongside co-stars Vicky McClure - who plays Kate Fleming - and Ted Hastings actor Adrian Dunbar.

While the show was only commissioned up to season 6, creator Jed Mercurio previously hinted he could have more of a story to tell.

He said at a press screening ahead of the fifth season: “I don’t know. We all love making the show. I think a lot depends on how people respond to it.

“I think that it’s great that people get very excited about it, when they get to the end of the series and they talk about what they want to know, and what they want to see next.

“But I think we recognise that it’s got a life span, so I think we’ve got to calibrate that against the audience responses.

“I have some thoughts [about how it’s all going to end].”

Speaking Mark Billingham on the Albi podcast, A Stab in the Dark about the storyline for a seventh season, the writer added: “I know the basics of it, yes, but its terms of how we get their episode by episode, that’s something that I leave until we actually get into script development on the given series.

Line of Duty | Series 6 | Trailer

“I don’t think very far ahead in terms of actually plotting out, but since series two finished we’ve always had conversations with the BBC about how far ahead they were prepared to commission the series.

“So, series three was commissioned with a series of four already in the bag, which meant we knew that series three didn’t have to be the last and we’ve carried on that way really up until series six, where we always knew there was the possibility that of another series.

“And that’s become increasingly important because of the meta-narrative, the overall arc where there are so many loose ends, what we don’t want to do is have a loyal audience left hanging and frustrated because the series doesn’t get re- commissioned and there are lots of unanswered questions, which we’ve never had the opportunity to address.”

In the past, Line of Duty has taken a two-year hiatus before returning to screens, so we might have to wait a while for season 7.