Line of Duty announces air date for season 6

From Good Housekeeping

Contains spoilers for Line of Duty season five.

Line of Duty season five ended on a spectacular note, as it was revealed AC-12 have been barking up the wrong tree by chasing one person known as ‘H’. Gill Biggleloe was unmasked as being corrupt, Ted Hastings was proven innocent – for now – and it was explained that one more corrupt police member remains at large.

With a sixth season officially commissioned by the BBC, here’s all the news from filming plus what we know so far about what’s coming next...

STREAM LINE OF DUTY SEASONS ONE TO FIVE HERE

The show is returning on Sunday 21 March at 9pm, it's been announced.

DC Chloe Bishop has joined as an important new member of AC-12

Makers of the show announced a new character, DC Chloe Bishop (Shalom Brune-Franklin) who will be joining AC-12 to assist in their important work on a tricky upcoming case.

The BBC also shared an image showing Chloe with her AC-12 colleages.

There's going to be an extra episode

The BBC shared a first-look preview clip of the upcoming season, a scene between Hastings and Arnott, to give fans a taste of what to expect.

Excitingly, the preview ends with the announcement of an extra episode meaning the series will be made up of seven parts, not six, making it Line of Duty's longest series ever.

Work on season 6 was firmly underway pre-lockdown.

Star of the series Martin Compston shared a picture in uniform with co-star Adrian Dunbar and showrunner Jed Mercurio.

However, filming had to halt when the pandemic hit the UK and social distancing measures were introduced. At the time, Mercurio was considering a rewrite of the series.

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The BBC shared an image of the filming...

Jed also shared a first look at new cast member Kelly Macdonald as DCI Jo Davidson in the interview room with AC-12.

Line of Duty season 6: When’s it on TV?

BBC One has announced Line of Duty fans will see the hit-series back on their screens on Sunday 21 March at 9pm.

Line of Duty season 6: Who’s in it?

We’ll see Adrian Dunbar, Vicky McClure and Martin Compston return as the show’s regulars, Hastings, Fleming and Arnott, of course.

Shalom Brune-Franklin joins the cast as DC Chloe Bishop, helping AC-12 with their investigations.

Given the huge impact her character made towards the end of season five, it’s possible we’ll see Anna Maxwell Martin return as Patricia Carmichael.

Excitingly, Kelly Macdonald will guest star.

Showrunner Jed Mercurio shared an image of himself, Vicky McClure, Martin Compston and Adrian Dunbar "awaiting the arrival of secret guest stars."

Then the BBC revealed Macdonald will play Detective Chief Inspector Joanne Davidson, the senior investigating officer of an unsolved murder, whose unconventional conduct raises suspicions at AC-12.

Jed Mercurio said: "We're honoured that Kelly Macdonald will join Martin, Vicky and Adrian in Series 6 of Line of Duty. DCI Joanne Davidson will prove the most enigmatic adversary AC-12 have ever faced."

Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama, added: “We’re delighted that Kelly Macdonald is coming on board for series six. She’s one of the UK’s most versatile actors and we’re excited for viewers to see what Jed’s scripts have in store for her when she joins the Line of Duty team.”

Joining Line of Duty for the first time this series are Shalom Brune-Franklin (Our Girl, Cursed), Perry Fitzpatrick (This Is England, I Am Nicola), Andi Osho (Kiri, Curfew) and Prasanna Puwanarajah (Doctor Foster, Patrick Melrose).

Line of Duty season 6: What will it be about?

We imagine the series will follow AC-12 as they try to discover who the fourth corrupt police member is, under the command of Hastings who is clearly on thin ice after what happened in season five.

Lisa McQueen told police the OCG was fully neutralised in the final episode of series five, but now we know member Ryan Pilkington is a junior police officer, will he continue the OCG’s work from the inside?

Expect to also see more of Fleming and Arnott’s personal lives as they struggle with the balance between love, family and work.

Watch this space for more news.

Line of Duty will return to BBC One on 21 March at 9pm.

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