A new series of Line of Duty [1] is on its way in 2021, and it's about time because we can't wait for more action from our favourite anticorruption unit. In a "memorandum to staff [2]" from Superintendent Ted Hastings on 3 Feb, it was revealed that series six of the award-winning series will return to the BBC soon (and with one more episode than usual).
As with most shows airing in 2021 [3], it's been a long road getting here. Production was shut down when the COVID-19 pandemic spread in the United Kingdom, but it thankfully restarted in August 2020 [4] (and wrapped up filming in November). And while the reruns of series one to five on BBC iPlayer have been very welcomed, they've just made us even more excited for the new season.
As for where the show is headed next, it's not yet confirmed whether there'll be a seventh series of Line of Duty. At the risk of jumping the gun, here's what we know so far. In 2017, series creator Jed Mercurio told Radio Times [5] that "at the moment, there is a great appetite among all of us involved in the programme to do more." He added: "What we don't know is whether there will come a point where we kind of lose that enthusiasm to keep going back."
When series five aired in 2019, it was the second-most streamed TV show on BBC iPlayer, so hopefully that means it's as good as confirmed.
Keep on reading to see exactly who's returning to reprise their roles in series six of Line of Duty, and get to know the newcomers who are joining them.
Vicky McClure as DI Kate Fleming
Returning for another season of Line of Duty, Vicky McClure will appear in her role as DI Kate Fleming. In the first episode of series 6, we learn that Fleming has not only been promoted to Detective Inspector, but she has also left AC-12 and has since joined a new team that's investigating the murder of a high-profile news reporter.
In addition to Line of Duty, McClure has appeared in the Amazon Prime series Alex Rider and ITV's Broadchurch.
Adrian Dunbar as Superintendent Ted Hastings
Adrian Dunbar is stepping back into the shoes of AC-12 boss Superintendent Ted Hastings for season six of the series. While filming the BBC series, Dunbar has also appeared in Channel 5's thriller Blood.
Martin Compston as DI Steve Arnott
Martin Compston is once again joining the cast of Line of Duty to portray DS Steve Arnott, who gets promoted do DI in episode 2 (for a refresher on all the LOD acronyms and abbreviations [6], click here). His character was recruited to anticorruption during season one, after he refused to participate in a police cover-up following a bungled antiterrorism operation. Compston has also appeared in the 2018 film Mary Queen of Scots starring Margot Robbie.
Kelly Macdonald as DCI Joanne Davidson
Kelly Macdonald joins the cast in season six as DCI Joanne Davidson, whose unconventional techniques in investigating an unsolved murder raise suspicions among the AC-12 team. Macdonald is best known for her role in Boardwalk Empire [7] and for voicing Merida in the animated film Brave.
Shalom Brune-Franklin as DC Chloe Bishop
Australian actress Shalom Brune-Franklin [8] is best known for her roles in the 2020 Netflix original series Cursed and the BBC's Our Girl. A new addition to Line of Duty, she plays DC Chloe Bishop, the newest member of AC-12. Brune-Franklin was excited to join the cast, telling Radio Times that it was a huge "tripout" to be a part of a show she was such a fan of [9]. "I was running around being a fangirl and I don't know if that's ever going to wear off."
Andi Osho as Reporter Gail Vella
Andi Osho [10], whom you may recognise as Arabella's therapist in I May Destroy You [11], is joining the cast for Line of Duty series six. Osho plays TV reporter Gail Vella, who is fatally shot outside of her house in the period of time before series 6 begins. It's Vella's murder that DCI Joanne Davidson and her team (which now includes DI Flemming) are trying to solve.
Anneika Rose as PC Farida Jatri
Rose reprises her role as PC Farida Jatri, whom we first met in series 4 working out of Polk Avenue Station under the command of DCI Roz Huntley (who is now in prison). PC Jatri is now working at MIT under DCI Joanne Davidson, whom she not only reported to DS Arnott at AC-12 about her suspect behaviour during the Vella murder investigation, but also had a secret relationship with that appears to have ended (badly) right before series 6 begins.
Gregory Piper as Constable Ryan Pilkington
Gregory Piper was 13 when he first appeared in Line of Duty series one as Ryan Pilkington, a teenager recruited into the OCG and tasked with couriering untraceable burner phones (he also, as we were reminded in series 6 [12], tried to cut off DS Arnott's fingers with bolt croppers). In series six, Piper reprises his role, except now he's a constable at Hillside station, brought on by DCI Joanne Davidson.
Tommy Jessop as Terry Boyle
Although Terry Boyle has been an important character from the beginning of the show, this will be Tommy Jessop's second time taking on the role (he appeared in season five, whilst actor Elliott Rosen played Boyle in season one). The Winchester-born actor has appeared in TV series like Doctors, Holby City and Casualty, and films such as Coming Down the Mountain. In 2019, Jessop was also selected for BAFTA Elevate, a 12-month programme that supports talent from underrepresented groups in progressing their careers, and helps tackle the issue of diversity in our industries as a whole.
Perry Fitzpatrick as DS Chris Lomax
Another new addition to the cast, Perry Fitzpatrick previously appeared in Downton Abbey and Cursed. Fitzpatrick plays DS Chris Lomax, a member of DCI Davidson's MIT team investigating the murder of Gail Vella.
Rosa Escoda as Amanda Yao
No stranger to Line of Duty, Rosa Escoda is reprising her role as Amanda Yao, AC-12's resident cybercrime expert.
Ace Bhatti as Crime Commissioner Rohan Sindwhani
Bhatti returns as Crime Commissioner Rohan Sindwhani, a character who first appeared in series 5 and who was elected on a platform of "shaking things up" and exposing corruption in the police forth. Bhatti is no stranger to our screens. He most recently starred in The Stranger, but has also appeared in EastEnders, Cold Blood, and Coronation Street, as well as in the film Bend it Like Beckham.
Elizabeth Rider as DCC Andrea Wise
In series 6, Elizabeth Rider reprises her role as DCC Andrea Wise. Before Line of Duty, Rider has appeared in Doctors, Informer, Doctor Who, Waking the Dead, and Vera.
Nigel Boyle as DS Ian Buckells
Nigel Boyle is no stranger to our TV screens, having starred in Small Axe, The End of the F***ing World, Doctors, and Silent Witness, with credits in Peaky Blinders, Home Fires, Humans, and Coronation Street as well.
He's also no stranger to Line of Duty, having appeared in series one and four. We first met him as a DI working on the Jackie Laverty case, and then again as a DCI who took over Roz Huntley's and worked with Kate whilst she was undercover. Now, in series six, he's a detective superintendent, over seeing the MIT on The Hill.
Owen Teale as Chief Constable Philip Osborne
Teale's character Philip Osborne has been on the show since series 1, when he was Chief Inspector and removed DS Arnott from the Counter Terrorism unit for refusing to take part in a cover up. At some point between series 3 and 6, Osborne was appointed Chief Constable of Central Police, the position he will hold in this newest series — not a great omen for Arnott and AC-12.
Prasanna Puwanarajah as Nadaraja
Previously appearing in Patrick Melrose (starring Benedict Cumberbatch) and the BBC One series Doctor Foster: A Woman Scorned, Prasanna Puwanarajah plays Nadaraja in Line of Duty series six, one of Gail Vella's producers at the TV station she worked at. In episode 2, he alerts DS Arnott and DC Bishop about a podcast Gail was working on.