Line of Duty confirms its return with upcoming season seven

Every British crime TV junkie has been waiting for this day, one they thought would never come.

The BBC confirmed it is bringing back super-popular police thriller Line of Duty for a seventh season, more than four years after its most recent episodes wrapped.

Its three leads, Adrian Dunbar, Vicky McClure and Martin Compston, will reprise their roles, and the six upcoming episodes will be penned by creator Jed Mercurio. The gang’s all back together.

The show will start filming in Belfast next year in the Northern Hemisphere spring, which means Line of Duty – and potentially one of its signature interrogation scenes - could be back on screens as early as the end of 2026.

The high-intensity show is set within an anti-corruption unit of the police, with the team of investigators a new target within the force’s ranks each season.

That template has allowed for a which has allowed for a string of big-name actors to come in and be the focus of the case, including the likes of Stephen Graham, Kelly Macdonald, Lennie James, Keeley Hawes and Thandiwe Newton.

There had been a recurring thread throughout the show about a mastermind manipulating several events across the show’s run, which was resolved at the end of season six. That signalled that Line of Duty had met a natural narrative end despite its high ratings. In the UK, the season six finale attracted 17 million viewers.

What the BBC has revealed about the new season is the show will introduce a new character named Detective Inspector Dominic Gough, a celebrated cop who has landed many hits against organised crime. He is then accused of being a sexual predator, but is there something else going as well or instead?

Mercurio told the BBC, “We’re privileged to have had so many of you follow the ups and downs of (Line of Duty’s fictional unit) AC-12 over six previous seasons, and we couldn’t be more delighted to be returning for a seventh.”

He added, seemingly jokingly, “Corruption in this country is supposed to have come to an end while Line of Duty was off the air so I’ve been forced to use my imagination.”

Line of Duty premiered in 2012 and immediately hooked audiences with its propulsive and addictive storylines. Its popularity only grew as it hit streaming services around the world for second-window bingeing. In Australia, it is currently available on Britbox, Stan and Binge.

While its three continuing stars, Dunbar, McClure and Compston, were already established actors, Line of Duty supercharged their careers and opened the door for them to lead their own shows, including Vigil for Compston and Trigger Point for McClure.

Before Line of Duty, creator and writer Mercurio had credits shows such as The Grimleys, Bodies and Strike Back.

In between Line of Duty seasons two and three, Mercurio created the medical drama Critical, re-teaming with James.

In 2018, between seasons four and five of Line of Duty, Mercurio had a big hit with Bodyguard, a suspenseful political drama starring Hawes and Richard Madden about a divisive politician who becomes a target, and the protection officer assigned to keep her safe.

Bodyguard was a huge success for the BBC and for Netflix, the latter having licenced the show in some international territories. It was nominated for best drama at both the BAFTAs and the Emmys.

Since Line of Duty’s sixth season ended in 2021, Mercurio has primarily been serving as an executive producer on shows including DI Ray, Bloodlands and Payback.

He has another show in the works which he created – Trinity, a Netflix thriller about a naval commander and secretary of defence becoming embroiled in a conspiracy. That show was filmed over the past few months in Vancouver and stars Madden, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Marcia Gay Harden and JD Pardo.