2 weeks Ago By Extra Reporter
Jesus, Mary and Joseph and the wee donkey – it’s almost enough to make bent coppers want to hand themselves in.Line Of Duty, the acclaimed TV drama about an anti-corruption squad tasked with weeding out unscrupulous officers, is set to return next autumn.Filming of the seventh series is expected to start in January 2026, with stars Fermanagh’s Adrian Dunbar, Scot Martin Compston and England’s Vicky McClure signing up for six episodes.
Adrian Dunbar as Ted Hastings with Vicky McClure as Kate Fleming in Line Of Duty. Pic: Bernard Walsh/BBCThe show, which first aired in 2012, quickly achieved cult status, with fans lapping up the Irish catchphrases of Superintendent Ted Hastings, including ‘Jesus, Mary and Joseph and the wee donkey’, ‘Now, we’re sucking diesel’, and ‘I didn’t float up the Lagan in a bubble’, ad libbed by Dunbar.But the last series of the BBC drama, watched by 13m viewers, left fans underwhelmed after H, an elusive mastermind with links to organised crime, was unmasked as hapless Detective Inspector Ian Buckells, played by Nigel Boyle.
But fans have been clamouring for the show’s return.The stars of Line of Duty have teamed up with Lee Mac and Jason Isaacs for a Sport Relief special. Pic: BBCDunbar, 66, hinted the show would be back during a recent interview with Extra.
ie columnist Ryan Tubridy on his Virgin Radio show, letting slip that writer Jed Mercurio was currently working on a script.Speaking about his famous sayings, Dunbar said: ‘The one I didn’t get in, about not stopping things happening, is: “Don’t stall the digger”. That’s going in next season.
’A TV source told The Sun: ‘This is the news Line Of Duty fans have been waiting for since the sixth season left them deflated when it aired in 2021.’The BBC almost immediately requested more episodes, but the success of the show meant Vicky, Martin and Adrian were snapped up for other projects. They’ve finally managed to clear space in their calendars.
REPORTING BY JACINTA TAYLOR.
