Adrian Dunbar as Ted Hastings, Vicky McClure as Kate Fleming and Martin Compston as Steve Arnott in Line of Duty series seven - © BBC/World Productions/Steffan Hill
The BBC has released a comprehensive look at the new series of Line of Duty ahead of the show’s much-anticipated return early next year.
The story
A synopsis reads: “In series seven AC-12 has been disbanded and rebranded the Inspectorate of Police Standards. Anticorruption work has never been more difficult and in this challenging climate Steve Arnott (Martin Compston), Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure) and Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar) are assigned their most sensitive case so far.
“Detective Inspector Dominic Gough, a charismatic officer winning plaudits for a string of takedowns of organised crime, is accused of abusing his position of trust to act as a sexual predator. But is Gough’s case a deliberate distraction from a bigger threat still operating in the shadows?”
The cast
Compston, McClure and Dunbar are back as Arnott, Fleming and Hastings respectively in key roles at the IPS.
Robert Carlyle is the guest lead as Police Constable Shaun Massie – a Specialist Rifle Officer (SRO), a veteran marksman, operating with Tactical Operations Unit 7 (TO-7) to take down Organised Crime Groups. A gruff loner, Massie keeps himself to himself, but when his boss, TO-7’s commanding officer DI Dominic Gough, is accused of being a sexual predator, Massie’s otherwise detached demeanour changes drastically.
Tom Weston-Jones is playing Gough – a charismatic officer who has won plaudits for a string of takedowns of organised crime. Gough is accused of abusing his position of trust to act as a sexual predator. But is his case a deliberate distraction from a bigger threat still operating in the shadows?
Gough’s TO-7 team also includes Laura Aikman as DC Paula Beckman, Levi Brown as DC Luke Tobin, and Amy Leigh Hickman as DC Nira Rashid.
Other returning cast members include Mark Bonnar as former Deputy Chief Constable Mike Dryden, Owen Teale as Chief Constable Philip Osborne, Perry Fitzpatrick as DS Chris Lomax and Christina Chong as DI Nicky Rogerson.
Other new cast members include David Calder, Steven Elder, Dominic Mafham, Aimee Powell and Naomi Yang.
Production credits
Creator Jed Mercurio has written all six episodes – as he has every single episode of the show to date – and also directed episodes four to six. Jennie Darnell directed episodes one to three.
Air date
Filming on the series wrapped in Northern Ireland earlier this year. The BBC has yet to confirm a premiere date beyond “2027”, although expectations point to an early 2027 airdate.
First-look pictures
