Start date 'confirmed' for final series of Line of Duty
It's coming sooner than anticipated!
After the sixth and 'final' series of Line of Duty came to a pretty lacklustre ending back in 2021, fans of the award-winning BBC drama were thrilled earlier this year, when creator Jed Mercurio confirmed the show would be returning for a seventh series!
With Martin Compston, Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar all returning as AC-12, alongside new cast member Robert Carlyle, filming took place earlier this year, and now it looks like we have a start month!
When does Line of Duty series seven start?
Although there's no official start date from the BBC just yet, new reports are suggesting series seven could land a lot sooner than first antipcated!
According to The Sun, Line of Duty will return as early as January 2027, with a TV insider saying: “This will be welcome news for fans who have already been waiting five years for the next instalment in the story of AC-12.
“They will have been expecting this to land in late March and moving the show is a vote of confidence in the new series as January is when the Beeb likes to showcase its big dramas. Other shows, such as Sherlock, started off being broadcast in the summer, then shifted to January. It’s also when it debuted The Night Manager.
“Rumour has it that bosses have viewed early edits of the new run and are delighted with what they see.”
What is the new series about?
Although there's no trailer just yet, the BBC has said of the plot: '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?'
Will there be any more series?
It looks like the upcoming seventh series will almost certainly be the last.
Speaking to Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley on This Morning back in September, Martin seem suggest series seven will be the end of the franchise. He said: "It's not for me to say, it's for Jed (Mercurio) to say when the show will end, but I think it's fair to say this is the end of the story arc that's been building since series one. Everything will come to a head in this one."
When Ben cheekily added: "But the last one was supposed to be the last one," Martin said with a smile on his face: "This is the end. I think it would be fair to say that this is the end," before alluding to the fact something dramatic will happen at the end.
He concluded: "I think Jed really wanted to wrap it up. We have incredibly loyal fans, and I think he wanted to give them everything they wanted in this one. I'm excited about it. Because we take so long between filming, the scripts aren't rushed, he's had a long time to think about this so it's exciting."
READ MORE: A Line of Duty Live Experience is opening soon in the UK
Whilst we await series seven, all six series of Line of Duty are available on BBC iPlayer now.
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Author: Alex Ross
Alex Ross is a Digital Content Editor across Rayo brands, including the Hits Radio Network, Greatest Hits Radio, KISS, Cool FM and Magic Radio. After beginning her career as a Marketing Intern with Bauer Media in 2016, she transitioned into digital editorial and has spent the past decade creating engaging content for millions of readers. Whether it’s reality shows, sitcoms, gritty crime dramas or hard-hitting documentaries, Alex is an expert in all things TV, as well as knowing the ins and outs of celebrities.