Line of Duty season 6: When will the new series air, who is in the cast and is there a trailer?

10 March 2021, 12:12 | Updated: 10 March 2021, 12:14

By Naomi Bartram

@naomibartram

When does Line of Duty season 6 start? And what time is it on BBC One? Here's what we know...

Line of Duty fans are eagerly awaiting the release of the new series after production was put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The drama - which follows police anti-corruption unit AC-12 - was supposed to return to our screens after a two year gap in summer 2020.

But with the country put on lockdown back in March last year, viewers have been wondering when Ted Hastings, Kate Fleming and Steve Arnott will be back.

So when will Line of Duty air, who is in the cast and how did season five end?

When will Line of Duty season 6 air?

Line of Duty season 6 is back on our screens on Sunday 21 March at 9pm.

You can watch it on BBC One or BBC iPlayer.

When the show does finally return, an 18-month time jump has been confirmed, with a brief synopsis explaining that season 6 will see AC-12 explore a case that focuses on Detective Chief Inspector Joanne Davidson (Kelly Macdonald).

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Who will star in Line of Duty season 6?

The behind-the-scenes photos confirm Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar), Steve Arnott (Martin Compston) and Kate Flemming (Vicky McClure) will all be back.

Shalom Brune-Franklin joins the cast as DC Chloe Bishop, helping AC-12 with their investigations, while Trainspotting actor Kelly Macdonald was announced as a guest lead for the new series.

She is playing Detective Chief Inspector Joanne Davidson, the 'senior investigating officer of an unsolved murder, whose unconventional conduct raises suspicions at AC-12'.

Other characters who haven’t yet been killed off include Steve's love interest DS Sam Railston (Aiysha Hart), DCC Andrea Wise (Elizabeth Rider), Hastings' wife Roisin (Andrea Irvine) and PC Tatleen Sohota (Taj Atwal).

Jed Mercurio said: "We're honoured that Kelly Macdonald will join Martin, Vicky and Adrian in series six of Line Of Duty. DCI Joanne Davidson will prove the most enigmatic adversary AC-12 have ever faced."

John Corbett (Stephen Graham) was tragically murdered last season so definitely won’t be back, but young gang member Ryan Pilkington (Gregory Piper) is certainly set to return after joining the police at the end of season five.

Is there a trailer for Line of Duty series 6?

The BBC shared a a full length trailer which gives a glimpse of the drama to come.

Line of Duty | Series 6 | Trailer

Will series six be the last series of Line of Duty?

At this point in time, we’re still not sure. The BBC hasn’t commissioned a seventh series yet, but judging by the popularity of season five, it might not be the last we see of the show.

Director Jed previously said: “Once series five has finished airing we’ll have a conversation with the BBC, with a view to whether there’s a possibility to series seven being commissioned. But we definitely know we’ve got series six.”

How did season five of Line Of Duty end?

The fifth run of Line of Duty centred around undercover officer John Corbett who went to extreme lengths to catch head of the Organised Crime Group (OCG) ‘H’.

Corbett’s dangerous mission was uncovered and he faced a grisly end when his throat was slit by the OCG.

It’s thought Corbett’s cover was blown thanks to a tip-off from imprisoned henchman Lee Banks. Ted Hastings then came under fire when it was suspected he was the source who told Banks to get revenge on Corbett for beating his wife earlier in the series.

After a large amount of bribe money was discovered in Hastings’ hotel room, Carmichael then arrested him for conspiring to murder Corbett. However, this investigation exposed Gill Biggeloe for trying to frame Ted.

In the season finale, Hastings returned to duty after a brief suspension, but the identity of 'H' still remains a mystery.

The final eerie scene then revealed one corrupt member of the force is still at large.

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