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Legendary Trainspotting and Full Monty star Robert Carlyle has been cast as guest series lead in the new series of Line of Duty. After it was announced that Jed Mercurio’s series would indeed be returning for a seventh season, the casting of Carlyle represents a big coup, as he follows previous guests like Kelly Macdonald, Stephen Graham and Keeley Hawes.
The BAFTA-winning Carlyle will play Detective Constable Shaun Massie when it films this spring. He’ll be joining returning series leads Martin Compston, Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar,
Carlyle commented: “Having been a huge admirer of Jed Mercurio’s work for many years, I’m delighted to be given the opportunity to join such an exceptional cast for series 7 of Line of Duty. The scripts for the series are excellent and will absolutely maintain the quality that the audience have come to expect from this fantastic show. DC Massie is an extraordinary character and I look forward to bringing him to life.”
Jed Mercurio added: "On Line of Duty we've been honoured by the glittering guest leads who've joined the cast over the years. We couldn't be more thrilled that Robert Carlyle will star in series 7 as Specialist Rifle Officer Shaun Massie. I've been a huge fan of Robert's work for many years and it will be a career highlight to work with him. Robert always brings mesmerising power and depth to every role; I know viewers will be on the edge of their seats wondering what his character will do next, and why."
The set-up for series seven is that AC-12 have been disbanded and rebranded the Inspectorate of Police Standards. Anticorruption work has never been more difficult and in this challenging climate Steve Arnott, Kate Fleming, and Ted Hastings are assigned their most sensitive case so far. Detective Constable Shaun Massie is 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.
Line of Duty series seven is written and created by Jed Mercurio, who will also direct episodes 4-6. The series will once again film in Belfast. Series 1-6 of Line of Duty are available to stream now on BBC iPlayer.
