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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Rebecca Cook

Line of Duty's Martin Compston 'thinks' he will reprise Steve Arnott role in hit BBC drama


Line of Duty’s Martin Compston has lifted the lid on the future of the hot BBC police drama after the dramatic finale of the sixth season.

Jed Mercurio's police procedural was one of the biggest shows of 2021, with the finale episode beating out its own record with an average of 12.8 million viewers.

But despite proving a ratings smash, the future of the show is still up in the air, with no word on whether a seventh season of the show is coming.

However, Line of Duty star Martin Compston, who plays detective inspector Steve Arnott, has hinted at the distinct possibility that the AC-12 will be hitting screens again soon.

The 37-year-old actor said there is “definitely scope” for another series during an appearance on The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X this morning.

He said the team “thinks” there is still a future for the show (PA)

As the actor promoted his new TV show Our House, he said the team “thinks” there is still a future for the show.

Asked whether he had another turn as Steve Arnott in him, Martin said: “We think so. I’m delighted with the response, in terms of people are now really intrigued to see if there is another one, but there's nothing changed for us in terms of where we're at after we finish a series.

“We always take a year between at least. The dust settles and Jed figures out whether there's a story to tell. So I'm delighted that people are so excited and so desperate to find out but, as I say, this is what we've done after every series so we'll just wait and see what he thinks.”

Jed Mercurio's police procedural was one of the biggest shows of 2021 (BBC/World Productions/Steffan Hill)

He concluded: “I think there’s definitely scope for it.”

Martin went on to reflect on the challenges on set when shooting the most recent season of the show, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

He said: “It's such a sociable show in terms of us, pals, and going out with crew and all that stuff and we filmed the last one during Covid-19 and it was a tough shoot and kind of miserable, because we were one of the first jobs back and it was literally on set, nowhere near anybody, and then back to your flat.

The 37-year-old actor said there is “definitely scope” for another series (PA)

“We couldn't even mix with each other. So I think for us, it wouldn't be nice to go out that way, we'd like to do one more with everybody.”

Line of Duty was awarded the title of the UK's highest-rated TV drama in 13 years, beating previous title-holder Doctor Who, ITV's popular period drama Downton Abbey and Mercurio's own Bodyguard.

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