Filming wraps for Line of Duty series 7
The new series is due to air in 2027
Since it first hit our screens back in 2012, Line of Duty has amassed legions of fans, with six series of the much-loved show airing in total. The gripping sixth series aired in 2021, where viewers finally found out the identity of H.
After years of rumours and speculation, the BBC and creator Jed Mercurio delighted fans in November 2025, revealing a seventh series will happen, with filming starting in Northern Ireland on Monday 23rd March 2026.
Following the script read-through and further cast announcements, filming wrapped in July 2026!
Is Line of Duty coming back?
Although series six was originally believed to be the last series of Line of Duty, rumours of a seventh gathered momentum over the years, and in November 2025 the BBC officially confirmed the amazing news!
Sharing the news bosses wrote: 'Mother of God! Line of Duty is officially returning for a seventh series'.
Creator, writer and executive producer Jed Mercurio said at the time: “Everyone involved in Line of Duty feels enormous gratitude to the show’s fans. We’re privileged to have had so many of you follow the ups and downs of AC-12 over six previous seasons and we couldn’t be more delighted to be returning for a seventh. Corruption in this country is supposed to have come to an end while Line of Duty was off air so I’ve been forced to use my imagination.”
Simon Heath, World Productions’ CEO and creative director added: “There have been a number of significant reunions in recent years, but few more keenly anticipated than the return of AC12. It’s a privilege to be back with Jed’s terrific new chapter of the Line of Duty story.”
Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama then said: “Line of Duty is beloved by audiences and critics alike and its amazing ratings are a true testament to the success of Jed’s writing, the work from the brilliant team at World Productions and the entire cast and crew. I’m so pleased that after four long years Line of Duty will be back filming soon and can’t wait for BBC viewers to be back on the edge of their seats.”
On 16th March 2026, the BBC iPlayer Instagram account shared a video of Vicky McClure, Adrian Dunbar and Martin Compston, speaking to camera, where they showed off the script, covered by a shushing face emoji.
In the caption, the BBC re-confirmed filming for the series would start this spring.
In another post, the BBC also confirmed that the read-through for series 7 had started, sharing a photo of the three lead actors, along with Robert Carlyle, captioned: 'Now we’re sucking diesel! It’s back to work for this lot at the #LineOfDuty Series 7 read-through ❤️ 🎬 🚔
'The next instalment of Jed Mercurio’s hit crime thriller starts filming this spring. Watch Series 1–6 on iPlayer now.'
What will happen in series 7?
The BBC say 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?'
When will series 7 be released?
BBC bosses have now confirmed series seven will air in 2027, but we don't know an exact date just yet.
When was filming?
Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio confirmed on Monday 23rd March that filming had begun! Sharing a photo of new cast member Robert Carlyle holding up a clapperboard, the post read: 'Line of Duty 7. Day 1'.
Vicky McClure then shared the post to her own Instagram Story, writing: 'And we're off!!!'. (sic)
Then, on 11th July 2026, Vicky confirmed filming is now complete.
Sharing a photo to her Instagram page alongside co-stars Martin and Adrian, Vicky wrote: 'And we’re Off Duty!! 🚨🎬
'The last 4 months spent with two of my best mates @mrmartincompston #adriandunbar 🫶
'The brilliant cast & crew pulled out all the stops to bring @jed_mercurio script to life…thank you 🙏☘️
'Home time now, so can’t wait, missed my lot every single day. ♥️🏡♥️'. (sic)
Jed Mercurio was quick to comment on the post, writing: 'A well-earned rest for the Tremendous Trio after a monumental shoot'.
Who is in the cast?
Martin Compson, Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar will all return in their famous roles.
Martin Compston says: “Line of Duty has been a job of a lifetime. Not only in terms of the show's success but the people I’ve had the opportunity to work with I now call some of my closest friends. I can’t wait to pull the waistcoat on again and get the team back together.”
Vicky McClure says: “It goes without saying I’m so excited Line of Duty is back! Can’t wait to work with Jed, Martin and Adrian again. Belfast, we’ll see you soon!”
Adrian Dunbar adds: “As we count down the AC12 days of Christmas what a joy it is to know that the Three Amigos will be back filming together next year. Delighted with the news and looking forward to those mercurial twists and turns.”
On 19th February 2026, it was announced that Robert Carlyle has joined the cast as Detective Constable Shaun Massie, a Specialist Rifle Officer.
On 18th March, further casting details were announced, with Mark Bonnar reprising his role 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.
Joining the cast is Tom Weston-Jones, who will play Detective Inspector Dominic Gough, leader of Tactical Operations Unit 7 (TO-7). A charismatic officer who has won plaudits for a string of takedowns of organised crime, DI 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?
TO-7 will also feature Line of Duty newcomers Laura Aikman as DC Paula Beckman, Levi Brown as DC Luke Tobin, and Amy Leigh Hickman as DC Nira Rashid.
Further new cast members include David Calder, Steven Elder, Dominic Mafham, Sarah Andre White, Aimee Powell, and Naomi Yang.
How many episodes?
Series seven will be made-up of six episodes.
How can I watch it?
Series seven will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
All six series are available to watch on BBC iPlayer now.
READ MORE: Line of Duty: Everything you need to know about the police drama
What were the rumours about series seven?
Over the years, all cast members spoke about a potential seventh series. Check out all of the rumours below, before the official announcement.
Jed Mercurio
In March 2021, writer Jed Mercurio told the Radio Times: "We’re in a situation where it’s not entirely clear that there will be a seventh series. We would hope there could be. But we’re having to do our planning coming out of COVID, and a whole bunch of other things around the idea that these things aren’t guaranteed at all now.
"Since probably season four, we’ve been talking to the BBC about the realistic longevity of the series. I’ve experienced broadcasters pulling the plug while we were still developing a storyline –Bodies and Cardiac Arrest both ended prematurely on the BBC. So it’s an ongoing discussion, is all I can say. A lot of it depends on the key creatives – me and the main actors – finding new stories to tell within that universe."
Martin Compston
Scottish actor Martin Compston, who plays the role of DI Steve Arnott on the show, has also kept us all guessing, seemingly hinting that series six could have been the last, before sparking more hopeful season seven rumours.
Previously, speaking on the Shrine of Duty podcast, Martin said: "You know, people have stuck with us for such a long time. I think there comes a point where the natural story arc that's been running all these years is coming to an end."
Although he did go on to admit the cast and crew 'genuinely' don't know about the show's future, we are hoping for the best!
Admitting he would be 'heartbroken' if it didn't happen, Martin told ES Magazine in May 2021: "Jed always takes time away from it. I think what I would say, the two things I would say, is that the idea that I would never work with all the guys again together would be heartbreaking.
"But also with everything that's just gone on this week, I think everybody, including the audience, needs a bit of time away from it. So we'll see."
But Martin later got fans talking when he gave a more promising update later in the year, while picking up the Special Recognition Award at the 2021 National Television Awards. Accepting the show's second gong of the night, following the award for Returning Drama, Martin excited fans as he said: "We genuinely don't take this for granted and who knows, maybe we'll be back again..."
In 2023, Martin gave fans another promising update, revealing that the cast of the show are in a WhatsApp group chat with Jed Mercurio. Speaking on his Restless Natives podcast which he hosts with Gordon Smart, Martin said: "Well we would love to but at the moment there's no news.
"There's absolutely no immediate plans. Jed's on strike. We're all filming different stuff. We've got a WhatsApp group that was 'Line of Duty 6' and then a while ago Jed changed the name of it to 'Line of Duty 7'. And what I love about it is, we've never spoken about it since!"
Then in an interview with Lorraine in March 2025, Martin said, when asked whether there's more Line of Duty to come: “We’re all quite busy. I’m sure we’ll get to it at some point.
“We’re also very aware of getting people’s hopes up. So unless if you hear it from me, Vick, Adi or most importantly Jed, then, you know.
“We don’t come back just for the sake of it. He only comes back when he (Jed) thinks there’s a story to tell, but I’m sure he’s got something somewhere.”
In May 2025, following the reports that series seven could begin filming next year, Martin spoke to TV Mag, saying: “We're always talking about possibilities and schedules and whatnot.
“Everybody's got stuff going on at the minute, so I think anything, unfortunately, would be a way off.“
Vicky McClure
Back in January 2022, Vicky McClure gave us all another glimmer of hope as she hinted that her and her co-stars were all keen to return for the show. Speaking to The Guardian, the actress was quizzed on whether or not we can expect a Line of Duty series seven, to which Vicky responded: "I don't know! I don't know, there's no word of it."
However, the star then offered us a promising update as she continued: "I think we've all been really honest and said should that happen, we're all game. I'll just stick with the guys. I think when it comes to a close, it will be a natural close for us all."
In June 2022, Vicky then re-ignited the season seven rumour flame as she shared an image alongside her Line of Duty co-stars Adrian Dunbar (Superintendent Ted Hastings) and Martin Compston (DS Steve Arnott), as well as the show creator Jed Mercurio.
The trio then enjoyed a St Patrick's Day pint together in March 2025.
Adrian Dunbar
In November 2022, Adrian appeared on ITV Daytime show Lorraine, where he revealed he'd love to reunite with his Line of Duty co-stars.
When Lorraine Kelly asked: "Do we think perhaps if we can get you all in the same room, you might do another one?", Adrian said: "Yes, there is every possibility. We're all keeping our fingers crossed that we'll hear something at some point. We all want to get back together again. We'd love to go back to Belfast again.
“The last time we did it it was in lockdown, so we were all in bubbles. We couldn't get out… everything was shut. So we'd like to get back to Belfast for a bit of fun.”
Adrian did an interview with BBC Ulster in July 2025, saying: "We're all keeping our fingers crossed, just waiting on the BBC to make an announcement.
"I know Jed's working away. And I know me and Vicky and Martin really want to do it. So hopefully next year we'll be back in Belfast and rattling around the town making a nuisance of ourselves.
"The wheels are turning on that. It's just down to the BBC to make an announcement."
Just days later, Adrian then built excitement once more, telling The Times: "We’re really excited about getting our hands on a Line of Duty script, to see what happens to us. Jed is writing. We’ve talked to the BBC.
"It is down to the BBC to make an announcement, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed that next year we’ll be working on a new series. No doubt Jed will think of some interesting twists and turns.”
In early August 2025, Adrian seemed to contradict his recent comments, telling This Morning nothing has actually been confirmed yet. He said: "When it happens, yes, absolutely we'll be excited to go back."
"We actually don't know if it's going to happen. I actually called my agent this morning to see if there was any more news, but there isn't any more real definite news about it, sadly, so we're just going to have to wait.
"Everybody wants to know that it's happening, and so do we."
Now the news is official, Line of Duty is returning for a seventh series!