Line of Duty star Ace Bhatti appeared on BBC One's Morning Live this morning, and naturally it didn't take long for Jed Mercurio's police corruption drama to come up as a topic of conversation.

Advertisement

Bhatti, who plays PCC Rohan Sindwhani in Line of Duty, was on the show to promote his role in the second series of Baptiste but hosts Gethin Jones and Janette Manrara were quick to take the discussion in a different direction.

Asked by Manrara if he thought the hit drama would return for a seventh series, Bhatti didn't give too much away.

"We're not allowed to say – I'm not allowed to say," he said coyly. "I have no idea.

"No one knew who H was and none of those things," he added.

More like this

Bhatti went on to call the response to the show "fantastic" and told an anecdote which proved the devotion fans have to the show.

Recalling the time season five was airing on TV, he said: "I was in a bar and someone approached me and slipped £20 onto the bar and slid it across saying, 'Are you H?' I mean, I was just having a drink and I said, 'No my name's Ace, what's going on?!'"

When Jones mentioned that he'd spent a lot of time hating Bhatti's character on the show, he added, "It's Jed's writing; it's a nuanced character. I think it helped that the actors didn't know who H was. We didn't know, you don't know who's going to die, you don't know who's going to live and that's sort of like real life in a way.

"So it sort of helped not knowing so you don't play anything, you just play what's on the page."

The sixth season of Line of Duty finally wrapped up the longstanding mystery as to the identity of The Fourth Man, or H, and has led many fans to believe that the show might be done for good.

But there has been no confirmation that the series has run its course, and most of the show's stars have gone on record to say they'd love to return.

Earlier this year, Adrian Dunbar told Tom Allen on the BAFTA TV red carpet that “there may be a way to go” with the Fourth Man storyline, while Martin Compston told ES Magazine, "The idea that I would never work with all the guys again together would be heartbreaking."

Mercurio himself was cautious when discussing the future of his hit drama before the sixth season, telling 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."

He added, “A lot of it depends on the key creatives – that’s me and the main actors – finding new stories to tell within that universe."

Advertisement

Line of Duty is available to stream on BBC iPlayer. Take a look at more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement