Exclusive – Line of Duty fans predict which high-ranking officer will be revealed as 'H'
The mystery looks set to be solved tonight.
As the no doubt tense finale of Line of Duty series six looms, the fans have spoken.
Over 3,000 viewers voted in RadioTimes.com's poll to predict who would be unveiled as 'H' or 'The Fourth Man'.
And we can now reveal the results, with 33 per cent of fans convinced 'H' will turn out to be Chief Constable Philip Osborne (played by Owen Teale).
We first met Osborne way back in Line of Duty's first ever episode. At the time, he was head of the Counter-Terrorism Unit where Steve Arnott (Martin Compston) was employed.
It was soon clear they were at odds, and Osborne has been painted as a potentially shady character ever since.
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Several aspects of Osborne's storyline so far hint he could be the final of the four key bent coppers Ac-12 have been hunting down for so long.
For a start, he was shown to be close with Chief Superintendent Derek Hilton (Paul Higgins), who turned out to be corrupt.
When Arnott testified against him back in the early days of Line of Duty, no charges were brought and he was not prosecuted, which raised suspicion among many fans.
In the current series, Osborne has cropped up once again, in one instance being interviewed by murdered journalist Gail Vella (Andi Osho) in unaired archive news footage.
In the clip, Vella confronts Osborne over police recruitment figures, with explaining that the Force is 100 officers short of what their publicity statements are claiming, but he dismisses her figures. However, as she notes, those figures were sourced from the police force's own records – a point Osborne is less than pleased to have put to him on camera.
Tonight, we look set to find out once and for all who 'H'/'The Fourth Man' really is, if the trailer for the final episode is anything to go by. Will Osborne be unmasked? Or could it be someone else altogether?
Patricia Carmichael (Anna Maxwell Martin) came in second in our poll with 21 per cent of voters believing she was the fourth corrupt officer.
Andrea Wise (Elizabeth Rider) was third with 15 per cent of the vote, while the elusive Marcus Thurwell (James Nesbitt) came in fourth.
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The full breakdown of the results is as follows:
- Philip Osborne (33 per cent)
- Patricia Carmichael (21 per cent)
- Andrea Wise (15 per cent)
- Marcus Thurwell (10 per cent)
- Kate Fleming (eight per cent)
- Ted Hastings (five per cent)
- Rohan Sindwhani (five per cent)
- Ian Buckells (three per cent)
The Line of Duty series six finale airs tonight at 9pm on BBC One. If you're looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide or visit our Drama hub for all the latest news.
