Stephen Graham Line Of Duty
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Line Of Duty’s new villain is “most dangerous” yet

BBC police drama returns this Sunday with Stephen Graham trying to outwit AC-12

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Line Of Duty makes its long-awaited return to our screens this Sunday, and the show’s star Martin Compston has revealed that season five is set to be “one of the most exciting” series yet.

Martin, who plays DS Arnott in the BBC’s brilliant police drama, told Digital Spy that new villain John Corbett, a master criminal played by actor Stephen Graham, will leave viewers terrified.

Martin Compston and Vicky McLure on the red carpet
Martin stars alongside Vicky McClure in the BBC’s popular police drama Line Of Duty (Credit: Wenn)

In a break from their usual line of enquiry, where they target bent coppers, this time the AC-12 gang will go after Corbett’s Balaclava Men, and it promises to be one hell of a ride according to Martin.

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“The people we’re usually chasing are cops – they’re not out-and-out bad people, some of them have been forced into criminal acts by the situations they’ve found themselves in,” the Scottish-born actor revealed.

“But he’s just a criminal, he’s a murderer, he’s the leader of this gang… one of which threw me down a flight of stairs!” he added.

Stephen Graham Line Of Duty
Stephen Graham joins the cast as the head of killer gang the Balaclava Men (Credit: BBC)

Martin added: “So they are scary people. In terms of dangerous situations, its definitely the scariest.”

Liverpool-born Stephen, who has appeared in This Is England, Snatch and Little Boy Blue, will star in the new series of Line Of Duty alongside AC-12 regulars Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar.

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However, the show’s creator Jed Mercurio recently said that he is thinking about how to end the award-winning show – before viewers get bored.

“I have had some thoughts. I don’t know how long it can go on for. I think a lot of it depends on how the viewers respond to it,” he told the Mirror.

Line Of Duty new cast photo
DS Steve Arnott, DS Kate Fleming and Superintendent Ted Hastings take on criminal mastermind John Corbett (Credit: BBC)

Mercurio added: “I think we recognise that it has got a lifespan. We have to calibrate that against what the audience response it.”

Line Of Duty returns to BBC One on Sunday March 31 at 9pm.

Let us know if you’re looking forward to the new series – and if you ever want it to end – on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix.


Nancy Brown
Associate Editor

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