\n\tIt\u2019s official: Line of Duty is back.<\/p>\n
\n\tJed Mercurio\u2019s hit police procedural will return to the BBC<\/a> for a seventh series, with stars Vicky McClure<\/a>, Martin Compston and\u00a0Adrian Dunbar\u00a0reprising their roles.<\/p>\n \n\tThe show\u00a0last aired in 2021, and the season six finale was the biggest drama episode \u2014 excluding soaps \u2014 since modern U.K. records began in 2002, with an enormous 17 million viewers after 28 days.<\/p>\n \n\tThe new six-part series, created and written by Mercurio and produced by World Productions in association with ITV Studios for BBC iPlayer and BBC One, will start filming in Belfast in spring 2026. Further cast will be announced in due course.<\/p>\n \n\tIn season 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 (Compston), Fleming (McClure) and Ted Hastings (Dunbar) are assigned their most sensitive case so far.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cDetective 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,\u201d reads a plot synopsis. \u201cBut is Gough\u2019s case a deliberate distraction from a bigger threat still operating in the shadows?\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSaid creator, writer and executive producer Mercurio: \u201cEveryone involved in Line of Duty feels enormous gratitude to the show\u2019s fans. We\u2019re privileged to have had so many of you follow the ups and downs of AC-12 over six previous seasons and we couldn\u2019t 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\u2019ve been forced to use my imagination.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tLindsay Salt, director of BBC Drama, added: \u201cLine of Duty is beloved by audiences and critics alike and its amazing ratings are a true testament to the success of Jed\u2019s writing, the work from the brilliant team at World Productions and the entire cast and crew. I\u2019m so pleased that after four long years Line of Duty will be back filming soon and can\u2019t wait for BBC viewers to be back on the edge of their seats.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tCompston described the show as \u201ca job of a lifetime\u201d while McClure said: \u201cBelfast, we\u2019ll see you soon!\u201d Dunbar commented: \u201cAs 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.\u201d<\/p>\n