Vicky McClure, left, and Kelly Macdonald in a scene from the BBC police drama series Line of Duty
The BBC confirmed production kicks off this spring (Picture: BritBox/Steffan Hill/AP)

Line of Duty last year confirmed that we will indeed get to see AC-12 again on the BBC, after what has felt like an interminable hiatus.

We’ve now started to receive casting news for the seventh season, ahead of production this spring in Belfast. 

We even have some plot details from the Beeb’s official announcement, as well as an exciting new guest star to add to the show’s tradition of roping in big names. 

The new six-part series will reunite the principal trio of Martin Compston, Vicky McClure, and Adrian Dunbar in their copper roles, so who else will be joining them? Here’s everything we know.

Who is in the cast of Line of Duty season 7?

Trainspotting star Robert Carlyle is the big casting announcement of the show so far; he will be the guest series lead, playing Detective Constable Shaun Massie.

Carlyle will follow in the footsteps of previous guest stars, including Stephen Graham, Thandiwe Newton, Daniel Mays, Keeley Hawes and Lennie James.

For use in UK, Ireland or Benelux countries only Undated BBC handout photo of Robert Carlyle who is to star as guest lead in the new series of Line of Duty. The 64-year old actor, known for Trainspotting and The Full Monty, will portray a specialist rifle officer Detective Constable Shaun Massie in the seventh series of the BBC show. He will join actors Martin Compston, Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar who will reprise their roles in the next instalment of Jed Mercurio's hit crime thriller, which is due to air next year. Issue date: Thursday February 19, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Austin G Shirley/BBC/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: Not for use more than 21 days after issue. You may use this picture without charge only for the purpose of publicising or reporting on current BBC programming, personnel or other BBC output or activity within 21 days of issue. Any use after that time MUST be cleared through BBC Picture Publicity. Please credit the image to the BBC and any named photographer or independent programme maker, as described in the caption.
‘The scripts for the series are excellent,’ said Robert Carlyle (Picture: Austin G Shirley/BBC/PA Wire)

Line of Duty (2012)
All three of the show’s big dogs will be back (Picture: BBC)

On joining the Line of Duty cast, Carlyle said in the official series announcement that he has long been a ‘huge admirer’ of show creator Jed Mercurio. 

‘The scripts for the series are excellent and will absolutely maintain the quality that the audience have come to expect from this fantastic show,’ Carlyle teased for fans. ‘DC Massie is an extraordinary character and I look forward to bringing him to life.’

We know that Steve Arnott (Compston), Kate Fleming (McClure) and Ted Hastings (Dunbar) will also be back, but will have to keep our eyes peeled for any additional casting announcements. 

What happened at the end of season 6?

The deranged and rather unpopular series six finale aired several years ago now, in 2021.

Television programme,
The seventh series will air sometime next year (Picture: BBC/AP)

There are high hopes that this upcoming series will go some way to repairing that divisive end.

Metro’s own review of the finale only awarded it three out of five stars, despite the episode holding the long-anticipated reveal of H’s identity.

Of course, expectations are high, particularly given the long wait, but what we know about the plot for season seven already sounds promising…

What do we know about the plot of season 7?

The BBC has already shared some choice details about what’s to come, so we know that in this next series AC-12 has been disbanded and rebranded as the Inspectorate of Police Standards. 

AC-12 might be no more, but there’s always going to be anticorruption work that needs doing, so the gang are assigned what has been described as their most sensitive case so far.

Carlyle’s character comes in as a veteran marksman, operating with Tactical Operations Unit 7 (TO-7) to take down organised crime groups.

Television Programme: Line of Duty S6. DI Kate Fleming (VICKY MCCLURE), DI Steve Arnott (MARTIN COMPSTON) - (C) World Production - Photographer: Steffan Hill
AC-12 has been officially disbanded in the new six-parter (Picture: BBC/World Productions/Steffan Hill)

A gruff loner, he keeps himself to himself, but when his boss, TO-7’s commanding officer DI Dominic Gough, is accused of being a sexual predator, his otherwise detached demeanour changes drastically. 

With that, could there be an even bigger threat at large?

Metro readers have been theorising what the six-parter series might hold beyond those initial details, so you can read about the possibilities they’ve cracked up here. 

Is there a release date?

The release date is a bit less set in stone than the cast and plot details at present.

The most we know is that series seven will be coming to BBC iPlayer and BBC One next year. So watch this space.

Line of Duty is available to stream now on BBC iPlayer.

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