Adrian Dunbar on ‘Line of Duty’ Season 6: “There are a lot of pay-offs!”

Line of Duty star Adrian Dunbar as Ted Hastings.

Adrian Dunbar plays Line of Duty favourite Ted Hastings. (Image credit: C) World Productions - Photographer: Steffan Hill)

Mother of God! Line of Duty stalwart and anti-corruption officer Superintendent Ted Hastings, played by Adrian Dunbar, is finding life as the head of AC-12 even tougher than usual as BBC1 thriller Line of Duty Season 6 begins on Sunday March 21, written once more by Jed Mercurio.

Hastings was found guilty of discreditable conduct and given a final warning at the end of the last series. But when AC-12 examines the unconventional actions of DCI Joanne Davidson (Kelly Macdonald) during a murder investigation, will he get the chance to prove himself and be ‘sucking on diesel’ once more?

We caught up with Adrian Dunbar to find out about Line of Duty Season 6…

Adrian Dunbar on where 'Line of Duty' Season 6 begins

“It starts in an incredible place. As each series has progressed, Jed’s managed to up the ante and provide something that's more exciting than the last. And this time, the audience will be sitting up and going, ‘We didn't think it was going to start like this!'”

Kelly Macdonald in Line of Duty — DCI Joanne Davidson comes under suspicion in Line of Duty. (Image credit: C) World Productions - Photographer: Steffan Hill)

Adrian Dunbar on how the past and the hunt for the fourth corrupt figure who is part of a shady quartet dubbed ‘H’, will impact on the series

“The past is crucial this time. Most of our leads are in possession of all the facts about what's happening around them but Joanne slightly isn't. And that's to do with the past and the earliest stuff from AC-12. For people who have been sticking with the series from the get-go, who follow it forensically, there are a lot of payoffs.”

Adrian Dunbar on filming having to stop for several months due to the pandemic

“It was hard, because these are complicated storylines already with twists and turns and lots to remember and we came back shooting out of sequence so you did need reminding where you were!”

Adrian Dunbar on whether he fears for Hastings’ future

“Vicky McClure (who plays DI Kate Fleming) reads the scripts first. Then she calls us up and tells us things that are lies about the characters, she gets a kind of evil satisfaction out of this! But we do worry, Jed could make you a baddie if he wanted and he has the capability to kill off characters who you think are going to last the whole series. Thankfully, we're all still here!”

Good day at work with my besties! 😂🥰 #dancelikenooneiswatching pic.twitter.com/3LefklRYqkOctober 8, 2020

“This once again is Vicky and her evil sense of humour, she ambushes you and goes, ‘Come here, dance to this.’ The next thing you know, a million people have watched it, but I don't mind making an idiot of myself!”

When can I watch Line of Duty Season 6?

The new seven-part series of Line of Duty airs on Sunday March 21 on BBC1 at 9pm and will also air on BBC iPlayer, where you can also catch up with the previous five series.

Caren has been a journalist specializing in TV for almost two decades and is a Senior Features Writer for TV Times, TV & Satellite Week and What’s On TV magazines and she also writes for What to Watch.

Over the years, she has spent many a day in a muddy field or an on-set catering bus chatting to numerous stars on location including the likes of Olivia Colman, David Tennant, Suranne Jones, Jamie Dornan, Dame Judi Dench and Sir Derek Jacobi as well as Hollywood actors such as Glenn Close and Kiefer Sutherland.

Caren will happily sit down and watch any kind of telly (well, maybe not sci-fi!), but she particularly loves period dramas like Call the Midwife, Downton Abbey and The Crown and she’s also a big fan of juicy crime thrillers from Line of Duty to Poirot.

In her spare time, Caren enjoys going to the cinema and theatre or curling up with a good book.