Line of Duty reveals filming has finally restarted on series six

(Image credit: ITV)

Our Line of Duty heroes are at last back on the case

Line of Duty has finally restarted making series six after filming stopped earlier this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

And to give fans a glimpse into how the show is being shot now, the Beeb released a picture featuring Martin Compston as Steve Arnott in which you can clearly see members of the crew wearing facemasks.

Line of Duty series six filming restarting — At last the cast and crew are back working on series six of Line of Duty (Image credit: BBC)

Martin says: “It’s been a long few months and it will be a different way of working from when we stopped, but I’m delighted to be back on the case with the Line of Duty team!”

Showrunner Jed Mercurio has previously said that some of the story for series six of Line of Duty might need to be rewritten.

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“We’re all considering [a re-write],” he said back in May. “We shot for four weeks in a pre-lockdown world, and all that material would have to be re-shot if we were going to change things.

“That would have huge cost implications, but we are considering it.”

It’s unclear whether the plot has had to be rewritten, but the BBC did confirm that the story will still centre on AC-12’s investigation into DCI Joanne Davidson (played by Kelly MacDonald).

Line of Duty season 6 first take — Take one! Filming originally kicked off much earlier in the year (Image credit: World Productions)

Davidson is the senior investigating officer in an unsolved murder case and her activities bring her to the attention of our heroes, Arnott, DI Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure) and Adrian Dunbar (Supt. Ted Hastings).

Adrian says of being back: “Even with the imposition of Covid restrictions I can't hide my excitement at getting the team back together. So many people wondering…what happens next?”

Vicky adds: “Been sitting on these incredible scripts for some time now, so I’m really looking forward to getting back to it and seeing the Line of Duty family.”

While Jed says: “We know Line of Duty fans are desperate for series six and we hope we can get it on air as soon as possible. Thanks so much for your patience in these difficult times.”

Series six of Line of Duty will air on BBC1 in 2021 (see our TV Guide for more shows to enjoy).

David is the What To Watch Editor and has over 20 years of experience in television journalism. He is currently writing about the latest television and film news for What To Watch.

Before working for What To Watch, David spent many years working for TV Times magazine, interviewing some of television's most famous stars including Hollywood actor Kiefer Sutherland, singer Lionel Richie and wildlife legend Sir David Attenborough.

David started out as a writer for TV Times before becoming the title's deputy features editor and then features editor. During his time on TV Times, David also helped run the annual TV Times Awards. David is a huge Death in Paradise fan, although he's still failed to solve a case before the show's detective! He also loves James Bond and controversially thinks that Timothy Dalton was an excellent 007.

Other than watching and writing about telly, David loves playing cricket, going to the cinema, trying to improve his tennis and chasing about after his kids!