Line of Duty fans were left mouthing 'Mother of God' to the very heavens when creator Jed Mercurio revealed that series 6 will be returning as soon as next year. And while the drama's central star Vicky McClure is excited to get filming again, she's acknowledged that her character is "always teetering on the vulnerable side of life".
The BAFTA-winning actress will be reprising her role as the so far, so uncorrupt DI Kate Fleming, but she says she's constantly concerned that her character could be written out. And she really enjoyed teasing co-star Martin Compston when his character Steve Arnott was shoved down a flight of stairs and left for dead.
On whether she worries that Kate will die or be outed as corrupt, McClure told Red Online. "Always! We all know we're always teetering on the vulnerable side of life because it's Line of Duty, which always delivers a sort of completely shocking killing or twist. Or whatever it might be... You just never know if it's going to involve you.
"And sometimes we read the script... I remember reading the scripts when Martin [Compston – who plays Steve Arnott] gets thrown over the banister down the stairs. I remember ringing him and going, 'Oh my god Martin!', and I remember milking it and basically made out like he died because he hadn't read them.
"But even then I was like, 'I can't wait till the next page, does that mean he's dead?'"
The This Is England star also insisted that when Mercurio does kill off a character, it's always done with artistic integrity to serve the character and the plot, rather than being sensationalist or gratuitous.
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"So you just never know... I remember Craig Parkinson [who played bent copper Dot], when his time came he was so glad Jed does it in a way that is right for the story, right for the character and it's dramatic enough and there's enough for you to go on. God knows. We all hope we make it though."
Series 5 concluded in May this year, and fans were left divided over the twist which revealed that there was no 'H' after all – the initial was just a clue that there are four corrupt officers in league with organised crime.
McClure has no idea what Mercurio has in store for series 6, nor would she ever entertain the possibility of predicting what's next for AC-12.
"I'm just not Jed, I don't have that skill in my brain to conjure up where we could go next," she admitted. "He's an extremely creative writing genius. He just is. Nobody else writes quite likes Jed with that kind of detail and finesse.
"So I would never be able to predict because I've never been able to predict before. Every series I'm picking up the script thinking, 'I didn't see that coming...'"
The star has yet to see the script, before disclosing that the cast never get it in full as they start out with drafts, and there are often changes during filming.
"We haven't started filming," she added. "I haven't seen any scripts – which is a good thing whilst I have to do press because I can't slip up! So yeah that's all I know. I'm excited it's coming next year."
Line of Duty returns to BBC One in 2020.
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Naomi Gordon is news writer mainly covering entertainment news with a focus on celebrity interviews and television.
