Vicky McClure has given Line of Duty fans an update on how its surprise new series is coming along.
Beginning in 2012, the hit BBC procedural ran for six seasons with the controversial 2022 finale promoted as the show’s last ever outing.
In November last year, however, it was announced that the series would return for a surprise seventh season, with McClure, Martin Compston and Adrian Dunbar reprising their roles – much to the delight of the show’s fans.
In a new interview with The i Paper, McClure, 43, shared that filming on the new season, which took place in Ireland, had already wrapped.
“I’m fresh out of Belfast; we only finished filming two weeks ago,” she told the outlet. “I feel like I’ve bagged the best gigs over the years – I was unsure if I’d ever get a job at one point.
“You just can’t predict this industry at all. So, to be able to continually go back to a series and work with good friends like Martin [Compston] and Adrian [Dunbar], who are like family. It was a real pleasure.”
It seems the show is on schedule for its rumoured January 2027 release date, with McClure’s co-star Laura Aikman – who plays DC Paula Beckman in the new series – recently having let slip on the Walking the Dog podcast that new episodes will be released in January.
The BBC declined to comment when approached by Digital Spy earlier this week.
open image in galleryAsked what fans can expect from the forthcoming season after the four-year hiatus, the actor remained tight-lipped, stating: “All I can say is I believe – and Martin and Adrian have said the same – that Jed [Mercurio]’s written the best script.”
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As announced by the BBC, the return of the series will see the AC-12 department rebranded as the “Inspectorate of Police Standards”. The team will be assigned an investigation into a detective inspector who has been accused of abusing his position in the police force to sexually abuse victims.
Elsewhere in the interview, McClure spoke about the pride she feels telling British working-class stories.
“Trigger Point and Line of Duty have fiercely working-class casts,” she said. “The creatives around it, from [Line of Duty creator] Jed Mercurio to [Line of Duty executive producer] Jimmy Mulville, are working-class lads so they understand that world.”
The This is England star, who is a vocal advocate for working-class actors in the industry, added: “What I want is equality. It’s about fairness of opportunity.”
open image in gallery“You have to say it out loud, otherwise it’s not acknowledged,” said McClure. “These are billion-dollar industries. The audience is suffering because they’re missing out on the next Daniel Day-Lewis. The next Julie Walters.”
Born in Nottingham, McClure entered the industry aged 11 thanks to the city’s Television Workshop, which allowed her to train in acting for free. The organisation offered bursaries and monthly payments as a means to keep actors from all backgrounds in the industry.
She is not the only one. Julie Walters, Stephen Graham, Samantha Morton, and Ray Winstone are among the others to have championed working-class voices in the industry.
In 2024, a study found that 35 per cent of Bafta-nominated actors were privately educated, compared with seven per cent of the general public.