Star Adrian Dunbar given free ciggies – in the Line Of Duty!

LINE Of Duty star Adrian Dunbar has revealed that he has been mistaken for a real policeman while in uniform – even being offered free cigarettes and a newspaper by a newsagent glad to see a policeman in the neighbourhood. The Enniskillen actor, pictured, who plays chief superintendent Ted Hastings in the popular show, recalled an incident when he was filming in uniform and nipped into a shop between takes. ‘I walked across the street into a newsagent’s and said: “Give me the Guardian, 20 Benson & Hedges and a packet of chewing gum,”’ he recalled. ‘I asked “how much is that?” and the guy shakes his head and pushes it across the counter. ‘I said, “No, really” and he pushed the money back again and I said “All right then”. ‘You have to be careful about that as impersonating a police officer is a serious offence,’ he laughed. The actor has become a household name starring for four seasons as the head of a Metropolitan police anti-corruption unit in Line Of Duty. Filming of the fifth season is about to begin. Viewers will first see him in a new Irish psychological thriller series, Blood, on Virgin Media One, in which he plays a small-town doctor who may – or may not – have murdered his wife. Fans will have to wait to the very end of the six-part series to see if he is a misunderstood good guy or a devious killer. Producers were eager to sign up the Hear My Song star for the role of Dr Doctor Jim Hogan because of his runaway success in Line Of Duty.

Blood will begin on Monday, October 8 on Virgin Media One at 9pm.