WELSH IN LINE OF DUTY
IT’S the TV event of the year. Series Six of Line of Duty begins airing on BBC One tonight. Line of Duty has had some great guest stars, whether they have been unlucky new sergeants who don’t last long, or seething, contemptuous avoiders of AC-12’s long arm of the law.
And among these guests – who, let’s face it, sometimes adopt the expression of a bulldog chewing a wasp – are some of Wales’ finest acting talents.
While we haven’t seen many Welsh faces in Line of Duty yet, the ones who have appeared in Jed Mercurio’s tense police anti-corruption drama have definitely made an impression on the AC-12 team.
LISA PALFREY
Lisa Palfrey’s McAndrew had pure contempt for almost everyone, it seems. It was no more evident when she gobbed into a cup of tea made by Jackie (Leanne Best) who was still shaken up by her colleague’s death – although Jackie wasn’t innocent in all of it, McAndrew didn’t give a rat’s...
Let’s hope she’s never on the coffee run.
Caerphilly’s Palfrey is a veteran of Welsh soap Pobol y Cwm. She’s also been in The Englishman Who Went Up A Hill But Came Down a Mountain and Guest House Paradiso.
SIAN REESE-WILLIAMS
Former Emmerdale star Sian had a pretty rough opener to series five, in which she starred as Cafferty.
Shot in the first episode, Cafferty was questioned as soon as she woke up in hospital by DI Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure) and DS Steve Arnott (Martin Compston) and it was soon uncovered she was being blackmailed by the OCG over an affair.
Even on her sick bed she was getting visits and bungs from the OCG, who she was informing about transports filled with contraband seized by the cops.
When not being a bent copper on LoD, Sian is in the Welsh crime drama Hidden/Craith and is also known for her role in Emmerdale.
OWEN TEALE
Back in 2012 Arnott stood firm against big gun Osborne, in court, when Teale’s character bullied him into giving a false account about how a man died on a counter-terrorism bust.
You’d have thought Arnott had spat in Osborne’s tea the looks he got when our favourite AC-12er told the truth.
I suppose we have nasty Osborne to thank, really, if Arnott hadn’t come up against him he wouldn’t have been transferred to AC-12 and we wouldn’t have the dream team we have now. Thanks Osborne!
Actor Teale is a familiar face on UK TV with roles in Game of Thrones, A Discovery of Witches, The Pembrokeshire Murders, Stella and loads more.
VICKY MCCLURE
All right, all right, we know Vicky, aka Kate Fleming, is Notts through-andthrough, but she’s an honorary Welshie due to her love of Merthyr Tydfil via her other half, filmmaker Jonny Owen.
Jonny is a Merthyr boy and he and Vicky have sent lots of support for NHS workers through the pandemic, plus she loves a cuppa as much as the next Welsh paned-lover. She’s all right by us.
Line of Duty will begin airing on BBC One from tonight, 9pm. You’ll be able to watch an episode a week on each Sunday, with the final episode being aired on May 2. As well as that, episodes can also be viewed on iPlayer after they’ve been shown on TV.