After 5 long years, Line Of Duty’s H is unmasked
the truth is finally out – but don’t tell your friends if they’re still in the dark as plot spoilers could get you locked up too.
After five long years, Line of Duty fans finally learned the identity of mysterious ‘h’ – in a tantalising conclusion to series six.
Last night’s finale revealed Detective Superintendent Ian Buckells, played by Nigel Boyle, as the fourth corrupt police officer orchestrating the actions of the organised crime gang (OCG).
the tense episode also left fans believing that Superintendent ted hastings, played by Adrian Dunbar, would appeal against his enforced retirement – while the identity of Gail Vella’s murderer was confirmed as OCG member Carl Banks.
And DCI Jo Davidson, played by Kelly Macdonald, was saved from an assassination attempt when the van she was travelling in – which was being controlled by corrupt prison officers – was intercepted by AntiCorruption Unit 12 (AC-12) before a stand-off with the OCG.
the show’s creator Jed Mercurio has kept viewers guessing as to who ‘h’ is since it was first mentioned at the end of series three, which aired in 2016. And last night the evidence against DS Buckells, who was already in prison after being charged with perverting the course of justice earlier in the series, came to light.
the misspelling of ‘definitely’ as ‘definately’ was found in reports of past high-profile investigations, including the Lawrence Christopher case and Operation Lighthouse, both of which DS Buckells was involved in.
It was also found that the faceless man with whom DCI Davidson had been communicating online was Buckells after the laptop was found and matched the IP address.
But viewers had to endure a dramatic few minutes as ‘h’ was brought in for questioning before being revealed to be Buckells.
After a string of ‘no comments’, when Detective Inspector Steve Arnott, played by Martin Compston, asked Buckells if he was the top man, the suspect finally confirmed: ‘tommy hunter was the top man.
‘After he went, they all split into different OCGs. I just pass on the orders. It used to be Fairbank and thurwell, then it was hilton and Cottan, now they’ve gone, it’s just…’, before hastings interrupted with ‘you, the last man standing’.
the future of the hugely popular drama has been unclear for some time, with the BBC and Mercurio failing to confirm another season. And last night’s finale didn’t give any more clues as to whether there will be more Line of Duty on our tV screens.
Speaking about if there will be another series, Compston told the Jonathan Ross Show on Saturday night: ‘that’s nothing different for us. Jed always takes months after… there’s stuff above our pay grade, analytics, figures and all that kind of thing that comes in. he always takes time off.
‘But I think it is important to say, I think this natural story arc that we’ve been on for the last six years…’
he added: ‘We won’t come back just for the sake of it. that’s for sure. We’ll come back if there’s a story to tell. But, so as well, if it ends well maybe sometimes it is best to leave it. But, so, genuinely we don’t know.’
Meanwhile, Vicky McClure, who played Detective Inspector Kate Fleming, marked the end of the series by sharing snaps from the set on her Instagram account.
the penultimate episode of Line of Duty series six was its most-watched ever – with an average of 11million viewers tuning in.
It returned to screens in March with 9.6million viewers, up on the series five finale, which drew in 9.07million. But last night’s finale is expected to have won over its biggest audience ever.
‘We’ll come back if there’s a story to tell’