Line Of Duty star Martin Compston says final episode is the ‘perfect ending’

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The final episode of Line Of Duty is set to take place on Sunday evening and dedicated viewers are hoping to uncover the identify of ‘H’ – the fourth man.

And Martin Compston teased that fans will get some ‘big answers’ during the finale, as he admitted he believes it could be the ‘perfect ending’ to the police drama.

The actor, who plays DI Steve Arnott in the show, spoke to the Shrine Of Duty podcast ahead of the last episode this weekend.

Martin, 36, confessed that while he thinks Sunday’s episode could be the best way to wrap up the ‘story arch’ – he also refused to rule out another series.

When quizzed on whether viewers will learn who the illusive ‘H’ is, Martin said: ‘I wouldn’t quite go the Jo Davidson no comment route – but what I will tell you is I think there’s a lot of pay offs coming this Sunday.

‘There’s a lot of big answers and it’s deserved, people have stuck with us for a long time, so there comes a point where the story arch comes to an end.’

Martin also touched on whether series seven is likely, after show bosses previously claimed they believed the current season would be the last.

He said: ‘We don’t know [if there will be another] – that’s nothing new. Jed always takes time after a series, like a couple of months. 

‘There’s a lot of stuff above my pay grade like analytics and audience scores. He takes the emotion out of it and looks at all that.’

Admitting it could be the ‘perfect ending’, he said: ‘It’s different this year, because we have to look it in terms of, do people want us back? 10 years in you start to think of legacy, and if it goes down that well it might be the perfect ending.’

‘But then we might go another couple of months and… what I will say is we won’t do one just for the sake of doing it. Jed will only do it if there’s a story to be told.’

Elsewhere, during the chat, Martin also discussed filming the 30 minute-long interrogation scene after Jo Davidson [Kelly MacDonald] was arrested last week.

Martin said that there can be high levels of tension during these types of scenes, which he admitted can often descend into fits of laughter.

He said: ‘These big interview scenes, the tension in them is unreal, not just cos of the scene, but thinking ‘can we do this?’ – it’s 30 minutes long – can we get through it?’

He added: ‘Usually day two, after lunch, your mind has gone and you’re on autopilot. The giggles are ready to go as the finish line is in sight, it just takes something to go.

‘Adrian had a bit of a brain freeze – but animal themed – and when he was on a rant at Kelly, he says a bunch of racist thugs, but it comes out as a slugs.’

‘There was a mountain of evidence, but he said there’s a mountain of elephants coming at you. And we were just like, what is going on?

‘One of them happened and everyone’s averting their eyes and pinching their own legs under the table, trying not to laugh. The slugs one, everyone just lost it.’

‘That’s the horrible thing about the giggles, once you start, there’s no way back.’

Martin’s character, who is known for his love of waistcoats, also touched on whose idea it was to dress Steve in the signature garment. 

He said: ‘It was me who decided it, in the first series Jed wanted Steve wearing a lot of layers so he looked a bit different.

‘But in the second series I thought about it and Steve does see himself as Sherlock Holmes, but also – he’s the overdressed w****er at work.

‘He’s the guy in the call centre with the headset and waistcoat having all the office affairs, but nobody can understand why he’s pulling all these birds.

‘There’s that wee arrogance to him, that he thinks he’s a bit better, I love him and playing him, and he is a wee arrogant so and so, but he really cares about his job.’

The chat comes days after a new trailer for Line Of Duty’s finale was released, only serving to heighten speculation around the identity of ‘H’. 

Viewers can be certain of an action-packed finale episode complete with a police standoff, the return of balaclava men and the discovery of a written note with THAT ‘definately’ misspelling. 

The trailer starts off with Superintendent Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar), who is facing imminent retirement, state: ‘All of these suspicious deaths were orchestrated by one officer in particular, H. The fourth man.’

Hastings’ powerful words went alongside flashbacks of the deaths of solicitor Jimmy Lakewell, police officer Lisa Patel, journalist Gail Vella and former Detective Inspector Marcus Thurwell- whom fans believe is still alive.  

The trailer then shows acting Superintendent Jo Davidson (Kelly MacDonald) leaving the high-security prison in handcuffs, only to end up alone in a van with a corrupt prison officer who previously injured Lindsay Denton in series three. 

Jo says: ‘What’s going on?’, before the camera flashes a sinister look from the prison officer.

A handwritten note is also teased in the trailer, with the word definite misspelt to mirror what viewers have seen previously.

A huge clue of the identity of H began to emerge in series five, when the OCG communicated with ‘H’ through a computer.

Eagle-eyed fans were quick to notice H spelling definitely as ‘definately’, and this misspelling has been repeated in subsequent episodes.

Will this handwritten report be the breakthrough AC-12 need to close in on ‘the fourth man’?   

It certainly seems Hastings and his team are on to something as police cars sped down the road, with armed officers closing in on a residential area during the trailer. 

The Superintendent briefs DI Kate Fleming, DI Steve Arnott and DC Chloe Bishop as they arrive at the scene.

Hastings says: ‘AFO’s will secure the suspect down’, while the words ‘Every investigation has led to this… H’.   

And it only gets more dramatic as balaclava men jump out of vehicles armed with guns themselves. 

Kate opens the police van, brandishes her gun and shouts: ‘armed police’ before the screen fades to black.   

The newly-released trailer for the finale showed Kate wearing the same grey turtleneck jumper as she is seen wearing in the on-set snaps, while it teases at the return of the balaclava men and shows DCI Jo Davidson handcuffed in prison.   

Viewers were stunned on Sunday night when it appeared James Nesbitt’s character was killed off before he even appeared on screen – but some are convinced it was a cover-up.

Towards the end of the nail-biting penultimate episode, Guardia Civil police officers stormed Marcus Thurwell’s Spanish home, while the AC-12 team watched via video link.

When the law enforcement officers entered the home, they were met by two bodies, and a Spanish captain turned to the camera and identified one as ‘Senor Thurwell’. 

While many viewers expressed surprise an actor of Nesbitt’s calibre was denied even a scene, some were left convinced Thurwell was in fact the Spanish AFO leading the raid on his home.

One tweeted: ‘Is it just me or was one of those Spanish “police officers” Thurwell? I’m sure it was him.’

Another wrote: ‘Exactly what I was thinking? Nice job if James Nesbitt only got paid for a few photos so I suspect that Marcus Thurwell is 100% alive.’

And one commented: ‘Is this Marcus Thurwell or have they just found the Spanish Jimmy Nesbitt to play the part?’ – sharing a series of screenshots to illustrate the likeness.

AC-12 were looking into the retired former detective chief inspector after SI Steve Arnott (Martin Compston) learned that Gail Vella – the journalist who was murdered – had been looking into the death of Lawrence Christopher while in police custody – a case Thurwell was in charge of.

Thurwell also has links to Darren Hunter, the son of former organised crime group boss Tommy Hunter.

The OCG also murdered Oliver Stephens-Lloyd before he had an opportunity to give evidence about sexual abuse at Sands View Boys’ Home, with Superintendent Ted Hastings convinced Thurwell is connected to the killing and the abuse cover-up. 

When Thurwell was found ‘dead’, Hastings was visibly exasperated – with time running out for him to solve the mystery before his impending retirement. 

Elsewhere in the episode, viewers learned PC Ryan Pilkington met a grizzly end, after working as an inside man in the Murder Investigation Team (MIT) for the Organised Crime Group (OCG). 

After being lured to a lonely car park by DCI Jo Davidson during the previous episode, Kate was met by armed officer Ryan who said he planned to kill her as he held up his gun and aimed it at her.

The episode ended as two gun shots sounded, before the new episode revealed that Ryan had been shot twice in the chest, with Kate and Jo fleeing the scene in a Thelma and Louise-inspired fashion.

When DI Steve Arnott arrived with the AC-12 unit they discovered that Kate and Jo had gone on the run and Ryan was dead. 

DCS Patricia Carmichael could be heard telling officers that the duo were considered to be ‘armed and dangerous’ and sent out an order for their address.

Despite the gripping hunt for Jo and Kate which commenced, fans were overjoyed that one of their favourite characters had survived.

Elsewhere during the new episode, fans were left convinced that Detective Chief Superintendent Patricia Carmichael is the fourth man after Sunday’s episode.

The officer, played by Anna Maxwell Martin, placed herself at the centre of the action as she ordered Kate Fleming to  be arrested following the shootout and then tried to shut down Ted Hastings’ questions during a very intense interview of Jo.

Some viewers even theorised that Carmichael was trying to send a message during the ‘puzzling’ interview – which also saw Jo discover her paternity despite offering more ‘no comments’ than answers – based on how often she tapped her pen.

This Morse code theory popped up during Arnott’s questioning of Davidson, specifically when he tried to get information about Gail Vella’s laptop and computer.   

Although Davidson remained tight-lipped, Carmichael did seem to start sweating a little as she tapped her pen four times and took a sip of water.

Morse Code is an alphabet that spells out words or messages using a series of short and long sounds, with the officer appearing to make four taps and spell out H.

Carmichael again set alarm bells ringing when she cut off Hastings at the end of the interview following his knockout question about Osborne being H.

Cutting off the AC-12 head’s question, she declared that Davidson was being charged with ‘perverting course of justice and misfeasance in public office’.

The Line Of Duty series six finale airs on BBC One on Sunday at 9pm.