The six questions the Line of Duty finale must answer tonight

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People across Britain are gearing up for the BBC‘s Line of Duty series finale tonight, with 12million viewers expected to tune in.  

The show sees the officers of police anti-corruption unit AC-12 pitted against the mysterious antagonist known only as ‘H’ or ‘the fourth man’, who heads up an organised crime syndicate controlling events from the shadows and potentially from within AC-12 itself.

The series has gone from strength to strength since its release, growing from an initial audience of four million adults to more than 11million tuning in for the current series’ penultimate episode. 

Earlier this week, the BBC released a teaser trailer promising an action-packed finale complete with a police standoff, the return of balaclava men and the discovery of a written note with THAT ‘definately’ misspelling. 

But there are so many questions that need answering, not least the identify of ‘H’. Here, FEMAIL unpicks the top six ahead of tonight’s episode.

Is Marcus Thurwell really dead?

Fans were stunned last week when it appeared James Nesbitt’s character Marcus Thurwell was killed off before he even appeared on screen.

With AC-12 watching via a video link, Guardia Civil police officers stormed his Spanish home and found two bodies on the bed – and judging by the sound of flies, it looked like they’d been there a while.

The police officer leading the raid confirmed the dead man’s identity as retired detective chief inspector Thurwell, but viewers weren’t given a clear view of his body.

So, was it really him? Some fans are convinced that Thurwell was in fact the Spanish AFO leading the raid on his home, after noticing a likeness between the two men.

Surely an actor of Jimmy Nesbitt’s calibre will at least be given a scene… but if he is really dead, who killed him, and why? 

Who keeps spelling definitely with an A? 

‘H’ consistently misspells definitely with an A when sending correspondence to turncoat officers through encrypted communication.

Ted Hastings has also been caught spelling it this way – leaving some fans believing the misspelling is a major clue to the illusive ‘H’s’ identity.

It’s even been looked at as a perfect set-up to frame Hastings, but either way, the finale might finally reveal the answer.

Will DI Steve Arnott get busted over missing his routine drugs test?

Having been ignoring the reminders dropping in his inbox to book an appointment for a routine drugs test, leading man DI Steve Arnott now faces disciplinary action if he doesn’t comply.

Steve suffered serious back injuries when being pushed down a flight of stairs during series four, and is now addicted to painkillers, though we haven’t seen him pop his pills for a couple of weeks now.

Is he buying himself time while he weans himself off them in order to pass the drugs test? Or is he simply delaying the inevitable and risking being suspended?   

Where did the cash in Steph’s attic come from?

In episode three, Steve is seen paying a visit to Steph Corbett, the widow of undercover agent John Corbett, killed by Ryan Pilkington. 

During the last series, it was revealed that Hastings had previously had a close relationship with Corbett’s mother, an IRA informer, when he was a young Royal Ulster Constabulary officer in Belfast in the 1970s. Anne Marie was abducted and her body was then found in 2001. 

When Hastings found out that Corbett was Anne Marie’s son, he took a portion of the cash given to him by Mark Moffat from the Kettle Bell Complex investment deal, and was seen poised to give the cash to Steph after her husband’s death.  

Steph is then spotted visiting Hastings at the station by Steve at the start of series six, as well as making a number of phone calls to him. 

After staying the night at her house, Steve conducts an ‘illegal search’ and finds an envelope of cash in the attic, which he traces back to OCG money and tells Kate about it. 

While she and Davidson are being asked to surrender after their brief stint on the run following Ryan Pilkington’s shooting, Kate asks if they’re being ‘set up’ and tells Davidson that Steve has told her some ‘bad stuff about the gaffer’.  

So did the cash in Steph’s attic come from Hastings, and was he simply trying to help out because of his connection to her late mother-in-law, or is there something more sinister at play?

Was Steph Corbett trying to drop Steve in it with Hastings?

After discovering Steve’s painkiller stash following their night spent together at her house, in episode three Steph called Hastings to tell him he’d paid her a visit.

Steve later returns to Steph’s and questions why she spoke to Hastings about her concerns over his medication.

She told him John got involved with drugs in the early days of his career, warning Steve they can ‘take over your life’. 

If she really was just looking out for him because she cares, why dob him in to his boss and run the risk he could lose his career?  

Who is H – aka the ‘fourth man’?

The show sees the officers of police anti-corruption unit AC-12 pitted against the mysterious antagonist known only as ‘H’ or ‘the fourth man’, who heads up an organised crime syndicate controlling events from the shadows and potentially from within AC-12 itself.

While the mystery was somewhat answered in the season five finale, it was also revealed that there are FOUR people pertaining to be ‘H’, with the final one still unknown. So who could it be?

Patricia Carmichael (Anna Maxwell Martin)

She was one of season five’s stand-out characters, swooping in towards the end of the series to interrogate Ted Hastings – highly suspected to be ‘H’ at the time.

And while she simply seemed to be excellent at her job – and hellbent on uncovering the corruption within the department – could it be that Patricia Carmichael was SO keen to pin the blame on Ted to take the focus away from herself.

Could SHE be the fourth ‘H’?

Her position of power and respect, along with her unnaturally steely and cut-throat demeanor, could well point to this – and does her strange behaviour during Jo’s interrogation.

Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar)

Ted Hastings was pinpointed by viewers of the show, as well as the characters on the show, to be a candidate for ‘H’.

But it seemed he was exonerated by the end of season five, allowed to walk free.

But could be potentially be triple-crossing us all? Could he in fact STILL be the potential fourth ‘H’.

The biggest issue with this theory is that Gill Biggeloe – one of the three revealed to be ‘H’ – was so against him. Surely she wouldn’t be working to deter him if they were in league?

UNLESS, she doesn’t KNOW he is the fourth ‘H’? 

CC Philip Osborne (Owen Teale)

Osborne certainly fits the ‘high ranking officer’ bill, and has the power to punish anyone who fails to do his bidding.

It seems Ted suspects Osborne, asking Jo during her interrogation if the ‘fourth man’ is the chief constable.

We were also treated to his ‘enemies within’ speech during the closing montage – significant? Perhaps…  

DCC Andrea Wise (Elizabeth Rider)

Detective Chief Constable Andrea Wise was new to the show in season five and is another high-powered contender for ‘H’.

She has been constantly interfering when it has come to supporting AC-12’s investigations, removing them from the investigation into Operation Pear Tree. She also instigated the Ted Hastings investigation.

She is also keen to cover up police corruption, despite announcing at the end of season five: ‘This constabulary will work tirelessly to root out rotten apples in its ranks.’

PCC Rohan Sindwhani (Ace Bhatti)

Police and Crime Commissioner Rohan Sindwhani demanded to be ‘in on’ a meeting between Andrea Wise and Ted Hastings. 

This might be a small clue but any clue could be valid at this point.

Any dubious behaviour suggests ‘H’ is at play, and so Rohan could indeed be culpable – though he was recently thrown under the bus by Chief Constable Philip Osborne.