Returning stars Martin Compston, Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar are joined by Transpotting and Cracker star Robert Carlyle, who is the guest lead for series seven of Jed Mercurio’s hit cop thriller Line of Duty.
Carlyle will play Detective Constable Shaun Massie, a Specialist Rifle Officer (SRO) and veteran marksman, operating with Tactical Operations Unit 7 (TO-7) to take down organised crime groups. A gruff loner, Massie keeps himself to himself, but when his boss, TO-7’s commanding officer DI Dominic Gough, is accused of being a sexual predator, Massie’s otherwise detached demeanour changes drastically.
TO-7 will also be welcoming Line of Duty newcomers Laura Aikman, from hit scouse underworld drama This City Is Ours, as DC Paula Beckman, Yorkshire school drama Ackley Bridge’s Amy Leigh Hickman as DC Nira Rashid and Levi Brown (This Town, Girl Taken) as DC Luke Tobin.
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Also returning to Line of Duty for series seven will be Mark Bonnar (former Deputy Chief Constable Mike Dryden), Owen Teale (Chief Constable Philip Osborne), Perry Fitzpatrick (DS Chris Lomax) and Christina Chong (DI Nicky Rogerson), while further new cast members include David Calder (Motherland, Rivals), Steven Elder (Prisoner, Toxic Town), Dominic Mafham (Vigil, Killing Eve), Sarah Andre White (What It Feels Like for A Girl, Rocks), Aimee Powell (Believe Me, Art Detectives), and Naomi Yang (Under Salt Marsh, Maternal).
Further information about the return of Line of Duty will be announced in due course, with the cast currently at the readthrough stage. Shooting is due to start in Belfast in the spring of 2026, with broadcast currently pencilled in for a as-yet unconfirmed date in 2027.
Line of Duty is produced by ITV Studios’ World Productions, which is also behind the BBC’s Suranne Jones hit Vigil. Line of Duty creator Mercurio, meanwhile, was recently reported by The Athletic to to be in talks with Lionsgate about helming a planned dynastic “Crown-style” drama based on the history of North West football giants Manchester United.
