Line Of Duty will be back at the end of March, TV bosses have confirmed.

Fans have been eagerly awaiting the sixth instalment of Jed Mercurio’s nail-biting BBC drama.

A teaser, played out around the Six Nations match on BBC One, revealed that the show will return on Sunday March 21.

Vicky McClure, Adrian Dunbar and Martin Compston will return, while the show also sees Shalom Brune-Franklin play a new addition to the AC-12 team.

And Kelly Macdonald makes her debut as guest lead Detective Chief Inspector Joanne Davidson, the senior investigating officer on an unsolved murder case whose suspicious conduct attracts the attention of Anti-Corruption.

The series features seven episodes, making it the longest series to date.

Line Of Duty debuts at 9pm on Sunday March 21 on BBC One. Line Of Duty will air weekly on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

Earlier this month, it was announced that fans would be getting one additional episode than was originally commissioned.

That means season six will contain seven episodes.

Echo: Martin Compston during filming of Line of Duty series five. Picture: World Productions/BBCMartin Compston during filming of Line of Duty series five. Picture: World Productions/BBC

A press release stated: “AC-12’s [the name of the show’s fictional anti-corruption unit] highest priority will always be capturing bent coppers.

“With that in mind, we have requested and been granted an extension of an extra episode for our next series, making it our longest yet.”

When is Line of Duty season six on TV?

Line Of Duty with hit BBC One in March.

Filming for series six began in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in February 2020.

Vicky McClure, Compston and Adrian Dunbar were pictured reunited ahead of series six.

However, the coronavirus pandemic halted filming when the UK went into lockdown in March 2020.

There was talk that the filming may be completely overhauled, but it was confirmed that the cast returned to Belfast to continue filming in October 2020.

Echo:  County Times Vicky McClure, Martin Compston and Adrian Dunbar film Line Of Duty County Times Vicky McClure, Martin Compston and Adrian Dunbar film Line Of Duty

Who is in the cast of Line Of Duty season six?

DI Kate Fleming, Ted Hastings and Steve Arnott have been confirmed to return for series six.

Kelly MacDonald is also joining the cast for the new series.

She will play Detective Chief Inspector Joanne Davidson, the senior investigating officer of an unsolved murder, who raises suspicions at AC-12.

The current cast:

  • Vicki McClure as DI Kate Fleming
  • Adrian Dunbar as Superintendent Ted Hastings
  • Martin Compston and DS Steve Arnott
  • Kelly MacDonald as Detective Chief Inspector Joanne Davidson

Echo: Adrian Dunbar, Vicky McClure and Martin Compston on set (Liam McBurney/PA)Adrian Dunbar, Vicky McClure and Martin Compston on set (Liam McBurney/PA)

What will happen in series six?

Details of the plot – which creator Jed Mercurio previously called “ludicrously implausible” – have been kept under wraps.

It is not yet known whether season six will be Line of Duty’s final series, however, Dunbar has previously stated that he believes it will go on “as long as there’s an appetite from our audience for the show”.

“Why should we stop?” said the actor during an appearance on the Graham Norton Radio Show in January.

“We’ve managed to keep the standard, Jed [Mercurio] rather, has managed to keep the standard so high for so long, and people love the show. I hope it does go on.”

Echo: Vicky McClure and Martin Compston share a laugh during filming (Liam McBurney/PA)Vicky McClure and Martin Compston share a laugh during filming (Liam McBurney/PA)

Dunbar also revealed the challenge of filming this new series – one and a half episodes were in the can before March 2020, when the pandemic took hold, and then the rest of the season was filmed in autumn, finishing in November.

He told The One Show: “I’m actually dying to see it with everybody else because you know, sometimes it gets a bit confusing, but it will all be fixed in the edit, as they say.”

Mercurio once again played his cards very close to his chest when asked what we can expect from the sixth outing.

He told The Guardian: “I know what’ll happen if I tell you anything.

"There’ll be articles all over the internet: 'Jed Mercurio reveals Line of Duty season six spoilers!'

"And then the rest of the piece will be filled with fan theories ripped off Twitter.”