The award-winning hit police drama, which first aired from 2012 to 2021, featured Dunbar as Ted Hastings alongside stars Vicky McClure and Martin Compston.
Rumours believed that the sixth series would be the last for Line of Duty, but Dunbar has given fans a hopeful update on a new series that could see it return by 2026.
Line of Duty ‘returning next year’
In an interview with The Times, Dunbar said that he is ready to return to filming and hopes the BBC will make an official announcement soon.
He shared: “We’re really excited about getting our hands on a Line of Duty script, to see what happens to us. Jed [Mercurio] is writing. We’ve talked to the BBC.
“It is down to the BBC to make an announcement, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed that next year we’ll be working on a new series.
“No doubt Jed will think of some interesting twists and turns.”
The final of the sixth series of Line of Duty was highly anticipated as audiences all awaited the reveal of the corrupt officer known as ‘H’.
The reveal saw DCI Ian Buckells (Nigel Boyle) to be ‘H’ and that he became corrupt for the money.
Fans were split by the ending of Line of Duty, as Dunbar admits that he knows it was a “frustrating” end.
He shared: “When you find out it is this idiot, Buckells, it is so frustrating.
“There is a scene where the three of us are told who it is, and we look at each other and go, ‘What?’
“We asked Jed to write that scene because we realised how our audience would feel.”
“But Jed’s point was that police corruption can hang on one cop deciding to ignore one piece of information that comes across his desk.”
According to The Sun, the next series of Line of Duty is expected to start filming next year.
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As a source told the publication: “This is the news Line of Duty fans have been waiting for since the sixth season left them deflated when it aired back in 2021.
“The BBC almost immediately requested more episodes to continue the story, but the success of the show meant Vicky, Martin and Adrian were instantly snapped up for other projects.”
“But after several meetings with Jed and the production team, they’ve finally managed to clear space in their calendars next year to commit to making the show.”
