Line of Duty fans, listen up! Beloved actor Adrian Dunbar will be returning to our screens. Although he won't be reprising his role as the iconic Superintendent Ted Hastings anytime soon, the star will be back for a second outing as the titular character in ITV crime drama, Ridley.
The drama, which aired its first series in August 2022, sees Adrian portray retired detective inspector Alex Ridley who, after losing his wife and daughter in a horrific arson attack, is lured back to the job to help solve a complex murder case.
Production has just begun on new episodes, so details of the new episodes including synopses and a full cast list are yet to be revealed. However, ITV has confirmed that Bronagh Waugh, who is also known for her stints in popular dramas like The Fall and Unforgotten, will return as Ridley's former protégée, DI Carol Farman, who is now in charge of investigations.
Of his return to Ridley, Adrian said in a statement: "There can be no greater endorsement of hard work and talent than the recommission of a series and to that end we have to thank ITV and the British public for taking to Ridley in such numbers.
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"We shall certainly work just as hard to keep the standard we have set, and I look forward to developing Ridley as a character over the next four episodes."
Meanwhile, fans of Line of Duty were teased by Adrian's co-star Martin Compston recently when the actor, who plays DI Steven Arnott in the BBC series, gave an interview on a recent episode of This Morning.
The actor was quizzed by Craig Doyle and Holly Willoughby about the show's future, and whether there was any truth to those rumours of a three-part special.
"Unless you hear anything from us, I'd leave it at that," Martin told the ITV presenters, adding: "There's always rumours, and I'm delighted there's always rumours, it means people want us back and that's a lovely feeling. But you don't want people to get their hopes up so unless it comes from me, Vicky, Adrian or Jed."
He went on to say they would all like to return to the show for season seven, adding: "They're all my close friends, and I'm sure we'd all love to do one at some point but it's just getting us all together."
Adrian himself also opened up about the prospect of bringing back Ted: "The story can continue, put it that way. In terms of the story finishing, I think was a really interesting ending, that's what reality is like. It's usually one guy. It's not a Mr. Big, it's just somebody along the line who decides to discard a piece of information and not make the call… So, in that respect, I think it was a very realistic ending but it didn't satisfy the sensational need in the public."