Line of Duty: Ian Buckells actor reveals how long he had to keep finale secret

Nigel Boyle, the actor who plays DCI Ian Buckells in Line of Duty, said that he’s known the story of the season six finale since 2019.

Appearing on ITV’s This Morning today (3 May), Boyle said that he had no idea of his character’s significance back then, although writer Jed Mercurio knew.

He said: "To put it into context, we were all availability checked back in August 2019, so this is how long I’ve been sitting on this.

“I didn’t know I was H then,” he added. “Jed knew, but I didn’t know, and no-one else knew, of course.

"We didn’t get the scripts until just before Christmas 2019. Then we had a read-through in February 2020 and started shooting in March, and then we got locked down.

"I think we’d got the first two or three episodes, so nothing was clear.

"I knew I was going to get fitted-up or something, that I might go to prison, but it was definitely ambiguous.”

Boyle recounted the moment he learned he was H: "Jed sent me a text during lockdown and he said, ‘are you free for a chat today?’”

Line of Duty finale divided viewers

The finale of season six was a ratings hit, with 12.8 million tuning in to see what became of AC-12.

The identity reveal of H was a let-down for some, while others appreciated the realism of the show’s finale.

The BBC has yet to confirm whether there will be a further season of Line of Duty.

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