Line Of Duty series 6: BBC accidentally reveals identity of famous guest actor joining cast in ’embarrassing blunder’

The BBC has accidentally revealed the identity of a guest star joining Line Of Duty series 6.

A famous actor will be joining the likes of Adrian Dunbar’s Superintendent Ted Hastings, Martin Compston’s DI Steve Arnott and Vicky McClure’s DI Kate Fleming in episode five this Sunday.

The identity of the star was leaked on BBC Maestro, a service that offers online courses taught by experienced creators, in a video advert for a seven-hour course in writing drama for television from Line Of Duty’s Jed Mercurio.

According to reports, the actor’s face was spotted on a database being searched by Steve as well as a short scene in which the character also appeared.

After each new episode of Line of Duty airs, BBC Maestro shares snippets from the show on social media, with creator Jed commenting on how he decided upon the storylines and plot developments.

However, on this occasion some users were able to access the course trailer for the upcoming chapter and it featured details of a huge twist.

Commenting on the blunder, Jed told The Sun: ‘The outstanding detective work of eagle-eyed Line of Duty fans has been awarded a glowing commendation from the gaffer himself, Supt Ted Hastings.

‘Their call-up papers for AC-12 are in the post!’

A source added to the publication: ‘This is an embarrassing and humiliating blunder. A lot of time and effort had gone into keeping the star’s role a secret.

‘Line of Duty goes to a lot of trouble making sure nothing gets out to ruin the surprise for viewers — but the BBC has shot itself in the foot on this and broken its own embargo.’

While Metro.co.uk will not be spoiling the surprise, we will say it is believed that the actor has starred alongside a current member of the cast before.

Line Of Duty continues on Sunday at 9pm on BBC One.

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