Connect with us

Entertainment

Line of Duty series 6: Identity of H finally confirmed in shock reveal

Line of Duty ian Buckells
The finale provided plenty of answers of Sunday night (Picture: BBC)

*Warning: This article contains spoilers for Line of Duty series six*

It’s a mystery that’s kept viewers guessing for years, but Line of Duty finally revealed the identity of H during Sunday’s series six finale.

Ian Buckells (Nigel Boyle) was unmasked as the Fourth Man at the heart of police corruption during Sunday night’s episode in a shock reveal.

With everyone from Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar) to Philip Osborne (Owen Teale) and Patricia Carmichael (Anna Maxwell Martin) suspected of being the bent copper at the top of the tree, the news will likely come as a surprise to some viewers.

AC-12 brought Ian in for questioning after discovering new evidence that showed he spelled ‘definately’ the same way as H did in correspondence with Jo Davidson (Kelly Macdonald) and John Corbett (Stephen Graham).

Ian confessed to liaising with the Organised Crime Group (OCG) during the episode, and even boasted of ‘making mugs’ of Ted and the gang.

WARNING: Embargoed for publication until 00:00:01 on 23/03/2021 - Programme Name: Line of Duty S6 - TX: n/a - Episode: Line Of Duty - Generics (No. n/a) - Picture Shows: *NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNTIL 00:01HRS, TUESDAY 23rd MARCH, 2021* DI Kate Fleming (VICKY MCCLURE), DS Chris Lomax (PERRY FITZPATRICK), DCI Ian Buckells (NIGEL BOYLE), DCI Joanne Davidson (KELLY MACDONALD) - (C) World Productions - Photographer: Steffan Hill
The series came to a conclusion after the reveal on Sunday (Picture: BBC/World Productions)

As everyone knows though, no-one makes mugs of AC-12 and Ian was faced with the full force of the law.

Speculation has been rife ever since AC-12’s Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure), Steve Arnott (Martin Compston) and Ted discovered that there was a fourth corrupt police officer hiding in the shadows, referred to by the gaffer as ‘The Fourth Man’.

Not that many people will have seen the reveal coming.

In a recent poll of 1,232 Line Of Duty viewers, YouGov discovered that the majority of the respondents believed Chief Constable Philip Osborne (Owen Teale) would be the one revealed as the bent copper in question, receiving 22% of the votes.

Patricia came in second with 19% of the votes, while Ian Buckells only received 2%.

AC-12 in Line of Duty
Is this the last we’ve seen of AC-12? (Picture: BBC/World Productions)

Line of Duty star Martin recently said that there is a possibility this could mark the final episode of the crime drama.

‘There’s a lot of chaos coming this Sunday,’ he said. ‘A lot of big answers coming. I think it’s deserved, people have stuck with us for such a long time there comes a point when the natural story arc is coming to an end.’

He continued: ‘We’re in a situation where it’s not entirely clear that there will be a seventh series,’ he explained.

Line of Duty returns on Sunday at 9pm on BBC One.

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.


MORE : Line Of Duty season 6 finale: Vicky McClure’s mum warns ‘H’ could be Kate Fleming


MORE : Martin Compston confirms Line of Duty fan theory on Patricia Carmichael is totally wrong and it’s back to the drawing board