Line of Duty creator finally clears up the motive behind that frustrating James Nesbitt cameo

Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio has addressed the mystery that was James Nesbitt’s cameo in the build up to the series 6 finale.

The Cold Feet star’s villain Marcus Thurwell was hotly tipped to be the final piece to the puzzle that was H – believed to be the ring leader of the OCG (Organised Crime Group) – because surely there was no way actual James Nesbitt would only make a cameo for a photo?

Actually, he did.

It was understandably presumed Thurwell would pop up before the latest season was over when his name was connected to the murder of journalist Gail Vella.

However, he was found dead when police raided his home, obliterating any chance of Nesbitt actually appearing.

Mercurio has now confirmed Nesbitt’s role was simply to throw us all off the scent – and it worked.

He told Den of Geek: ‘The first conversation I had with Jimmy is “The whole point of this is you have to lie through your teeth and misdirect”.

‘We thought if that picture is just someone who’s a random guy in Belfast, then the audience isn’t going to get as invested as they would be if it’s a big star.

‘They’ll think, “well of course that means that he’s H and he’s going to arrive all guns blazing.”’

He continued: ‘Again, it was another misdirect, built around the fact that the intention with season six was that it would be about mystery more than about the jeopardy.

‘The audience’s investment was in the H enigma and not knowing who it was, rather like a closed circle mystery, a country house detective story, revealing who the person is in a way that was most surprising and I would argue most unexpected and subversive.’

Eventually, it was confirmed dopey officer DSU was H, which divided fans who were confused how the incompetent officer managed to play such a pivotal role in the enormous operation.

Regardless, despite a mixed reaction, the Line of Duty finale broke 21^st Century records to become the most watched episode of a TV drama since a 1999 episode of a Touch of Frost.

Line of Duty is available to stream on BBC iPlayer now.