Earlier today (September 28), the BBC confirmed that Stephen Graham is joining the cast of the much-anticipated fifth series of the Jed Mercurio hit, Line of Duty.
Mercurio’s other show, Bodyguard, has just come to a climactic end on BBC One but AC-12 fans were treated to a quick glimpse of what’s to come after Sunday’s finale.
Graham, known for the This Is England series, HBO’s Boardwalk Empire (where he played Al Capone), and Sky Atlantic’s Save Me earlier this year, featured in the newly-released image (see below), which included the following text:
“Leaked: CCTV image of a suspect AC-12 wish to talk to as part of an ongoing investigation.”
The actor would seem to be the ‘big bad’ for the forthcoming series, but what’s of interest to most fans is the fact that he seems to be wearing a balaclava.
Remember ‘Balaclava Man’ from Line of Duty series 4?
To say his identity is complicated is an understatement.
At one point, all eyes looked to Forensic Coordinator Tim Ifield (played by Jason Watkins), who certainly did appear to own a balaclava.
© BBC
But, as he was killed by Thandie Newton’s DCI Roz Huntley, this theory looked less likely.
Even Huntley’s hubby Nick, played by Lee Ingleby, was suspected by viewers.
The BM was responsible for abducting and murdering women (then framing and blackmailing high-ranking police officers for the crimes) and then attacking DS Steve Arnott (Martin Compston), rendering him incapacitated for the rest of the run.
© BBC
In the finale, Balaclava Man was rather gloriously shot in the head by Superintendent Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar).
This meaning an end to the woolly headgear-wearing male, right?
Wrongo, fella.
As many viewers suspected, there was more than just one BM. There were, in fact, “Balaclava Men, plural,” according to shady solicitor Jimmy Lakewell (Patrick Baladi). The aforementioned Hastings also noted in the denouement of the series, “There may be others still at large, God knows what they’re up to.”
Now, with this new image from series 5, we know there are more Balaclava Men out there – and it appears that Stephen Graham is one of them.
© BBC
But eagle-eyed LoDers will have spotted something crucial about the new picture featuring Stephen Graham – it’s quite similar to an image of the Balaclava Man taken from CCTV in series four (see above).
And by similar, we mean the same.
Apart from the garb worn by the perp in the pic, we draw your attention, your honour, to the red tinted background and the black line, obviously a space between the floorboards, running up the middle.
Related ArticleHere’s why Line of Duty series 5 won’t be on until 2019
It would appear Graham’s character has been around a lot longer than just the new series coming up. Going by the evidence, he could have been part of the Balaclava Men conspiracy since the early days of Detective Chief Inspector Tony Gates (Lennie James) in the first series.
Is he part of the “institutional cover-up” facing AC-12? Or, in typical Jed Mercurio style, is there a twist involved and he’s actually on the side of the law?
Whatever happens, we know Ted is going to get to the root of it…
Line of Duty returns in 2019.
Source: Read Full Article