Could Tony Gates return? According to Lennie James, Jed Mercurio once seemed very keen on the idea.
When it comes to Line of Duty, anything can and often does happen and speaking to I Talk Telly on the red carpet for the 2019 BAFTAs, Lennie James, nominated for his work on Save Me, responded to fan theories that his character from series one, Tony Gates, could be coming back from the dead. And it seems as though there's some truth in it.
Or at least there was a few years ago. Lennie revealed "God's honest truth, I shot another series for Jed (Mercurio) called Critical and he came in one day and went "I've just written the scene where Tony Gates comes back" and I was like "Yes, finally!" and then he came in the next day and went "I read it again and it was rubbish. I'm not going to do it."
Could Jed revisit that shock return again? In all honesty, Lennie doesn't know. "That's what he does to people. So he might do that again or he might not. Who know? I don't know! You'll have to ask Jed." he said.
No doubt these recent revelations will fuel further conspiracy theories amongst fans? Could he be related to Lisa McQueen as many suggest? After all, Rochenda Sandall who plays Lisa hasn't ruled out a return next series.
What about that glimpse of Tony's former lover Jackie Laverty, dead in a freezer in series five? Was that a hint of things to come? And what would Tony make of Ryan becoming a Student Police Officer?
I don't have the answers and sadly neither does Lennie, but if I've come to learn anything about Jed Mercurio, it's to never rule anything out and expect the unexpected.
Sadly Lennie James didn't win a BAFTA for Save Me, losing out to Killing Eve but he did confirm that filmin for series two will "start in August" but refused to give anything away about the plot, "I'm going to be in it and I might be wearing a yellow puffer jacket."
The 2019 Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards were shown on BBC One and are available to watch on BBC iPlayer