Line Of Duty star Martin Compston admits that he would 'like to pull his waistcoat out again' as he hints at a potential new series of the BBC show

Martin Compston has opened up on the possibility of a new series of Line Of Duty, as he admitted he'd 'like to pull his waistcoat out again'.

The Scottish actor, 40, starred in the BBC police drama which last aired in 2021 after almost a decade on screens - and fans are desperate for another season.

In a new interview with The Times, Martin was asked the question on everyone's minds, and hinted that viewers could be in luck.

He reasoned: 'I just don’t know. I’m busy next year. Vicky’s ridiculously busy, so’s Adrian. If there’s a story Jed wants to tell, he’ll come to us. 

'As soon as there’s some news we’ll let you know, but right now there’s nothing there. I’d like to pull my waistcoat out again.'

Martin joked: 'I like a waistcoat but I can’t wear them now; it’s like putting on Steve’s character.' 

The actor, who starred as Detective Inspector Steve Arnott for six series of Line of Duty between 2012 and 2021, recently appeared on The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X.

Host Chris, 50, asked the question on everyone's lips to find out if it's coming back any time soon.

Throwing another hint, Martin replied: 'I love that people ask and the love that people have.

'When people stop asking about it it’ll be a sad day. I do love that but, you don’t want to give fans false hope because people get excited.'

He added: 'We’re not planning anything immediately. We’d love to do another one at some point but we’re all working next year on other stuff.'

Chris joked: 'Well stop working on other stuff, stop being so selfish.'

Despite there being nothing set in stone, Martin seems to be hopeful about the future.

Martin later confessed: 'I'm hopeful and sure we’ll get to it at some point, but honestly once we’re going to do it you’ll hear it from us first.

'We'd be delighted to tell people!'

Just last month Martin's co-star Adrian Dunbar appeared to 'confirm' the show's return.

The Irish actor, 66, has played Superintendent Ted Hastings in Line of Duty from the very start of the series.

He opened up about his character's hilarious sayings on the show, such as 'Jesus, Mary and Joseph and the wee donkey' and 'There’s only one thing I’m interested in and that is catching bent coppers.'

During an interview with Virgin Radio UK, he told Ryan Tubridy: 'The one I didn't get in, which is kind of a really good Irish one about not stopping things happening is, "Don't stall the digger".

'That's a good one, isn't it? Like, you know, "You've got to keep going'" That's going in the next season.'

Not only that, he also explained that Jed Mercurio has been working on it.

He added to the radio host: 'He is writing… We haven't got a script on the desk yet.

'We know that Dr. Mercurio is out there doing something, Jed is writing. But as to when it's going to happen, we don't know.'

In November, the stars of the show reportedly reunited three years after the underwhelming finale of the hit BBC show to thrash out details for another new series.

It's understood that Vicky McClure, Martin Compston and Adrian Dunbar joined the show's creator Jed Mercurio last week for dinner - and the main topic of discussion was a seventh series.

The three stars, who played hard-hitting anti-corruption officers DC Kate Fleming, DS Steve Arnott and Supt Ted Hastings, previously struggled to commit to a new series because of conflicting schedules.

According to The Sun the quartet often met up for dinner after filming for the sixth series of the show wrapped but this is the first time they discussed reuniting for the hit show.

A source told the publication: 'Jed is close with Vicky, Martin and Adrian and they often meet for dinner — this time it was different.

'A topic of conversation was how they could align their schedules in 2025 to ensure Line of Duty 7 happens. The ambition is filming could start next year, with it on screens by early 2026.'