Line Of Duty star Nigel Boyle has defended the series six finale, after fans took to Twitter in droves to express their disappointment.
Fans across the nation were left underwhelmed and disappointed on Sunday night as the nail-biting series finale drew to a close – and the mysterious antagonist H was finally unmasked as DSI Ian Buckells, played by Boyle.
And during an appearance on BBC Breakfast on Monday, Boyle insisted that fans of the hit show would grow to appreciate the ending over time, as he also revealed he d only told his wife Lainy that he was the Fourth Man ahead of the finale.
At last, a resolution of sorts. The Fourth Man, formerly the con artist known as H, was finally revealed to a nation who have gorged on red herrings and deep fried dead ends since the wee donkey was just a wee foal.
Yet when the great reveal came, it was still a bit of a shock to everyone, including AC-12.
‘He’s been under our noses since the beginning,’ cried DI Steve Arnott (Martin Compston). ‘What does this make us look like?’ wailed DI Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure).
What indeed? Anyone who mentions the Keystone Kops will be arrested on sight.
Line of Duty Ian Buckells star Nigel Boyle s life - from famous family to Peaky Blinders
The actor, who appears in hit BBC police drama Line of Duty as Detective Superintendent Ian Buckells, is adjusting to life as a dad for the third time with wife Lainy Boyle
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Former Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Malton, 70, was speaking in new BBC documentary series Bent Coppers.
The three-episode series tells the story of institutionalised corruption in the Metropolitan and City of London police in the 1970s.
Ms Malton retired from the Met in 1997 after a 30-year career before going on to advise producers of police television shows.
Prime Suspect creator Lynda La Plante spoke to Ms Malton for hours to create no-nonsense officer DCI Jane Tennison.
The character was portrayed by Helen Mirren in the long-running show before La Plante released a book of the same name.
Speaking in the final Bent Coppers episode, which airs tonight, she told how everybody just stood up and walked out after she entered the police canteen following the suspension of a fellow officer suspected of planting drugs on suspects.