BBC bosses have been left red-faced after the identity of a major guest star set to join the sixth series of Line of Duty was accidentally leaked.
The awkward gaffe took place when a video advert for a BBC Maestro in writing drama for television with the show's creator Jed Mercurio featured a short scene from Line of Duty in which the future guest star appears.
Users were able to access a trailer for an upcoming chapter of the course, which exposed details of a huge twist.
It seems Jed is taking the leak in good spirits though, as he told The Sun, “The outstanding detective work of eagle-eyed Line of Duty fans has been awarded a glowing commendation from the gaffer himself, Supt Ted Hastings. Their call-up papers for the AC-12 are in the post!”
A source added, “This is an embarrassing and humiliating blunder. A lot of time and effort had gone into keeping the star’s role a secret. Line of Duty goes to a lot of trouble making sure nothing gets out to ruin the surprise for viewers - but the BBC has shot itself in the foot on this and broken its own embargo.”
CHECK OUT Line of Duty's acronyms explained
Line of Duty acronyms explained - stacked
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OCG - Organised Crime Group: Serious crime planned, coordinated and conducted by people working together on a continuing basis, mostly acting in different roles depending on their skills and expertise. PACE - Police and Criminal Evidence Act: Established in 1984, a code of practice that regulates police powers and protects public rights.
2 of 9Line of Duty acronyms explained
REG 15 - Regulation 15 notice: A notice that advises an officer that a complaint has been made or a conduct matter has come to light that warrants investigation by professional standards department. RIPA - Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000: An act of Parliament of the United Kingdom, which regulates the powers of the public bodies to carry out surveillance and investigation, and covers the interception of communications.
3 of 9Line of Duty acronyms explained
RTC - Road Traffic CollisionANPR - Automatic Number Plate Recognition: Technology is used to detect, deter and disrupt criminality at a local, force, regional and national level.
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AC-12 - Anti-Corruption Unit 12: A dedicated unit that holds responsibility for investigating corruption within the police force. CHIS - Covert Human Intelligence Source: A person who establishes or maintains a personal or other relationship with another person for the covert purpose.
5 of 9Line of Duty acronyms explained
AFO - Authorised Firearms Officer: A police office, who has been selected, trained, accredited and authorised by their chief officer to carry a firearm operationally. ARVs - Armed Response Vehicles: ARVs are crewed by Authorised Firearms Officers to respond to incidents believed to involve firearms or other high-risk situations.
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DIR - Digital Interview Recording: Digital device used to record police interviews. IOPC - Independent Office for Police Conduct: A non-departmental public body in England and Wales which, since 8 January 2018, is responsible for overseeing the system for handling complaints made against forces in England and Wales.
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FI - Forensic Investigator: The FI gathers and preserves physical evidence at a crime scene to take to a lab where they examine what they or other law enforcement personal have found. I.P. Address - Internet Protocol Address: A numerical label assigned to each device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication.
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SFC - Strategic Firearms Commander: The SFC has overall strategic command of firearms operations, with responsibility and accountability for directions given. UCO - Undercover Operative: A method use by law enforcement and intelligence agencies. They wear civilian clothes that fit in to avoid detection.
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TFC - Tactical Firearms Officer: A TFC provides guidance on the appropriate use in respect of different tactical options involving the deployment of AFOs. VPN - Virtual Private Network: The extension of a private network that includes links across shared or public networks, such as the Internet.
Whilst you won’t be hearing who the actor is from us, we can tell you that it is believed that they have starred alongside a current member of the cast before…
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This awkward mistake isn’t the first made by the BBC on the new series of Line of Duty...
Recently viewers couldn’t help but notice a huge filming fail when DS Steve Arnott - played by Martin Compston - got into a lift in order to avoid a random drugs test, only for a cameraman to be seen in the reflection of the glass.
Line of Duty viewers took to social media to point out the show’s mistake with one tweeting, “Everything ok Steve, you seem to have a TV camera in the life with you there!” whilst another joked, “Was it a cameraman OR was it H colluding with Steve disguised as a cameraman?”