Jed Mercurio rubbishes ‘preposterous’ Line of Duty fan theory ahead of series finale

As Line of Duty (LOD) fans polish up their predictions ahead of tonight’s final episode, the show’s creator has poured water on one popular theory.

Speaking on the Obsessed with… Line of Duty podcast, Jed Mercurio rubbished speculation that AC-12 member Chloe Bishop could be the daughter of bent copper Tony Gates from series one.

The podcast’s host Craig Parkinson , who played baddie Dot “The Caddy” Cottan, raised the hypothesis with Mercurio as he said viewers needed to “relax a bit more” when watching the crime thriller.

“If I hear the theory once more that Chloe is Lennie James’ Tony Gates’ daughter, I’m going to have a hissy fit,” Parkinson said. “I’ve thrown enough Reg 15’s out on Twitter to last me a lifetime.

“Can we just put that to bed?”

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“Oh yeah, that’s just preposterous, yeah. Of course she’s not,” Mercurio replied.

At least that’s one potential bombshell to scratch off the list.

Joining AC-12 (the show’s central anti-corruption unit) at the start of series six Bishop soon sparked suspicions among viewers:

However, clearly is was all just another classic red herring dished up by Mercurio.

Asked if there’s anything fans should be keeping an eye on during the season finale, the LOD mastermind went on to add: “That’s a really tough question because you kind of hope that if you get the job done properly, then you’re not only telling the audience where to look, but you’re also maybe distracting them.

“There may be a little bit of sleight of hand and misdirection in getting them to consider some incidents or some characters that are more important or more significant than they really are, and that’s all part of the puzzle.”

One thing Mercurio hasn’t stopped, though, is the stream of theories surrounding the identity of the anonymous baddie ‘H’, or ‘the fourth man’.

Marcus Thurwell (presumed dead), Patricia Carmichael and Philip Osborne are just some of the coppers suspected of being the mysterious individual – a corrupt senior police officer with links to organised crime.

It’s not long until the identity could possibly be revealed, with the final episode of series six due to air at 9pm tonight...