Line Of Duty's Nigel Boyle Addresses Fans' 'Disappointment' After 'H' Reveal

"If everyone has their own ideas and theories, then someone’s not going to be happy somewhere along the line."

Mother of god! Be warned this story contains Line Of Duty spoilers of the highest order.

The Line Of Duty finale got something of a mixed response on Sunday night, as fans finally discovered the identity of “H”.

During the episode, viewers found out that it was actually DSU Ian Buckells who had been helping to lead a network of corrupt coppers in collusion with the OCG.

While many Line Of Duty fans didn’t see the reveal coming, others admitted they’d been left feeling a little underwhelmed by the episode, which actor Nigel Boyle addressed during an appearance on Monday’s edition of BBC Breakfast.

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Nigel's character was unveiled as the so-called "fourth man" during the Line Of Duty finale
Steffan Hill/BBC/World Productions

Nigel – who has played DSU Buckells in three series of the BBC police drama – insisted that, for the most part, fan reaction had been positive.

“The fans have been brilliant, so many people have invested so much,” he explained.

“There’s always going to be some element of disappointment. You can’t have every series with a big shoot out and ‘urgent exit required’. Sometimes a subtler message is more important.”

He added: “If your expectations are somewhere, you’re setting yourself up sometimes for disappointment.

“That’s not to say that all the fans are doing that – [but] everyone’s got their own ideas and theories about how something’s going to pan out, and if everyone does that then someone’s not going to be happy somewhere along the line.” 

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Martin Boyle speaking on Monday's edition of BBC Breakfast
BBC

Nigel previously told the BBC: “I’ve been sitting on [this secret] for a long time! The only person I told was my wife, nobody else, I know how much is at stake! Even if you tell someone you trust with your life, they might tell someone they trust with their life and then suddenly more and more people know!

“When friends have asked me who H is I’ve just said there isn’t an H!”

With the sixth series of Line Of Duty now over, fans are speculating about whether a seventh might be on the cards, and given just how many loose ends the finale left untied, we reckon there’s a fair chance we’ll get one…

All six series of Line Of Duty are now available to watch on the BBC iPlayer.