Line Of Duty: Terry Boyle, Jackie Laverty And The Body In The Freezer Explained

Episode one of the BBC drama's sixth series had some big connections to the very first season.
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If you’ve been a long-time fan of Line Of Duty, you may have noted that as the sixth season launched on Sunday night, there were links back to the very first series

Viewers saw Terry Boyle – a character first introduced in 2012 – brought back into the story, as he became the prime suspect in an investigation into the murder of journalist Gail Vella.

As DCI Davidson’s team interrogated him, there was an allusion to Jackie Laverty – a character who was murdered by the organised crime group, after which her body was put in a deep freeze.

But if you’re in need of a little reminder about exactly what went on all those years ago, allow us to get you up to speed…

Who is Terry Boyle?

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Terry Boyle in Line Of Duty's fifth series
BBC

Boyle made his first appearance in the fourth episode of the first series, where he was played by original actor Elliott Rosen. 

He was seen being bullied and manipulated by organised crime group members Ryan Pilkington and Carly Kirk, who paid a visit to his flat and noticed that he had a big storage freezer.

Two men working for original OCG boss Tommy Hunter (who was killed off in the second series) later arrived at his flat with the body of a woman the group had just killed – property developer Jackie Laverty.

Boyle later attempted to report the matter to the police, but he wasn’t able to articulate what had happened, and the officers left without realising Laverty’s body was just feet away from them. 

The character then returned in series five – this time played by Tommy Jessop – when it was revealed that his flat is opposite the Kingsgate printing shop that had been acting as the facade of the OCG’s HQ. 

He was once again visited by Ryan Pilkington, along with Lisa McQueen and Miroslav Minkowicz, who quizzed him on why he had not informed them that police had raided the print shop.

During the confrontation, Ryan was seen looking for a beer in Terry’s kitchen, where he noticed Jackie’s body in the freezer, suggesting that it had been stored there the whole time.

Who was Jackie Laverty? 

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Jackie Laverty with DCI Tony Gates in series one
BBC

Jackie Laverty – played by Gina McKee – was a property developer who was also the mistress of series one antagonist DCI Tony Gates (Lennie James). 

She was involved with the OCG as she was using her company to launder their drug money.

Laverty had asked Gates to cover up what she claimed to be a drunken hit-and-run in which she’d run over a dog – but in actuality, she’d killed her accountant, Gurjit Patel, after he had threatened to tell the police about her money laundering.

Later, masked intruders working for Hunter broke into her home as she was enjoying a night in with Gates and slit her throat. The gang then framed an unconscious Gates by putting his fingerprints on the murder weapon, and used this fabricated evidence to blackmail him into helping aid the OCG’s activities. 

Gates was later taken to a warehouse where he was shown Laverty’s body in a chest freezer, before she was moved to Terry Boyle’s flat, where some of her remains had seemingly stored up until recently.

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Laverty's body had been stored in a freezer in Boyle's flat
BBC

Parts of Laverty’s remains were later disposed of along with John Corbett’s body by the OCG in the McDade & Company Breakers Yard in series five. 

Remind me, what else happened in series one?

A lot. You can read our full season recap of series one here

So what now?

After Boyle was arrested on suspicion of Gail Vella’s murder, MIT conducted a forensic search of his old flat, which revealed it had been thoroughly deep-cleaned and emptied. 

While presenting photographic evidence to Boyle, DCI Davidson drew particular attention to where it appeared a fridge freezer was previously placed in the kitchen, seemingly not realising the significance it played in the wider story. 

It appears that Boyle is being framed for Vella’s murder, potentially by the OCG, who likely cleared out his flat to get rid of their links to Laverty’s murder. 

But there are now three questions that remain – are more of Laverty’s remains still out there, could they resurface, and what consequences will that have?

Line Of Duty continues on Sunday at 9pm on BBC One.

UPDATE: This article has been updated to reflect that some of Laverty’s remains were disposed of by the OCG in series five.