Duty

Adrian Dunbar, who has played Superintendent Ted Hastings in Line of Duty for years, has starred in the lead role of Alex Ridley in the ITV detective series since 2022

Popular crime drama Ridley — which stars Adrian Dunbar — has been scrapped despite top ratings, it is reported.

The ITV series sees Dunbar play the title role, a retired Detective Inspector turned police consultant and regular jazz club singer, and has drawn in viewers since 2022. Bronagh Waugh and Georgie Glen have also had regular roles across the two seasons.

But there will be no more, according to reports today. ITV has reportedly decided to shelve the programme, filmed across Lancashire and the Yorkshire Dales.

An ITV spokesman said: “There are currently no plans to return to Ridley. We’d like to extend our thanks to creator and writer Paul Matthew Thompson, executive producer Jonathan Fisher and the team at West Road Pictures for producing two successful series.”

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It is a fresh blow for Dunbar, 67, following years of uncertainty around the future of Line of Duty. The actor, born in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, had hinted he hoped Ridley would return. Speaking in an interview in August last year, Dunbar said: “The programme did very good numbers when it was shown in America and I know that PBS [the US’s Public Broadcasting Service], who part-financed Ridley, would like us to film another series.

“There’s definitely more to be said about Alex Ridley, his troubled life and the team of detectives with whom he works, and I would love to film more.”

But The Sun says this unlikely. The publication reports the programme had received top reviews and, since the last series ended in the autumn of last year, there had been hints it would come back.

Dunbar’s uncertainty around Line of Duty finally vanished late last year though when it was confirmed the popular police drama would return for a seventh season. In November last year, a source said: “Although this has been discussed at length since the unsatisfactory ending of series six in 2021, it’s still going to create huge excitement when the Beeb makes the announcement.

“It’s one they’ve been preparing to make for weeks, but they’ve been trying to pick the right moment, since The Celebrity Traitors has been hogging quite a lot of limelight recently.” They added: “And the BBC very much view Line Of Duty as one of the jewels in its crown that they want to deliver with some fanfare.”

Martin Compston played DS Steve Arnott in the show, which came to an end when his character and his team discovered the identity of “H”. He last year also shared details on whether viewers can expect more from the series.

The size of the Los Angeles City Council should increase from 15 to 25 seats, the city’s Charter Reform Commission recommended Thursday.

On a 9-2 vote, the commission backed the council expansion, with supporters saying that smaller ethnic groups, including Black and Asian American and Pacific Islander residents, would be better represented.

The council has consisted of 15 members since 1925, when the city had fewer than 600,000 residents, compared with 3.9 million today.

“I think we owe the people of Los Angeles to walk out of this room saying that we are a commission that’s concerned about equity, that we are a commission that is concerned about Black and AAPI folks who live in this city,” said Commissioner James M. Thomas, who supported the expansion.

The commission also recommended ranked choice voting, where voters list candidates in order of preference, for municipal elections beginning in 2032. The city should also establish a new position, chief financial officer, which would essentially be a title change for what is now called the city administrative officer, the commission recommended.

By April 2, the commission, which has been meeting since last July, must send all its recommendations to the City Council on changes to the city’s governing charter. The council will then vote on which changes will go before city voters as ballot measures in November.

Thursday’s meeting was packed with supporters of City Controller Kenneth Mejia, who feared that the commission would gut his office’s watchdog role.

Among the CFO’s duties would be preparing the city budget, advising the mayor on fiscal policy and producing revenue forecasts — duties currently under the CAO.

Tim Riley, owner of Heavy Water Coffee Shop in Chinatown, said trust in government is at an all-time low and urged the commission to keep the controller’s powers intact.

“Kenneth has been the only form of government that we have felt has represented us as a community,” Riley said.

City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo spoke briefly and confirmed his support for designating the CAO as the city’s chief financial officer, without impacting the controller’s office. The CFO role recommended by the commission does not take away any duties from the controller.

In 1925, each of the 15 City Council members represented about 38,000 residents. Now, each council district has an average of 265,000 residents. If the council grows to 25, each member would represent roughly 159,000 residents.

The commission did not discuss whether the council members’ salaries and office budgets should remain the same, potentially increasing costs for taxpayers.

Nick Caputo, who has been chronicling the charter reform commission‘s progress online, advocated during public comment for the commission to endorse more than 23 seats. The commission had debated for weeks about whether to go as low as 23 seats or as high as 31, settling on 25 as a compromise.

With smaller council districts, Caputo said, residents will be represented by people who know their neighborhoods better.

“I’m happy that they did go to 25,” Caputo said Friday. “I think that would be a tremendous boost for not just representation, but also you’ll get real specialists.”

Commissioner Carla Fuentes noted that three City Council members — Nithya Raman, Ysabel Jurado and Heather Hutt — have publicly supported expanding the council to 25.

“This is a huge moment for the commission,” Chairperson Raymond Meza said after Thursday night’s meeting. “We have been hearing from hundreds of stakeholders, academics, members of the public, other interested parties — and to be able to begin drafting charter language for the City Council to consider is pretty momentous.”

During the debate on ranked choice voting, Commissioner Diego Andrades explained that the city would no longer hold a primary election, which would save money. Instead, all candidates would run in a general election.

Commissioner Christina Sanchez expressed concern that non-English speaking voters and those in under-served communities might have trouble understanding the complexities, which drew ire from the crowd.

“Are you calling us stupid?” two people said.

The commission also passed a recommendation that the city should approve an ordinance for language accessibility and educating residents about the new voting system.

Two days earlier, the commission voted unanimously to bifurcate the duties of the city attorney, currently an elected official who prosecutes misdemeanors and represents the city in civil litigation. Under the commission’s proposal, an appointed city attorney would take over the civil litigation duties, while an elected city prosecutor would handle the misdemeanors.

The decision to bifurcate the position came after consulting with good governance groups, the public and city departments, Andrades said. The current system allows a city attorney eyeing higher office to potentially offer bad advice to a sitting mayor, and conflicts of interest could occur on issues like police-related settlements and misconduct, he said.

Times staff writer Dave Zahniser contributed to this report.

Line of Duty is back for a new series – with Adrian Dunbar, Vicky McClure and Martin Compston all reprising their roles for the seventh series

Line of Duty is back for a new series – and now a big plotline has been let slip ahead of the new episodes. The BBC show – featuring Adrian Dunbar, Vicky McClure and Martin Compston – ended four years ago but will make a return for a seventh series.

In a shocking turn of events, the fictional police anti-corruption unit AC-12, which investigates bent coppers, finally unmasked the mysterious ‘H’, who was unmasked as bumbling detective Ian Buckells.

Fans were left fuming by the big reveal – which had been years in the making – and begged for the show to continue. It is now back, with the unit having been ditched and rebranded as the Inspectorate of Police Standards.

In the story, Detective Inspector Dominic Gough, a charismatic officer winning plaudits for a string of takedowns of organised crime, is accused of abusing his position of trust to act as a sexual predator. But the team must work out whether Gough’s case is actually a deliberate distraction from a bigger threat.

Creator Jed Mercurio said of the upcoming new series: “Everyone involved in Line of Duty feels enormous gratitude to the show’s fans. We’re privileged to have had so many of you follow the ups and downs of AC-12 over six previous seasons, and we couldn’t be more delighted to be returning for a seventh.

“Corruption in this country is supposed to have come to an end while Line of Duty was off air so I’ve been forced to use my imagination.”

Martin Compston – who played Steve Arnott since its inception – added: “Line of Duty has been a job of a lifetime. Not only in terms of the show’s success but the people I’ve had the opportunity to work with I now call some of my closest friends. I can’t wait to pull the waistcoat on again and get the team back together.”

Vicky said: “It goes without saying I’m so excited Line of Duty is back – can’t wait to work with Jed, Martin and Adrian again. Belfast, we’ll see you soon!”

With Adrian adding: “As we count down the AC12 days of Christmas what a joy it is to know that the Three Amigos will be back filming together next year. Delighted with the news and looking forward to those mercurial twists and turns.”

Now, sources have claimed that there will be a revisit of the ‘H’ storyline in a shocking twist.

“There was genuine anger about the way series six ended and that was part of the reason that a seventh outing was ordered. But this is the first time that there’s been any news on whether they’ll bring back the ‘H’ storyline — and devotees will be thrilled to hear Jed will be giving them just what they want,” a source told The Sun.

“Although there is still likely to be a new villain introduced into the new season, just as there has been with every series since the show was launched. But the incoming baddie’s storyline is likely to be intertwined with that of ‘H’ in a sensational double-whammy.”

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The defense ministry said Friday it has relieved Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Kang Dong-gil from duty over his alleged involvement in former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s botched martial law bid in late 2024.

The move came a day after the ministry took a similar action against Ground Operations Commander Gen. Joo Sung-un over suspicions of martial law involvement, marking the second such suspension of a four-star general appointed under President Lee Jae Myung’s administration.

“The defense ministry excluded the chief of naval operations as of Friday as allegations in relation to the insurrection case have been identified,” ministry spokesperson Chung Binna said in a briefing.

Kang, who served as chief of the directorate of military support at the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time of the martial law imposition, was among the seven top-brass officers appointed as four-star generals in September last year.

The allegations involving Kang and Joo were not previously verified ahead of their appointment, a ministry official said, acknowledging limitations in the procedure amid efforts to fill the leadership vacuum caused by the martial law bid.

The official said the ministry continues to firmly carry out measures to determine the circumstances surrounding the martial law imposition, regardless of the ranks of personnel involved.

The deputy chief of the Navy will serve as acting Navy chief following Friday’s decision, the ministry said, adding disciplinary action will be considered for Kang.

On Thursday, the ministry said it has identified around 180 personnel as having been involved in the martial law imposition following a monthslong probe into about 860 general-level and field-grade officers.

It also concluded that some 1,600 personnel across the military affiliated with the Army, counterintelligence command, special operations command and Defense Intelligence Command were found to have been mobilized on the night of the martial law imposition.

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