Line of Duty viewers think photo of young Marcus Thurwell associate might unveil corrupt copper

‘Seriously has no one else spotted this?’ one fan wrote

Line of Duty fans think they’ve worked out the identity of another bent copper.

The sixth series of Jed Mercurio’s crime drama is in full swing, and with one episode left to go, fans are preparing for several more twists and turns.

One such twist might have been teed up in the fifth episode, which was broadcast on Sunday (18 April).

It occurred when DC Chloe Bishop (Shalom Brune-Franklin) told Superintendant Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar) and DI Steve Arnott (Martin Compston) that Gail Vella (Andi Osho) was investigating the 2003 murder of Lawrence Christopher before she was killed.

She explained that, in association with the killing, police had received a number of tip offs naming a small number of white youths with a history of racially aggravated violence.

However, due to Detective Chief Inspector Marcus Thurwell (James Nesbitt), these youths were not interviewed for at least a week with forensic evidence from their homes never secured.

As a result, Bishop explains, the case against the suspects was “flimsy” and, when an identification parade eventually did occur, the suspects had shaved their heads, leaving it difficult for witnesses to notice them. They were released without charge and granted anonymity.

Viewers are shown a picture of the youths with shaved heads, and eagle-eyed fans believe one of them bears a likeness with somebody we know: namely Detective Sergeant Chris Lomax (Perry Fitzpatrick).

Lomax has been working alongside DI Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure) and PC Ryan Pilkington (Gregory Piper) on DS Joanne Davidson’s MIT squad, investigating the death of Vella.

‘Line of Duty’ fans believe Chris Lomax could be the latest copper revealed as dodgy (BBC)

To date, he has seemingly escaped detection among fans, but it’s worth noting his photo is up on the AC-12 board.

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One theory doing the rounds is that Lomax is the brother of DI Matthew “Dot” Cottan (Craig Parkinson), who was revealed to be corrupt at the end of series three.

Line of Duty concludes tonight (2 May) at 9pm on BBC One. Find our rundown of the latest episode’s big events here.