Line of Duty star Lennie James reveals he almost returned to the show

Publish date: 2024-08-26

Tony Gates' fate is sealed in season one 

Warning, spoilers alert from season one! While it was made clear that poor Tony Gates was killed off in the season one finale, the actor behind the role, Lennie James, admitted that he thought he was coming back for the second series - and told everyone!

READ: Line of Duty fans shocked after spotting major link between characters - did you notice?

Chatting to Radio Times about the situation, he explained: "I don't know what [creator Jed Mercurio] was thinking – and I slightly revealed a little bit too much of myself when I showed him how excited I was at the possibility of Gates coming back to 

Lennie originally thought he was returning to Line of Duty

He continued: "It was literally a day. Jed came in and said, ‘I’ve written a scene where Gates appears, comes back’ and I was like, ‘Fantastic, excellent,’ and went around and told everybody. Then he came back in the next day, and I was like, ‘So what’s the details, when can I see it?’ and he was like, ‘I’ve scrapped it, it’s a stupid idea’. He was absolutely right, it was a stupid idea but if anyone could pull it off it would probably be him." Poor Lennie!

READ: Line of Duty star teases return of major character from season one

Although he couldn't include him in future episodes, Jed was full of praise for Lennie's performance. Following the season finale on Monday night, he tweeted: "The dramatic ambition of #LineofDuty has been to push the guest lead character into their deepest dilemma. Series one set the template. Tony Gates must choose between his honour and his family."  

WATCH: Vicky McClure talks Line of Duty season six 

Giving behind-the-scenes tidbits, he added: "S1 Ep 3 was the first ever to feature a prolonged interview, when AC-12 grill DCI Tony Gates (in Millennium Point, Birmingham). I'm grateful @RealLennieJames backed filming in long takes, but I'm not sure all his successors have been!" 

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