Jed Mercurio’s acclaimed crime drama Line Of Duty is back in business, entertaining and deranging its audience in equal measure with complex mysteries. The latest development has been kept under wraps by the BBC in all the pre-publicity for the current series: a major new character is set to arrive for series five’s final two episodes.

Played by Anna Maxwell Martin (Motherland, And Then There Were None), the new addition is Detective Chief Superintendent Patricia Carmichael, described in the press bumf as “a senior anti-corruption detective brought in from outside of AC-12.” Martin describes her character as “a woman on a mission.”

Here’s a couple of pics of DCS Carmichael in action. Our best investigative minds suggest that her plotline involves a bitter folded-arms-off with DI Kate Fleming, a seasoned pro in the game…

Line Of Duty season 5 trailer

Watch the first trailer for series 5 here…