The finale of season six of Line Of Duty finally revealed who the so-called fourth man in Line Of Duty was. We were expecting to discover that the senior officer in collusion with the OCG was a criminal mastermind who'd risen through the ranks thanks to cunning and and a sharp wit. Would it be Chief Constable Osborne? Or Patricia Carmichael? Or was it former police officer Marcus Thurwell, returned from the dead? Actually... no, it was Ian Buckells all along. Former Detective Superintendent Buckells, the bumbling detective played by Nigel Boyle who had cropped up on three separate series of Line Of Duty, who was the mastermind behind the whole operation. Although exactly how much of a mastermind he actually was is questionable, as the inference seemed to be that he was still really just a middle man, with just the right combination of low cunning, greed and stupidity to perform the role to perfection.
But the big question is that, did Mercurio set Buckells up to be the big fish all along, or, grappling for ways to potentially wind up the series (we still don't know if there will be a series 7), realised Buckells was the perfect way to close this story arc without shutting down the possibility of another season?
READ MORE: All The Easter Eggs And Clues You May Have Missed From Season Six Of Line Of Duty So Far
Where have I seen Detective Superintendent Ian Buckells before in Line Of Duty?
Buckels first appeared in series one of Line Of Duty, and is appointed SIO in the investigation into the disappearance of Jackie Laverty by Superintendent Derek Hilton (who is later revealed to be one of the ‘H’s’ or inside men working on behalf of Organised Crime Groups at senior levels in the police force). Buckells is frequently mocked by Tony Gates, and is generally seen as bumbling and incompetent by Gates and his team, as well as then DC Kate Fleming (who is undercover).
This Video Will Get You Up To Date With Line Of Duty's Last Five Seasons In Just Six Minutes
Evidence that Ian Buckels was the fourth man in series one?
Minimal, he appears, to all intents and purposes, to be trying to crack the case of Jackie Laverty and the money laundering, until he's warned off and deterred by Gates.
Did Buckells appear in series four of Line Of Duty?
Buckells reappears in Line Of Duty in season four, replacing DCI Ros Huntley (Thandie Newton) as the SIO on Operation Trapdoor - Buckells has been promoted to a DCI at this point. He recognises Kate Fleming who is undercover at Polk Avenue police station and is warned against blowing her cover (which he doesn’t do, although he also refuses to cooperate with her).
Again, Buckells is generally seen as fairly incompetent and is eventually replaced again with Hunter, as she gets the upper hand over AC-12.
All The Best Line Of Duty Season 6 Memes To See You Through Until Episode 3
Evicence that Ian Buckells is the fourth man in Season four?
Again, he does a good job of appearing as an incompetent man, promoted above his station, doing a bad job (although he's appointed by Hilton - revealed at the end of series four to be another senior officer working for the OCG - a clue we all missed at the time). But although he's more nice-but-dim in season one, we get a better picture of his nastier side this time round, when he recognises Kate as an undercover AC-12 officer, and threatens to blow her cover.
Is Ian Buckells In line Of Duty H?
In season six we meet Buckells, now a Detective Superintendent for the third time. He's once again played as the hapless senior officer being led by more competent subordinates (although were the golf pictures and clubs in his office the clue all along?) Following evidence that he planted Ryan Pilkington in the Murder Investigation Unit and planted a witness to ensure Terry Boyle's conviction, Detective Superintendent Ian Buckells was dragged into AC-12 to face questioning, thanks to a tip off from DI Kate Fleming and DCI Joanne Davidson, this season’s key protagonist. We’re left with the distinct impression that the hapless Buckells has been set up by Davidson, and that Kate has fallen for the ruse. This was later revealed to be a classic case of Jed Mercurio misdirection. Yes, Davidson was setting Buckells up, but she was unwittingly doing so on orders from Buckells himself. Keeping up? Good.
Buckells then appears in a prison cell, where he it witness to the murder of Jimmy Lakewell at the hands of Lee Banks. Banks tells Buckells 'this is what happens to a rat.' Whether Banks is aware of the true nature of Buckells position is unclear, but Buckells appears visibly shaken and scared by what he witnesses - which is probably proof that he really is the go-between he describes himself as, rather than a single mastermind of the whole operation.
We also discover that he was the Detective Constable working on the Lawrence Christopher case - the murder of a young black man that was apparently bungled (on the orders of Tommy Hunter, whose son was one of the suspects). When Gail Vella started looking into this case, years later, she was murdered - potentially on Buckells orders.