A Line of Duty fan theorythat DC Chloe Bishop could be the daughter of Tony Gates from season one is gathering pace online... AND IN OUR BRAINS.
The theory suggests that [DCI Bishop {href='https://graziadaily.co.uk/celebrity/news/shalom-brune-franklin/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'}) could be the daughter of Tony Gates (played by Lennie James) and his wife Jools. Chloe is the newest member of AC-12 and is working alongside Steve Arnott this series.
Tony, played by Lennie James, was the main character in series one of Line of Duty. He died when he walked into a busy road JUST AFTER getting a confession from gang leader Tommy Hunter, who had been blackmailing the police officer into covering up their criminal activity.
Is DC Chloe Bishop the daughter of Tony Gates?
So, why do people think Line of Duty's Chloe is the daughter of Tony Gates?
Well, it's actually based on some excellent police work that Ted Hastings would be proud of. We can only assume people have MUCH better memories than us, or that they binged Line of Duty in lockdown and so remember these things.
It turns out Tony Gates and his wife did have two daughters and they were called... CHLOE and Natalie.
People online claim the name cannot be a coincidence, but those people may not be remembering Jed Mercurio's penchant for a Line of Duty red herring...
There's also further back-up (we direct you to exhibit two), in the fact that there was a picture of Tony Gates' daughter Chloe shown in series one. Fans say they look similar and because the picture was in series one in 2012, Chloe would be about the right age to be, errr, both Chloes.
So, closed case? Is Chloe Bishop Tony Gates' daughter? Seems possible...
Is Tony Gates' daughter in Line of Duty?
Well, maybe not.
Aside from the red herring loving (Hastings / H etc etc), it's also remembering we've been down this path before, in series five.
Towards the end of season five, there was another 'Tony Gates daughter theory' knocking around. People believed that Lisa McQueen (played by Rochenda Sandall) was the secret daughter of the DCI Tony Gates (Lennie James) and Jackie Laverty (Gina McKee), and she’s out to revenge the OCG who lead her parents to their deaths.
Maybe Jed's having a laugh with us after all...
BUT...
Links between Line of Duty series one and series six
The 'Chloe is Tony Gates' daughter' theory does at least follow the narrative a little more this series, because already, there are a lot of links between series ones and series six.
There's Terry Boyle who was questioned in episode one - the character appeared in seasons one and five, where it was revealed that he was being manipulated by Tommy Robinson’s gang and later in particular by Ryan Pilkington, a boy who’s part of the gang and grows up over the course of the series, graduating as a police officer himself at the end of series five.
In season one, the gang used a freezer in Boyle’s flat to store Jackie Laverty’s body parts (again from season one) - which made the reference to refrigerator chemicals and a missing fridge in Terry's flat in season six a particularly gruesome reference.
There's alsoRyan Pilkington himself... popping up since season one and back in episode two BIG TIME... you can read more about that [here](http://Ryan Pilkington played a crucial role in the latest episode of Line Of Duty - he appears several scenes as a new PC who appears to be working on DCI Davidson's Murder Investigation Team. DI Kate Fleming even asks where she's met him before, as she recognises Pilkington but can't place him. In the final scene of the episode, he appears to be in collusion with DCI Joanne Davidson, apparently confirming that both of them are in the payroll of Organised Crime Groups.).
There are Line of Duty Easter eggs everywhere!
So, like, IS DC Chloe Bishop Tony Gates' daughter?
We don't KNOW! And that's why we love the show so much... just when you think you've got a handle on things, you absolutely DO NOT HAVE A HANDLE ON THINGS.
For now, we reckon it's a pretty goodLine of Dutytheory as far as they go - it's backed up by evidence and fits the narrative.
But we also wouldn't be surprised if it was all a ruse to keep us talking and missing something else obvious in front of our faces...
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