After six episodes of tension, surprises and cliffhangers, Line of Duty's season six finale is just a few hours away.
The seventh episode of the series promises plenty of action and hopefully the answers to some big questions - including whether we'll actually find out who the mysterious 'H' is.
The latest efforts of AC-12 to hunt down 'bent coppers' has proven a monster hint for BBC, with around 10 million viewers tuning in each week.
Ireland's-own Shrine of Duty podcast - featuring weekly Line of Duty recaps and even interviews with some of the stars - has also surged in popularity in recent weeks.
Brendan O'Loughlin, one of the podcast's hosts, spoke to Newstalk Breakfast with Susan Keogh about what he expects to happen in the finale.
He said: “BBC released a 30-second trailer for what’s going to happen tonight - I was quite surprised by how action-packed it looks. It looks like there’s going to be an ambush… somebody transferred from prison to somewhere else. It looks like it’s really going to kick off.
“Martin Compston, who plays Steve Arnott, was on our podcast… he said there will be a lot of big answers coming on Sunday.
“People have hung around for the guts of three or four years in terms of the H storyline… he said it’s time for that payoff, basically.
“Whether that is one person named as H or whatever... I think that storyline is definitely going to conclude tonight… that’s just my gut.”
And could Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar) be a 'bent copper' himself? Brendan believes that's unlikely - but he did predict this could be the last season where we see the character, whether that's through retirement or 'something more final'.
Brendan said this season had an extra episode to play with, meaning some viewers may have thought the first two episodes were a bit slower than usual.
However, he added: “Then we built to the ambush scene with the van on the side and Steve with the gun… and that cliffhanger with Kate and Ryan.
"I live in a terraced house... I roared at the television. I doubt my neighbours with a newborn baby were too impressed."
The show's creators have been quiet on the prospect of a season seven - but Brendan believes BBC will be extremely keen to order more episodes, as "it's just too popular" to end it now.
'We can't outsmart it'
Dublin actress Amy deBhrún plays Stephanie Corbett, the widow of undercover cop John Corbett, and she spoke to The Hard Shoulder earlier this week.
Amy joined the in season five, and said it was 'mindblowing' to be asked back for this season.
However, she hadn't yet discovered the series when she was cast.
She recalled: “My sister was a huge fan… she kept telling me to watch it.
“I got the audition for Line of Duty, did it, and didn’t think too much of it. I went up for the first readthrough for series five… I was like ‘these scripts are incredible’.
"I went back and binged everything from season one… now I’m as much a superfan as anyone else."
She believes it's a mix of the performances and writing that pulls people back every episode.
She said: "Creator Jed [Mecurio]… [it's] the way he can loop things in from previous series.
“We can’t outsmart it, but at the same time we don’t feel like we’re being talked down to either.”
Amy said she'd filmed two episodes of the current season before COVID, followed by a big break before returning to work to finish up production.
Speaking about filming under strict COVID protocols, she said: “If there were a couple of people you worked with, you stayed in that cohort.
“On a personal level, it takes away a bit of the fun and craic you have on set. Rehearsing a scene… you’d have to keep your mask on until the very last minute, when the camera starts rolling.”
Amy has no hints about what’s going to happen tonight - but she assured viewers they’ll “have a ball”.
