Martin Compston reveals his love for Belfast ahead of latest Line of Duty series

Set to premiere this Sunday, March 26 at 9pm, the new season is set to star old fan favourites, with Martin Compston reprising his role as DS Steve Arnott, with Vicky McClure back on board as the newly-promoted DS Kate Fleming, and popular Northern Irish actor Adrian Dunbar returning as Supt. Hastings.

BAFTA award-winning actress actress Thandie Newton thrilled fans recently when she revealed that she had joined the cast for what looks sure to be a dramatic fourth season, taking on the role of DCI Roz Huntley.

Speaking ahead of the new season’s highly-anticipated weekend debut, Martin Compston has revealed why he loves filming Line of Duty in Belfast.

“I love getting over to Belfast - it’s something I genuinely look forward to,” Martin explained. “We’re in Belfast for four months at a time, so it’s like doing a film.

“It’s a great amount of time, as it’s not so long that you get homesick and begin to miss your family, but it’s a long enough amount of time to get to enjoy it and get a good feel for the city.

“I’m from the west coast of Scotland originally and I find Northern Ireland has that same, very welcoming feeling - the people feel very familiar to me.”

Speaking of his close bond with co-star Adrian Dunbar, Martin added: “Aidy is a very proud Irishman and he is a great ambassador for Northern Irish arts.

“He just loves showing off all that Belfast has to offer, he’s an excellent tour-guide.

“Aidy is always very keen to show the place off, and enjoys bringing us to see his favourite theatres and restaurants.

“I never expected the quality of restaurants to be so good. We stay in town which is great as it means we can get out and see a lot of the city.

“The quality of the food and restaurants is just amazing.

“My favourite bar is definitely The Spaniard, and we love eating in Mumbai 27 because we live so close-by.

“We also like going to The Jharna for a good curry and of course, Mourne Seafood - that’s a cracking wee place!

“Myself, Adrian and Vicky are all a great support for one another, they’re more like family to me now. In fact, we’re always at one another’s houses for dinner if we don’t go out to a restaurant.”

A talented footballer, Martin was signed to Greenock Morton football club’s youth team before deciding to pursue acting in 2002, when he was discovered by director Ken Loach who cast him as the lead in Sweet Sixteen.

But Martin’s passion for supporting his lifelong favourite football team, Celtic has continued to flourish.

“I’m a huge Celtic fan, so of course when they came to Belfast to play Irish League team Cliftonville here a few years back, I was there! The atmosphere was great, it actually felt a lot like home.

“My wife is American and her grandad is from County Meath, so we also spend a lot of time in the Republic of Ireland when she visits. But I’d love to get out more and do a few proper tours around Belfast and Northern Ireland in the near-future.

“I’m dying to do the Giant’s Causeway, it would be great to get that ticked off!”

Martin added that whilst the switch to BBC One will open the show to new audiences, the team remain grateful to BBC Two.

“Being on BBC One opens you up to new audiences but, really, it’s only one button different.

“We had a very loyal following on BBC Two and we were very comfortable there.

“It isn’t going to be all that different changing channel, hopefully the recipe of the show that has worked so well so far simply continues.

“The writing and the authenticity has remained the same - and we know as actors that everything Jed Mercurio writes for our characters happens for a reason.

“I think that’s one reason Line of Duty has continued to do so well - it’s gone back to that idea of watching a show one day a week, ending on a cliffhanger and talking about it the next day.

“There have been no spoilers so far which is great, because we’ve definitely found that nobody wants to know what happens next until they get the chance to see it!

“I’ll not give too much away, but I can say to expect a whistleblower situation in this series, whilst Thandie’s character presents a new nemesis for AC12.”

Speaking of Thandie Newton’s arrival to the cast, Martin added: “Thandie is a consummate professional and what was great was that she came in as a fan of the show.

“That the show is attracting such high calibre actors and actresses is a huge testament to its success.”

You can tune into the new season of Line of Duty this weekend on Sunday, March 26 at 9pm on BBC One.