Adrian Dunbar may now be best known for playing Superintendent Ted Hastings in Line of Duty, but he’s had a long and varied career that goes way back
Irish actor Adrian Dunbar is set to grace our television screens once again this weekend as he steps back into his role in the hit ITV series Ridley.
The crime drama, penned by Vera’s Paul Matthew Thompson and Jonathan Fisher, sees the Line of Duty actor return as a former detective inspector who comes out of early retirement 18 months after suffering a breakdown to work as a consultant.
Shot amidst the scenic backdrops of Lancashire’s countryside, the Yorkshire Dales, and the Pennine moors, Adrian’s character has endured the tragic loss of his wife and daughter in a fire and finds solace playing piano and singing in a jazz club he co-owns during his retirement. He teams up with ex-colleague Carol Farman (Bronagh Waugh), who has recently been promoted to detective inspector.
Speaking to Radio Times, Adrian revealed that in the show’s second series, his character Alex is in a much more stable emotional state. He explained: “Alex was two years on from his wife and child dying in the first series, and now it’s another two years on. We don’t lean so heavily into him being isolated and grieving – I think it’s important for the audience to see that people can move on from grief.”
Discussing what sets his latest crime drama apart, he explained: “It sets up its own niche. It’s not cosy crime by any means, and yet it’s occupying that Sunday-night slot where you can’t be too visceral. So you have the serious police procedural that we devote time and thought to, and then there’s the family aspect. I was insistent that we needed somewhere else to go, and that’s the jazz club and the musical element,” reports the Express.
Before stepping into the shoes of Alex Ridley, Adrian, now 67, had a rich and diverse acting career, stretching well beyond his iconic role as Superintendent Ted Hastings in Line of Duty.
His extensive career highlights include TV dramas such as Ashes to Ashes, The Hollow Crown, and Broken, as well as appearances in blockbuster films like The Crying Game and Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.
Back in 1989, he appeared alongside Daniel Day-Lewis, who portrayed Christy Brown, in My Left Foot. An old photo reveals a barely recognisable Adrian in the role of Peter.
The film, set against the backdrop of mid-20th century working-class Dublin, chronicles the life of Irish author and artist Christy, who was born with cerebral palsy and could only control his left foot.
When filming took place, Adrian had recently marked his 30th birthday and it would be over 20 years before he became a recognisable face through Line of Duty. In the photograph, he’s sporting a suit with patterned bow tie, boasting a head of sandy, tousled locks and a beaming expression – quite different from no-nonsense Ted Hastings.
Adrian has recently dropped the strongest indication yet that Line of Duty might be making a comeback to our television screens in the near future, hinting that all indicators are “very good” for fresh episodes to begin production next year.
This would see him reunited with his Line of Duty colleagues, Martin Compston as DS Steve Arnott and Vicky McClure as DC Kate Fleming.
When pressed for an update on whispers of a new series, he disclosed to Radio Times: “Myself, Martin and Vicky talk all the time, but Jed [Mercurio, the series creator], not so much, because he’s working on a project in the US at the minute.
“So yeah, we’re very tight, and we’ll meet up and have a curry, then the internet goes mad if we’re all seen together. There were signs that we were going to be doing something next year.
“We’re all waiting for the BBC to say, ‘Yeah, it’s happening’. An official confirmation is what we’re waiting on, but all the signs are very good. Jed hasn’t given us any updates – he’s beavering away, I suspect.”
Ridley returns to ITV1 on Sunday, August 10 at 9pm.
