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H-ANDY GUIDE

Who is H in Line of Duty? Fans are convinced they’ve figured out the real culprit

line of duty bbc

AS the finale is just around the corner, BBC One’s Line of Duty has teased one of the biggest mysteries in television history.

And fans are desperately trying to figure out who H is. And could this new theory lead us any closer to the answer? Find out below…

 Line of Duty's fifth series comes to an end on Sunday, May 6, but are we going to find out who H is?
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Line of Duty's fifth series comes to an end on Sunday, May 6, but are we going to find out who H is?Credit: BBC

Who is H?

We have lined up the suspects that could be the evil H.

Take a look at our rundown here...

Ted Hastings

It would quite honestly be too obvious for H to be Ted Hastings - and fans seem to agree.

One viewer said: "No way is H Hastings - too obvious! I bet whoever is running the OCG doesn't even have a name beginning with 'H' - that's a disguise & to frame Hastings!....something not right about Gill at all!!"

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During episode five on April 28, Ted is arrested on two charges - corruption and conspiracy to murder.

Ted poses as H in an undercover operation, which he stresses is the only way to take down the OCG and recover the stolen Eastfield Depot bounty.

As his behaviour becomes irrational, DI Kate Fleming and Steve Arnott report their gaffer to Deputy Chief Constable Andrea Wise.

Ted tries to explain that he’s being framed as the suspicious envelope of £50,000 from Mark Moffat is found in his hotel room and Fleming and Arnott find Northern Ireland links to John Corbett.

 Detective Chief Superintendent Patricia Carmichael is a new character, so has she been brought in as H in Line of Duty?
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Detective Chief Superintendent Patricia Carmichael is a new character, so has she been brought in as H in Line of Duty?Credit: BBC

Patricia Carmichael

She’s ruffled some feathers with viewers for her unlikeable approach during the process of interviewing Ted Hastings regarding his charges.

But could AC-3 boss DCS Patricia Carmichael be smart enough to hatch a plan that could see Ted get locked up for a crime he didn't commit?

Carmichael has stressed that she’ll prove Ted is guilty, which viewers feel is her way of saying she’s going to frame Hastings.

While actress Anna Maxwell Martin, who portrays the character, only has a recurring guest spot on the show, fans are convinced she could very well return as a lead actor for season six if she is H all along.

Derek Hilton

As series five begins it's believed that H has been unmasked as DCC Derek Hilton - who was killed at the end of series four.

But it is soon obvious that H is still active, so the likelihood of Hilton being the culprit is waning.

Derek was implicated by his initial and as a senior ranking officer who had suggested that corrupt cop Dot Cottan receives a promotion.

Cottan had shared a personal relationship with the character since the first series.

Hilton was seen making a call to have Arnott killed by a balaclava man.

 Line of Duty ends on May 5, 2019, and fans are pondering how many clues they will get to identify 'H'
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Line of Duty ends on May 5, 2019, and fans are pondering how many clues they will get to identify 'H'Credit: BBC

Les Hargreaves

It’s not hard to see why Les Hargreaves would fit the description of H rather well.

Again, his surname begins with the letter H and he famously held a senior position in the police force, meaning that he had authority over others.

He’s never been a fan of AC-12, so it would make sense that he would frame Ted in a way that could see him locked up for good.

He's obviously a bent copper, having been killed wearing a balaclava at the Eastfields depot raid.

Certain remarks made by Lisa McQueen seemed to hint that Hargreaves was just another cop who’d been hired from the OCG but, oddly enough, he didn’t even know where the headquarters were located.

She said: “We never told Hargreaves about the print shop, the leak came from somewhere else.”

 Gill has allowed her feelings for Ted to get in the way of the case
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Gill has allowed her feelings for Ted to get in the way of the caseCredit: BBC

Gill Biggeloe

It goes without saying that Gill’s behaviour throughout the fifth series has been suspicious, to say the least.

Viewers know that Gill has feelings towards Hastings, but it seems that his loyalty to being a dedicated family man is bothersome to someone like Gill.

She asked him to retire from his job in fear of ruining his reputation, but then changes her tune and shows major support for Ted when she vouches for his talents in front of DCC Wise.

Later on, Gill, after having offered her legal services, hands Ted a Regulation 15 notice that would suspend him from his duties.

Her behaviour has been all over the place, and fans have a theory that Cottan blinked G not H on his deathbed.

 While viewers haven't seen much of Andrea Wise, she's certainly not being ruled out
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While viewers haven't seen much of Andrea Wise, she's certainly not being ruled outCredit: BBC

DCC Andrea Wise

Fans haven’t seen much of DCC Andrea Wise just yet, but one thing that we do know about her is that she’s feisty and she holds power as a senior police officer.

No, her surname doesn’t begin with H, but that shouldn’t rule her out from being another suspect - especially because she’s flown under the radar for so long.

Andrea removed Ted from the investigation into Operation Peartree, which may have been a tactical move on her end to avoid Hastings from getting to the truth and proving his innocence?

It’s always the ones that may not have the most to say that should be kept an eye on.

Roz Huntley

Even though she’s facing ten years behind bars, there are a couple of reasons why she could potentially be H.

For starters there's her surname, plus she was a senior officer.

It also doesn’t go unnoticed that Roz is an inhabitant of Blackthorn Prison.

While it may seem somewhat of a stretch to assume she could be H, nobody is being ruled out.

Not even the names who haven’t made appearances on the show in a while.

 Susan Vidler plays Detective Superintendent Alison Powell
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Susan Vidler plays Detective Superintendent Alison Powell

Alison Powell

Alison Powell is the boss of Operation Peartree.

It was she who put undercover officer John Corbett inside an organised crime group.

She then refused to make this known to AC-12 and instead keep the information to herself with a MOPI notice to block the data getting back to the police database.

That’s telling.

PCC Rohan Sindwhani

He also doesn't have a surname beginning with H, but he did help get AC-12 booted off Operation Peartree.

He also seems pally with Gill.

DS Sam Railston

Again, she doesn't have a surname beginning with H, but she has had a more prominent role in this series - and she was working with bent copper Hargreaves.

 Could 'H' be someone that we haven't been introduced to yet?
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Could 'H' be someone that we haven't been introduced to yet?Credit: BBC

Mystery person

It’s hard to believe that H wouldn’t be one of the suspects listed above, but television shows are always full of surprises.

In this case, after almost five seasons of Line of Duty, what would the conclusion to the series be without a shocking twist that nobody expected?

Perhaps H isn’t just one person.

For all we know, it may be a group of people working together and subsequently framing Ted while causing absolute chaos in the process.

 Fans have definitely let their theories be heard on Twitter
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Fans have definitely let their theories be heard on Twitter

What's the latest theory regarding the identity of H?

In the midst of episode five airing on Sunday, April 28, 2019, fans had taken to Twitter, sharing their thoughts as to why they believe Gill has been the villain all along.

According to , one fan noted how the identity of H was first mentioned in series three when Bent copper Dot Cottan gave the codename H to Kate Fleming.

Cottan blinked to signify the letter while laying on his deathbed, but now viewers believe that Dot actually meant to signal 'G' but blinked too slowly.

"A lot of people are saying Gill is H... maybe when Dot recorded his dying declaration he blinked on G and that got mistaken as H??!!" a fan had expressed on the social networking platform.

 The revelation of H will be uncovered during the show's sixth and final episode of the series
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The revelation of H will be uncovered during the show's sixth and final episode of the series

Another continued, sharing: "Still think Gill Bigelow is H. And also when Dot Cotton blinked, he was blinking G ... Kate just couldn't count. #LineOfDuty."

It was then suggested that Gill still feels hurt that Hastings shares no romantic feelings towards her - an affair which never really got started to begin with.

Because of that, "she's seeking revenge after being turned down by #hastings, could she be the secret H."

Line of Duty concludes with its sixth and final episode on Sunday, May 5, 2019, at 9pm on BBC One! 

Line of of Duty fans are asking Amazon's Alexa to reveal the identity of 'H' and she gives an answer... sort of
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