Brian McCardie death: Line Of Duty and Rob Roy star dies, aged 59

Actor played boss turned police informant Tommy Hunter in the hit BBC crime show

McCardie as Terry in ‘Dog Days’ (Grant Keelan/BBC/PA)

Line Of Duty and Rob Roy star Brian McCardie has died suddenly aged 59, his agent has confirmed.

The Scottish actor, who grew up Carluke, near Glasgow, earnt praise for his portrayal of criminal boss turned police informant Tommy Hunter in the first two seasons of the hit BBC crime show.

His sister Sarah McCardie announced on Tuesday (30 April) that he died “suddenly at home” on Sunday in a post on X/Twitter.

Ms McCardie wrote that he was a “wonderful and passionate actor on stage and screen, Brian loved his work and touched many lives, and is gone much too soon”.

She added: “We love him and will miss him greatly, please remember Brian in your thoughts.”

McCardie also had parts in Roman-inspired series Domina as Cicero, in the time travel historical show Outlander as Sir Marcus MacRannoch, and as the Irish leader James Connolly in 1916-set TV series Rebellion.

Following the post, United Agents confirmed McCardie’s death to the PA news agency.

McCardie in the Agatha Christie adaptation ‘Murder is Easy’ (Mark Mainz/BBC/PA)

In a statement, they said: “We are shocked and so deeply saddened by the tragic news of Brian’s sudden death.

“He was an actor of such great talent who we were lucky to represent, and our thoughts are very much with his family and friends at this difficult time.”

In Rob Roy, McCardie starred as Alasdair MacGregor, the brother of the title character, who was played by actor Liam Neeson.

McCardie as Terry in ‘Dog Days’ (Grant Keelan/BBC/PA)

He also appeared in several TV roles, including the recent Agatha Christie adaptation Murder is Easy, the mini-series Titanic and the Dundee-set drama Dog Days.

In a statement, Bafta Scotland said on X/Twitter: “We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of actor Brian McCardie. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and peers at this difficult time.”

Louise Thornton, Head of Commissioning at BBC Scotland called McCardie a “talented, versatile actor”.

Thornton added that he was “brilliant at playing the intimidating and central character Tommy Hunter in the early series of Line of Duty”.

After being born in Scotland, McCardie grew up in North Lanarkshire and developed an interest in acting while at school. He later later lived in Rothesay, Scotland.

With reporting from agencies