Line of Duty fans react to surprise James Nesbitt cameo as Marcus Thurwell

Actor said he was ‘galled’ to have never appeared in the series... just two months ago

Line of Duty fans have reacted to a surprise cameo in the latest episode by actor James Nesbitt.

Nesbitt, who starred in Bloodlands earlier this year (which was executive produced by Line of Duty’s creator Jed Mercurio), appeared briefly on a computer screen as the face of corrupt police officer Marcus Thurwell.

Thurwell’s name crops up when Steve Arnott (Martin Compston) looks into the child sex trafficking scandal that involved high-ranking police officials. It is said that Thurwell was allowed to quietly retire around the time of the scandal, and was last seen in Spain before disappearing completely.

Fans reacted with shock to the high-profile cameo, with several people amusedly highlighting comments Nesbitt made back in February, in which he claimed to be frustrated never to have been cast in Line of Duty.

“James Nesbitt playing a bent copper twice this year,” noted one person, alluding to his other role as Bloodlands’ Tom Brannick.

“Did Jed Mercurio create a whole TV drama with James Nesbitt just to cover up his appearance in #LineofDuty?” asked someone else. “That is absolutely unreal. I LOVE THIS SHOW!!”

“I love how Steve seemed as surprised as we were that Thurwell is played by James Nesbitt,” joked another Twitter user.

You can read a full, spoiler-filled recap of the biggest talking points from Line of Duty’s latest episode here.

Line of Duty continues at 9pm on Sunday on BBC One.