'Line of Duty' creator Jed Mercurio has teased some guest stars for the next series.

Line of Duty

Line of Duty

The show boss and writer has revealed work is underway for the upcoming sixth season of the police corruption drama as he shared a group shot sat in a restaurant with stars Vicky McClure, Martin Compston and Adrian Dunbar while hinting at some new arrivals.

Posting the photo on Twitter, he wrote: "#LineofDuty Series 6 team @Vicky_McCLure @martin_compston The Gaffer Adrian Dunbar nervously awaiting arrival of secret guest stars (sic)"

The social media tease comes after Jed recently revealed he hopes series six will be aired "sometime in 2020", but he admitted there is no official announcement just yet.

He said: "I would hope its sometime in 2020, next year. But that's not something we're able to confirm."

The season five finale aired back in May, and the run followed a two-year gap between series.

Jed - who also created 'Bodyguard' for BBC - says that production is at the "planning stage".

He added: "That's something that we have at the planning stage, so we are working towards a date. We can't confirm everything until things are in place."

The series follows AC-12's Superintendent Ted Hastings (Adrian), DI Kate Fleming (Vicky) and DS Steve Arnott (Martin) as they investigate corrupt police officers.

He has made it clear he would love 'Line of Duty' to return for a seventh series after a sixth was already commissioned.

He added: "We're looking forward to a conversation with the BBC once series five has aired ... about whether there is an appetite from fans to have more, or whether there's a feeling the show is coming towards its natural arc.

"That conversation will be very specific, which is whether series six will be the last, or whether the BBC would be prepared to commission a seventh so we can approach series six knowing it's not the last."