Eagle-eyed viewers of Line Of Duty were tonight blessed with a very quick peek at an old character who made his return in the series five premiere.
Seven years after his initial appearance.
And, to be honest, we got a double serving of the old school throwback. Oh yes, Jed Mercurio has done it again.
The first one came in the form of the return of Ryan Pilkington (played by Gregory Piper).
Jed knew people might have needed a little helping hand in spotting the troubled youngen, as he asked fans at a recent screening of the first episode: ‘I want to ask the audience a question.
‘Did anybody spot who one of the organised crime gang were? Did anybody spot…? The little kid from series one! The kid who was 12 or 13 riding around on that BMX bike!’
Ryan outraged viewers when he first made his mark on the BBC One show way back when.
Back then he was known for yelling ‘bent b***ard’ at Tony Gates and whacked Steve Arnott’s hand into a vice so he could cut off his digits.
BIG NEWS ALERT!!! @gregorypiper98 is in #lineofduty series 5. The little swine on the bike is back! #superproud #bbc #ryan It’s going to be another brilliant series! pic.twitter.com/dNOOYdi9TP
— Dramaworkshop (@Dramaworkshop) March 31, 2019
The character was arrested for his crimes but dodged time behind bars by giving up information on boss Tommy Hunter and his criminal master plans.
Seems the kid is still living a life on the bad side and failed to learn from his earlier mistakes, though.
Now all grown up, he appears to be a member of the Balaclava Men, following his past as a delivery boy for burner phones.
Oh yeah, he’s a real bad egg.
In the opening scene when some bad guys murder three cops in order to intercept a pretty hefty delivery, ordered by John Corbett (played by Stephen Graham) Ryan is seen as one of the lackies.
However, there was a nod to his start in the crime gangs, as Maneet was delivered a burner phone by none other than a kid on a BMX bike.
Everything old is new again, as the story comes full circle.
The cool nod to series one made a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance in tonight’s episode but it didn’t fly over the heads of all viewers.
One said in regards to the cool throwback: ‘Ah that’s a nice touch, remind us of the old ways!’
While another noticed Ryan was back on the scene, as they wrote: ‘The bike kid gobsh**e who tortured Lennie James in S1 is back.’
Let’s see what Ryan gets up to as a dreaded member of the Balaclava Men, eh?
Line Of Duty returns Sunday 9pm on BBC One.
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