Martin Compston reunites with Line of Duty pal in Waitrose Christmas advert as fans say ‘this is so iconic’

MARTIN Compston has reunited with a Line of Duty co-star in an "iconic" Christmas ad.

The telly star, 40, joined forces with his partner in crime to crack a festive case.

Compston, who portrays anti-corruption cop Steve Arnott in the popular BBC drama, was back with Vicky McClure, who plays Kate Fleming, for the Waitrose project.

In the clip posted to the store's social media accounts, Compston and McClure, 41, swapped police badges for Christmas jumpers as they sat down for some festive telly.

But they soon reverted to their crime-busting ways after a shocking twist saw someone steal cake from the fridge.

The ad saw the pair try to figure out the identity of the Christmas culprit.

Both telly detectives belted out references from the hit drama, including referring to each other as "mate" as they do in the show.

Compston uttered memorable lines such as "run that back" and "pause" as they scoured over the telly programme.

McClure says "we've got ourselves a case" as they begin probing the yuletide theft.

She even utters an iconic line from Adrian Dunbar's Ted Hastings: "Now we're cooking with gas."

And it didn't take long before they compiled a list of suspects.

Among them were two sad-faced youngsters as Compston said: "I'm telling you, they look like a couple of kids who have been caught robbing the fridge."

But making reference to the many false clues and twists and turns keeping Line of Duty viewers gripped, McClure responds: "Well if you are going to go down that line of inquiry you are going to be left holding a herring."

The list of suspects even included a Granny with a "face like thunder" and even the pet CAT.

Waitrose promised fans would find out even more about the Christmas case, as a part two to the clip was confirmed.

And fans couldn't hide their excitement at the reunion.

One said: "SHUT UP! This has gone next level. I am buzzing!"

Another wrote: "Waitrose you just won Christmas".

While a third commented: "This is so iconic. Serving all the drama with the best detectives."

But other fans were convinced the ad was the stars teasing a new series of the show.

One person replied: "OMG this is the LOD tease I needed today.";

Line of Duty was last on our screens three years ago.

The most recent episode aired in 2021, and left viewers on the edge of their seats as the notorious 'H' was revealed and AC12 were left nearly powerless to take down bent coppers in the fictional Central Police.

Since then fans have constantly been crying out for the show to continue - with any reunion sparking rumours of a comeback for AC-12.

The stars recently sent fans into a frenzy as they reunited and partied in the back of a rickshaw on the streets of London.

But the stars have all moved on to different projects since the hit anti-corruption show last aired.

McClure took up another cop role as Bomb Squad tech Lana Washington in the explosive ITV drama Trigger Point.

Meanwhile, Compston took to the seas as he played doomed sailor Craig Burke in submarine drama Vigil, and then Fulmer Hamilton in Amazon Prime's The Rig.