Line of Duty star Martin Compston joins the cast of Amazon Prime’s The Rig

WE’VE waited almost a year for a Martin Compston drama, now three come along at once.

I can reveal he’s joined the cast of Amazon Prime’s big budget supernatural thriller The Rig, which is set to start filming next month.

Martin plays communications officer Fulmer, part of a crew trapped on an oil rig in the North Sea as a mysterious fog surrounds them.

He is fascinated with codes and feels more at home in his radio room than joining in the banter with his colleagues.

The new part comes as he resumes his role of hero cop Steve Arnott in BBC’s Line Of Duty.

He’ll then star opposite Suranne Jones in upcoming BBC thriller series Vigil.

A TV insider said: “Martin is now one of the most popular actors on TV, and not just because he’s been at the heart of five series of Line Of Duty.

“He proved he could turn his hand to anything last spring when he delivered a top performance in the hit thriller The Nest, which was also on BBC1.”

The long-awaited sixth season of Line Of Duty is expected to return in spring.

Vigil is likely to be out later this year and tells the story of a disappeared Scottish trawler and a death onboard a nuclear submarine.

The Rig is the first Amazon Original series made exclusively in Scotland and is directed by John Strickland, who also directed Bodyguard and Line of Duty.

Martin is one of an ensemble cast of big names still to be revealed.

I hope they’re equally impressive signings.

Comics flock to Vegas

JOHNNY Vegas and Car Share star Sian Gibson will be joined by a host of big comedy names in new series Murder, They Hope.

It’s the latest instalment of Gold’s murder mystery franchise which has included Murder On The Blackpool Express, Death On The Tyne and Dial M For Middlesbrough.

Lancashire-born Johnny and Sian previously starred as central characters Terry and Gemma, but this time they will be fully-fledged private detectives – and their first case is at a car boot sale.

The three-parter, starting this spring, will see them joined by Paul Whitehouse, Jason Manford, Lee Mack, Shobna Gulati and Miranda star Sarah Hadland, who is pictured here as Gemma’s sister, Monica.

I reckon Terry and Gemma could give Jessica Fletcher a run for her money . . . 

Exes wine and dine

THERE are few things worse than confronting your ex after a messy break-up – and that’s what makes Eating With My Ex entertaining.

The celebrity version of the BBC Three show is back for a third series, I can reveal – with Love Island’s Megan Barton Hanson and Towie’s Demi Sims facing off.

Towie’s James “Lockie” Lock and Yazmin Oukhellou also see if they can reconcile, while Geordie Shore’s Nathan Henry and The Apprentice’s Ryan-Mark Parsons face their former flames.

Eating With My Ex Celebrity Special returns to BBC Three and iPlayer on Valentine’s Day, and sees the couples hammer out their differences over a special dinner.

A regular series is scheduled to follow the celebrity edition later this year.

Eyes on sexy thriller

NETFLIX has released the trailer for its new drama Behind Her Eyes – and it provides a glimpse of just how steamy the show gets.

The thriller features Tom Bateman as a psychiatrist who has an affair with his employee, single mum Louise, played by Simona Brown, both pictured.

She then befriends his wife, played by actress Eve Hewson – who also happens to be the daughter of rock star Bono.

The six-parter is released on February 17 – just in time for the romantic glow of Valentine’s Day to have worn off.

Hit show Friels a bit odd, say fans

MAINTAINING continuity on a drama can’t be easy when there’s a gap of months and years between filming series.

That’s what happened with ITV’s Marcella – and fans have picked up on a string of gaffes.

They include Anna Friel’s title character sporting a scar which moved around her face, as well as a bedside lamp going AWOL in the middle of the night and the disappearance of an arm tattoo on her husband Bobby, played by Martin McCann.

Viewer Jamie Heard said: “Love Marcella but this series is getting to me. Not only the storyline but noticed some set blunders which has put me off.

“In episode five, when Marcella wakes up in the middle of the night and turns the lamp on yet in the morning she wakes there’s no lamp there.”

Fellow fan Stephen Farmer said: “I’m fairly sure in one scene her scar was on the wrong side of her face.”

And it didn’t stop there.

The show, which sees Anna play a former detective working undercover in Northern Ireland, also saw a tree appear out of the blue on her drive and a pavement becoming soaked midway through one scene.

And my favourite is a schoolgirl’s sandwich which turns from a square into a triangle without being touched.

Nelson's date with charity

Telly host Jonny Nelson is doing his best for singletons – and charity – on Valentine’s Day.

CBBC star Jonny is hosting a virtual event in association with Latin bar chain Barrio and suicide-prevention charity CALM – and will be joined by guests including Jordan North, Jonathan Ross and Myles Stephenson.

To raise money for the charity, Barrio is giving £10 from every £20 ready-to-pour cocktail box ordered directly to CALM, while my mate Jonny also encourages people to book a date with him on the night.

You’ll have to make him promise not to bore on about Preston North End or show you his topless pics.

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