Who is Line of Duty’s Terry Boyle and when did he first appear in the BBC drama?
LINE of Duty is back with a sixth season – and fans were surprised to see the return of some faces from previous series. One of those characters is the ill-fated Terry Boyle, an OCG pawn. Here’s a rundown of Terry’s history on the show… Who is Terry Boyle? Terry Boyle is a man with […]
LINE of Duty is back with a sixth season – and fans were surprised to see the return of some faces from previous series.
One of those characters is the ill-fated Terry Boyle, an OCG pawn. Here’s a rundown of Terry’s history on the show…
Who is Terry Boyle?
Terry Boyle is a man with Down’s Syndrome, who has appeared in several of Line of Duty’s storylines.
He is the supposed best friend of OCG member Ryan Pilkington, but for the most part he is consistently exploited by Ryan.
In the first episode of season six, we see Terry Boyle held as one of the main suspects in Gail Vella’s murder investigation.
Arrested under the false name of Ross Turner, he had allegedly boasted about killing Gail to police.
But it appears he was set up by a man named Carl Banks, who planted evidence in Terry’s flat to frame him.
When did Terry Boyle first appear in Line of Duty?
Terry first appeared in season one alongside a then-teenage Ryan.
Ryan, along with his friends Carly and Dean, went to visit Terry’s flat but the three violated his apartment and scouted out a location for OCG members to hide a body.
Later, two OCG men hid the sawed-up body parts of Jackie Laverty in Terry’s freezer, as well as a knife they later used to implicate DCI Tony Gates.
In search of help, a terrified Terry called the police who failed to discover the body.
Who plays Terry Boyle?
Terry was originally played by Elliott Rosen in season one.
Rosen has also appeared in Peak Practice, EastEnders and in Casualty as Neil Ogden.
But for his appearance in seasons five and six, actor Tommy Jessop took over the role.
Tommy is the first Down’s Syndrome actor to appear in a BBC primetime drama.
The actor has also appeared in BBC medical dramas including Doctors, Casualty and Holby City.
What happened last time Terry Boyle was in Line of Duty?
After first appearing in season one, Terry re-appeared in the fifth series of Line of Duty.
Instead of living in his high-rise council block, Terry had moved to a new flat opposite the OCG’s headquarters at Kingsgate Printing Services.
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Disturbingly, Jackie Laverty’s dismembered body was still in his freezer.
Ryan, now a leading OCG figure was still manipulating Terry, and got him to act as a lookout for the OCG HQ.
Terry was once again threatened and interrogated by Ryan and his cronies when he failed to alert them to a police raid on the property.