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Martin Compston jokes he will sack his agent after Vigil's 'disappointing' ending

Martin Compston starred as Royal Navy officer Craig Burke in 'Vigil'. (BBC)
Martin Compston starred as Royal Navy officer Craig Burke in 'Vigil'. (BBC)

Martin Compston has joked he will sack his agent after the finale of submarine drama Vigil left some viewers disappointed.

The Line Of Duty star played Royal Navy officer Craig Burke in the new BBC Sunday night drama starring Suranne Jones and Game Of Thrones actor Rose Leslie, which came to an end after six episodes with a wrapped-up conclusion that some complained was anticlimactic.

Compston responded to a Tweet from viewer Dave James who said: "So that’s #vigil and #lineofduty that had really c**p endings, choose the next series wisely @martin_compston you don’t want to make it a hat trick."

The 37-year-old Scottish actor retorted: "I know Dave pal I’ve made an arse of it. One the biggest new drama of the year the other biggest drama of the year/century. Agents for the sack."

Read more: 'Vigil' creators tease possibility of a second series

Compston's character was killed off in the first episode of Vigil, which saw Jones play a police officer brought on board the Royal Navy vessel to investigate his mysterious death.

Suranne Jones starred as police officer Amy Silva in submarine drama 'Vigil'. (BBC)
Suranne Jones starred as police officer Amy Silva in submarine drama 'Vigil'. (BBC)

Vigil was named the BBC's most-watched new drama of 2021 after 10.2 million viewers tuned in to its opening episodes in the first week.

The final episode saw sonar expert and Russian spy Matthew Doward arrested for murder only to reveal in police questioning the plot had all been part of a PR exercise to persuade the government to defund nuclear weapons.

Earlier this year Compston returned as DI Steve Arnott in the sixth series of Sunday night crime drama Line Of Duty.

Watch: The trailer for Vigil was teased when Line Of Duty concluded in May

The finale of the BBC police corruption series was watched by a record-breaking 12.8 million people.

But Compston felt obliged to address fans on Twitter after reaction to the identity of the corrupt police officer known as 'H' — who the AC-12 team have been hunting since the first series in 2012 — caused some disappointment when it was finally revealed to be minor character DCI Ian Buckells, played by Nigel Boyle.

Martin Compston has starred with Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar in six series of 'Line Of Duty'. (BBC)
Martin Compston has starred with Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar in six series of 'Line Of Duty'. (BBC)

He said: "Hey folks now the madness is slightly dying down, just want to thank everybody who reached out about last night and the series as a whole, we've truly been blown away by the reaction and love for the show we're proud of it. Fully understand it wasn't the 'urgent exit' type ending some anticipated but we appreciate you sticking with us."

While some viewers were unhappy with the ending of Line Of Duty others are eager for the BBC to make yet another series.

'Vigil' creators have teased a second series could be on the cards. (BBC)
'Vigil' creators have teased a second series could be on the cards. (BBC)

And there has been similar reaction to Vigil, with some fans eager to see more from the characters introduced in the first series.

Read more: Line Of Duty star Tommy Jessop steals the spotlight at the NTAs

Writer/creator Tom Edge told Yahoo UK: “We had a blast doing it and there are some incredibly talented cast playing characters that we all enjoyed getting to know.

"So I think there are lots of possibilities and if we’re lucky enough to get to explore them further, then that would be terrific. It was a pleasure making this one, and great to get back on board whatever we did next.”

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