Robert Carlyle shown as armed officer in first look at Line Of Duty series seven

Scottish actor Robert Carlyle has stepped into the world of Line Of Duty for the first time as a specialist rifle officer.

The 65-year-old, known for roles in hit movies Trainspotting and The Full Monty, plays Pc Shaun Massie, a guest lead role in the upcoming seventh series of the BBC show.

Newly released images show Carlyle armed and in police uniform as part of tactical operations unit 7 (TO-7).

Robert Carlyle plays armed response officer Shaun Massie in Line Of Duty’s new series (BBC/World Productions/Peter Marley/PA) PA Media

Carlyle’s character Massie, a veteran marksman described as a “gruff loner”, will be tasked with taking down organised crime groups – however everything changes when his boss, DI Dominic Gough, is accused of being a sexual predator.

Gough is played by series newcomer Tom Weston-Jones, who is best known for starring in Warrior and Sanditon.

The TO-7 unit also comprises of This City Is Ours actress Laura Aikman as DC Paula Beckman, This Town’s Levi Brown as DC Luke Tobin, and You actress Amy-Leigh Hickman as DC Nira Rashid.

Martin Compston, Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar all reprise their roles as anti-corruption unit AC-12 officers Steve Arnott, Kate Fleming and Ted Hastings respectively, in Jed Mercurio’s hit crime thriller.

Tom Weston-Jones’s Line Of Duty character Dominic Gough faces serious allegations (BBC/World Productions/Peter Marley/PA) PA Media

The new series will follow the unit after it was disbanded and rebranded the Inspectorate of Professional Standards, as the team are assigned their most sensitive case so far.

The series will also see Mark Bonnar return as former Deputy Chief Constable Mike Dryden, while Owen Teale will reprise his role as Chief Constable Philip Osborne.

Perry Fitzpatrick will return as DS Chris Lomax in the upcoming series, along with Christina Chong as DI Nicky Rogerson.

Martin Compston, left, Adrian Dunbar and Vicky McClure all reprise their roles in the seventh series of Line Of Duty (BBC/World Productions/Steffan Hill/PA) PA Media

Carlyle follows in the footsteps of previous Line Of Duty guest series leads including Trainspotting co-star Kelly Macdonald, Adolescence actor Stephen Graham and Westworld actress Thandiwe Newton.

Line Of Duty series seven will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the new year.