Adrian Dunbar shows off his dancing skills in his musical theatre debut in Kiss Me, Kate.
The Line of Duty actor, 65, is seen waltzing away with co-star Stephanie J. Black in this exclusive clip from the new show, which is currently running in London’s West End.
Wearing a silk dressing gown over a smart suit, Adrian leads his leading lady around the stage while belting out one of the production’s major numbers.
The veteran star, who plays tough-talking cop Ted Hastings in the BBC1 series, is the first to admit he’s ‘not a dancer’ but has dedicated himself to learning the routines needed for the production, the Cole Porter Broadway classic reimagined for a new audience.
It’s a play-within-a-play farce focusing on a divorced couple of warring thespians, Fred, played by Adrian, and Lilli (Black), who reunite to put on Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew.

Adrian Dunbar shows off his dancing skills in his musical theatre debut in Kiss Me, Kate

The Line of Duty actor is seen waltzing away with co-star Stephanie J. Black in this exclusive clip from the new show, which is currently running in London’s West End

Wearing a silk dressing gown over a smart suit, Adrian leads his leading lady around the stage while belting out one of the production’s major numbers
The pair, who have new relationships, slowly realise they have feelings for each other as the show descends into chaos.
Adrian admits he’s been pestering his reps for years in a bid to land a role in a musical and fulfil a life-long ambition.
He said: ‘I’ve hustled my agents over the years, but they never really took me seriously about it.’
And he admits there were plenty of nerves before opening night, adding: ‘It’s very, very exciting and scary.
‘But everybody’s telling me it’s gonna be fine. So I have to kind of wake up to that and just get on with the work.’
Adrian, who also stars in ITV drama Ridley, admits he regrets not pushing his passion for musical theatre more, saying he ended up being consumed by hard-hitting TV roles instead.
He left school at 15 and went to work in a factory, before auditioning for Guildhall School of Music & Drama, which is part of the Barbican complex – where he returned to star in Kiss Me, Kate on its 15-week run.
On musical theatre, he said: ‘We did the first production of Merrily We Roll Along at the Guildhall [in 1983] — a very good production that transferred to the West End.

The veteran star, who plays tough-talking cop Ted Hastings in the BBC1 series, is the first to admit he’s ‘not a dancer’ but has dedicated himself to learning the routines

Adrian admits he’s been pestering his reps for years in a bid to land a role in a musical and fulfil a life-long ambition

He admits there were plenty of nerves before opening night, adding: ‘It’s very, very exciting and scary’
‘I wish I’d got a chance to do a bit more of that. And then I kind of forgot about it because I was from Northern Ireland, there was a lot of dark stuff that was happening, a lot of heavy TV, a lot of heavy theatre, so my theatre life went that way.
‘And so I forgot about music and musicals. It’s really nice that this is happening at this point in my life.’
Despite his move onto the stage, a potential return to his most iconic role in Line of Duty would still be hugely tempting.
The final sixth series aired in May 2021 but fans are desperate for more and Adrian hopes to one day reunite with co-stars Martin Compston and Vicky McClure to shoot a seventh instalment.
He recently told The Times: ‘We all want it to come back. We don’t want to be coming back when we’re in wheelchairs. Ted Hastings with a Zimmer frame.’
- For tickets visit KissMeKateMusical.com