Homeland showrunner reveals whether Peter Quinn survives

It turns out we were wrong.

Speaking at an Emmy panel, Homeland creator Alex Gansa confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that Rupert Friend's character will be a regular character in the show's upcoming sixth season. Details of his survival – and medical state – were sparing, but the showrunner did say, "I hope he enjoys eating through a tube," before cryptically adding: "How Peter Quinn's character is gonna be dramatised this year is going to surprise people, and it may not be what you think."

What viewers presumed to be Quinn's final moments included a letter from the agent, addressed to his colleague, friend and one-time love Carrie, to be read on the occasion of his death.

So, with Quinn still in the fold, what does that mean for his relationship with Danes' character who also received a proposal from her boss, Otto During, during the series finale? "First and foremost they recognise each other," explained Gansa, "and I think in the world that's what we're all hoping for, is that there's another person out there that recognises us. Whether that means they're compatible romantically, that's another issue entirely.

"Quinn really put his life in her hands at the end of last season and we will see what decision she made, but that's going to have repercussions moving forward for her and for that idea of Quinn as well."

Friend added that the two characters were drawn to each other "because they're both very damaged people and I think that they have a similar attraction to high voltage, high adrenaline situations that tend to have an incredible benefit but more likely to have a very catastrophic end."

The new series will see the story revert to US soil with Carrie building a life for herself in her "homeland" for the first time in years.

The episodes will span the period between Election Day and the inauguration of a new president and Gansa promised there "will definitely be some cameos from characters from past seasons. Whether they are the Brody family I'm not going to say... It's going to be Carrie's first time back in the country for a long period of time in years and she's going to have old acquaintances to reconnect with and establish a new life for herself, so we're going to see some familiar faces."

But while Quinn looks set to return from the dead, actress Miranda Otto promised that her character Alison – last seen lying in a bullet-ridden car boot – really is no more. "Alison is dead," she told EW. "It was dark, but it was a lot of blood."

Homeland series six is expected on screens later this year.