Line of Duty: who exactly was Jackie Laverty?

Fast forward to series five, though, and the character was in the spotlight once again.

In episode five of the series, her body was found in a freezer belonging to Terry Boyle – the man with Down's syndrome who has frequently been manipulated by the OCG.

That same freezer came into question once more in season six, as Boyle came under interrogation for the murder of Gail Vella.

But who exactly is Laverty? You have to go back to series one to recall her backstory – read on for everything you need to know.

Who was Jackie Laverty?

Jackie Laverty was a divorced businesswoman played by Gina McKee who was having an affair with series one “antagonist” DCI Tony Gates (Lennie James).

Their relationship was the main reason he kept getting into such trouble with AC-12 after she killed someone in a hit and run – and he helped her try and cover up the crime.

Only, of course, the person she killed was her accountant who it seems had cottoned on to the fact that his client was running a money laundering operation and was involved with some very dodgy people. Not exactly a coincidence.

The volatile Laverty's time came to an abrupt halt when her quiet night in with Tony was interrupted by a gang of masked criminals who burst in, pinned her down and slit her throat.

Gates was hit over the head and his fingerprints were placed on the murder weapon as a means of blackmailing him.

In subsequent episodes, he was shown Laverty’s body by the thugs who arranged her death – and he later returned to try and retrieve it only to discover it had been moved.

And the location it had been moved to was Terry's flat: we saw members of the OCG arrive at the flat to place the body parts in Terry's freezer, where they were to remain for a very long time.

For the next few seasons, Laverty was not mentioned at all – until a key moment in series five.

In episode four, OCG members Ryan Pilkington, Miroslav, and Lisa McQueen visited Terry's flat and it was revealed Jackie's body was still stored in the same freezer all these years later.

In the next episode, the OCG disposed of Jackie's thawed body parts alongside the corpse of recently murdered undercover cop John Corbett (Stephen Graham), with both bodies dumped in McDade & Company Breakers Yard.

The disposed bodies were then discovered by police officers, after which an investigation led by Sam Railston (Ayisha Hart) revealed that the parts belonged to Laverty and Corbett.

She then popped up in a more discreet fashion in season six, episode one. Potentially-dodgy cop Joanne Davidson set about interviewing Boyle after raiding his flat during the Vella investigation.

While there, forensics found a clean flat - but it was too clean. And that freezer Laverty was in for a while? Gone.

The location of the freezer is anyone's guess, but we wouldn't be surprised if it popped up again.

Line of Duty continues on Sunday at 9pm on BBC One. You can read our Line of Duty episode 2 recap here. Take a look at the rest of our Drama coverage, or check out what else is on with our TV Guide.