Is Elvis secretly alive in Our Girl?

So it’s no surprise that nearly three years on, speculation continues that the character might actually still be alive.

Whether they are spotting unusual moments during weekly episodes or coming up with intriguing theories, fans haven’t faltered in their enthusiasm for such a beloved character.

Actor Luke Pasqualino had been written out after signing a five year contract for another TV series called Snatch. Following the onscreen tragedy, Our Girl creator Tony Grounds told RadioTimes.com that a temporary exit wouldn’t have made sense. "We could have sent [Elvis] to prison or on holiday or just not seen him for five years but that seemed a bit daft."

Since then, however, Snatch has been cancelled. With that in mind, perhaps Pasqualino was available to film what would be the biggest twist the show could ever deliver?

With only one episode left of series four, Georgie’s final scenes are imminent - with Michelle Keegan set to leave the show this year - and she has definitely earned a happy ending. Bringing Elvis back would give her that - once she got over the shock and inevitable fury, of course!

This year’s season has focused on Georgie’s grief as she returned to the country where Elvis was so cruelly taken from her. After an outburst over the fate of his killer, Aatan Omar, she was deemed a cause for concern and confined to barracks.

Viewers have shared their thoughts that this could be a way of stopping her from discovering the 'truth' - could Elvis have been held captive? Special Forces boss Blue (Ben Batt) spared Omar’s life, seemingly as a favour to Georgie who wanted him to face real justice. But maybe there was more to it than that - is the deal involving the warlord linked to Elvis, with his freedom depending on it?

The latest episode saw Georgie open up to psychologist Captain Preston (Liz White) in emotional scenes, and she then enlisted Prof (Nico Mirallegro) to help her get into Omar’s cell, hoping that confronting him with a photo of her late fiancé would bring her some kind of closure.

Not only did the man show no signs of remorse; Georgie also noted that he appeared confused. As she declared that something didn’t feel right, Afghan soldier Rabee spoke cryptically of a "plan". We are left with the knowledge that something monumental is on the way in next week’s finale. The question is: is a big return on the cards?

This might all just be misdirection, but the current series of Our Girl has dropped other big hints regarding Elvis's fate.

Last week, as Georgie battled to save a critically injured Fingers, he repeatedly told her he was "sorry". Actor Sean Ward has explained that he chose to include this detail from the story of a real-life soldier’s last moments. However, viewers are wondering if his apologies might have a double meaning: was Fingers aware of a secret operation involving Elvis? Could he have taken some classified information to his grave?

Just hours before, he had comforted a distraught Georgie who was struggling with reminders of Elvis. "He was so alive...he is so alive here," she cried. Seeing her torment so up close could have easily provoked guilt in him if he did know something.

The choice of dialogue might seem too obvious, but maybe this is intentional. It certainly feels like the constant references to Elvis are delving into deeper territory than just George's fragile state of mind.

We have even seen Blue reveal more information to Georgie about Elvis's death, as it turned out that he was being lured into a trap. He also revealed that Elvis had been working on an "exit strategy" - wanting to leave the army and make a family life with his beloved. It would be the perfect way to end their story if, after all this time, he turned up ready to do just that.

Georgie later confided in Kingy (Rolan Bell) that she hadn’t checked Elvis's pulse in the moments after the blast. "Say he wasn’t dead when they took him?" she suggested. Were her comments simply a result of desperation and anguish, or do they hold more significance?

As implausible as it might seem, if Our Girl does deliver Georgie the surprise of her life before she says goodbye, what a payoff that would be for the show’s loyal fanbase.

Our Girl series 4 concludes next Tuesday at 9pm on BBC One