Jamie Dornan WILL appear in the third and final series of BBC2 thriller The Fall

“We’re losing him,” said Anderson’s DSI Stella Gibson as Spector faced a battle against death on the woodland floor.

Of course we don’t know – and nor would we reveal if we did – for how long Spector survives. But we can disclose that he will appear in the third series which has started filming this week.

The new five-part run - which will be the 'final chapter' - will air later this year and will see the arrival of a number of new cast members, the BBC announced today.

Krister Henriksson (Wallander), Aidan McArdle (Mr Selfridge), Ruth Bradley (Humans), Aisling Bea (Trollied) and Richard Coyle (Crossbones) join Anderson and Dornan in the line-up. The Corporation won’t say what their roles are - and whether they are even playing villains, killers or coppers - in the Northern Ireland-set drama.

However it has been confirmed that Colin Morgan will also return as Detective Sergeant Tom Anderson, with series regulars John Lynch appearing as Assistant Chief Constable Jim Burns and Valene Kane reprising the role of Rose Stagg, Spector's ex-girlfriend whom he had abducted and was found in the final scenes of series 2.

Stuart Graham (DCI Matt Eastwood) , Bronagh Waugh (Spector's extranged wife Sally) and Aisling Franciosi are also returning. Franciosi played the vulnerable Belfast teenager Katie who is obsessed with Dornan's psychotic killer in previous episodes.

A BBC statement said of the new episodes: “The climax of the last series, audiences were left reeling as Spector, critically injured in a devastating ambush, lay bleeding in the arms of Detective Superintendent Stella Gibson. Moments before, the intense and single-minded investigator thought she had her man; now, shocked and desperate, she’s losing him.

“Bringing a killer to book is going to take much more now than simply catching him. In the emotionally charged aftermath of the shooting, Gibson’s personal journey to exact justice for the victims’ families must begin with the blood-soaked fight to keep Spector alive.

“As The Fall reaches its inexorable conclusion, it’s clear that the rules of this deadly game of cat and mouse are set to shift once again.”

Writer Allan Cubitt said: "I've been on a very exciting journey over the last five years with Stella Gibson and Paul Spector - the central characters of The Fall - and I'm thrilled to have recently started filming the third instalment of their macabre, obsessive dance of death. Gillian and Jamie have lived and breathed those characters during that time and I've been incredibly well-served as both writer and director by their stellar performances. Obviously I don't want to give anything away about how the third series will end but I can say that I am looking forward to working with both Gillian and Jamie again in the near future.”