A LOVED-UP bride claims her “dreams came true” when she married her Line of Duty lookalike crush – who’s constantly stopped in the street by adoring women.
Kelsey Willmott has been smitten with Scottish actor Martin Compston who famously played Detective Inspector Steve Arnott in the hit BBC drama, since the first series.
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So when the 30-year-old stumbled across Arron Willmott’s profile on Bumble in March 2021 she immediately swiped right, drawn to his brunette locks, facial hair and chiselled jaw line.
After chatting on the app for two weeks, the pair met for a walk for their first date, with Kelsey admitting she was initially unaware of how similar the pair locked.
But weeks into their fledgling relationship Kelsey was stunned when she suddenly realised why she initially had the hots for the 31-year-old – who was the spitting image of the hunky actor.
After dating for three-and-half years they got engaged before getting hitched on May 2 at a stately home in Somerset.
As she walked down the aisle towards Arron, Kelsey said it was a “dream come true” as not only was she marrying her “perfect” partner but also a man that looked like Martin Compston.
It’s not just loved-up Kelsey who’s noticed the similarity, with Arron being stopped daily in the street by strangers remarking on the uncanny resemblance.
While Kelsey’s own friends cheekily commented “only she could marry someone who looks like her celebrity crush” when she shared a video about it on TikTok.
Kelsey, from Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, said: “We met on Bumble and I made the first move.
“I hadn’t clicked about the similarities initially but I just knew I liked what I saw.
“A few weeks into our dating the penny dropped and I realised he looked so much like him [Martin Compston].
“I’m a big fan of Line of Duty and have watched all the series. I said to him ‘you do look like Martin Compston’ and when you see it you can’t unsee it.
“Martin Compston is a big celebrity crush and right up my street. I think subconsciously I 100% swiped on Arron [because he looked like Martin Compston].
“My aunty said to me ‘he looks exactly like the man on Line of Duty’. It was something people kept mentioning.
“I don’t think my parents had really realised my crush on Martin Compston.
“I may have said he was ‘fit’ when watching the programme but you’re not constantly going on about it as you think there’s no chance.
“You could say I got my chance now as I’m with someone who looks exactly like him.
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“I think as Arron has gotten older, he looks more like him as Martin is a bit older than Arron.
“When I was walking down the aisle towards him it was surreal. Aaron is physically everything that is my type, but also the person he is as well.
“It was like a fairy tale and everything you pictured it to be when you’re younger. My dreams came true.
“My friends always say I come up smelling of roses because only I could marry someone that looks like my crush.”
Martin Compston first starred in the lead role of Detective Sergeant Steve Arnott in 2012 when the BBC police drama Line of Duty first aired.
The series then returned in 2014 for five more series in which the 5ft 6in actor was seen to continue his star role as a detective in an anti-corruption squad.
I’m a little bit taller than him, thank God.”
Arron Willmott
Kelsey says that Arron is told on a daily basis in public that he looks like Martin Compston, usually by women.
She said: “After the TikTok went viral, we were both laughing as it’s something we know he looks like and friends and family know.
“But when you get strangers saying they can’t tell the difference between them, it’s crazy.
“People have come up to him to tell him he looks really like the guy from Line of Duty.
“It’s probably girls in the street that have a similar crush on Martin Compston, as awful as that is to think.
“They are probably looking at him thinking ‘he looks like Martin and is quite good looking’.”
Arron says he couldn’t describe the feeling when he first saw Kelsey walking down the aisle but footage shows him wiping tears from his cheeks in the emotional moment.
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The 5ft 11in bloke says he is a big Line of Duty fan so doesn’t mind the daily comparisons but says he is thankful for being taller than the Scottish actor.
Aaron, also from Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales, said: “I love Line of Duty so it’s pretty cool. I don’t mind [the comparison] but I’m a little bit taller than him, thank God.
“I get told on a daily basis I look like him. When people see me they always think they’ve seen me before and then the penny drops.”
After sharing a video on TikTok of photos of Arron next to the Line of Duty star, the post racked up more than 300,000 views, with users apparently stunned by how similar they look.
One wrote: “Is this a really bad game of spot the difference, because I am struggling.”
Another added: “She really said copy and paste.”
A third commented: “Why did I think these were all pictures of the same man?”
A fourth wrote: “I personally think your husband is better looking than Martin but don’t tell him or my hubby I said so. You go girl.”
