Number One Fan on Channel 5 ending explained: Donna's eternal hold over Lucy after shocking twist, and series 2 news
She would never be free...
Number One Fan may arguably be Channel 5’s most preposterous thriller ever, and the ending left the central character Lucy Logan in an impossible position.
The four-part drama introduced very few likeable people at all. But we could almost feel sorry for Lucy as her “number one fan” Donna twisted the knife in again and again.
Lucy had a horrible secret in her past. One she was understandably ashamed of. But she didn’t deserve Donna tightening her grip like a boa constrictor. At the end of the series, Donna had Lucy – and Stewart Jones – exactly where she wanted them. She was so unhinged, it was easy to forget why she’d started her revenge campaign in the first place…
Viewers know that Donna’s brother Ben Hughes was a gambling addict who was trying to turn his life around when he appeared on Stewart Jones’ show The Verdict. It was like The Jeremy Kyle Show, and had a similarly tragic end. After being publicly humiliated on the show, and labelled Britain’s Biggest Loser, Ben took his own life.
And Donna blamed Stewart Jones, and Lucy Logan, who was an assistant on the show at the time. Donna’s quest for revenge was noble at first. But soon became mentally unbalanced.
Here’s the ending of Number One Fan on Channel 5 explained, including what happened to the key players Lucy, Donna, and Stewart.
***Warning: spoilers from the ending of Number One Fan ahead***
What happened in the ending of Number One Fan on Channel 5?
The final episode of the very silly Channel 5 thriller started where the penultimate one had ended – with Lucy missing. Of course, she wasn’t really in danger. Donna had abducted her, tied her up in her house, and made it look like Lucy had taken her own life.
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Why? Because she had a plan. A plan that she hoped would bring down Stewart Jones and ultimately keep Lucy Logan in her pocket forever. And this is where we lost sympathy for Donna. Yes, her brother had taken his own life after being bullied by Stewart Jones and Lucy Logan on The Verdict. But why did Donna then try to make herself famous in the process?
Lucy Logan, tied up in Donna’s house, finally gave Donna the heartfelt apology she’d been longing for. She told her: “What happened to Ben was deeply wrong. I think I was so consumed by my ambition that I would have done or said anything. I couldn’t be more ashamed. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to take responsibility. What I said to Ben was cruel and sick. Your brother’s dead and I pushed him to it.”
Viewers knew that Ben had walked off The Verdict after being verbally abused by host Stewart Jones. Stewart ordered young assistant Lucy Logan to get him back or lose her job. In turn, she got pushy with Ben. She accused Ben of being a paedophile and, if he didn’t return to the show, she would “make another show outing him as a paedo”. He promptly left the studio and jumped in front of a train, killing himself instantly.
Number One Fan ending explained
After Lucy’s apology, Donna untied her and told her she had a way of “salvaging her reputation” and “getting her career back”. And there was something in it for Donna, too. Donna presented her plan to “make Stewart Jones pay for what he did”. Donna phoned Stewart – by now a pathetic, cancelled has-been – and pretended to be “Jemima from GB Now” offering him a job. When he left the house to meet her, Donna and Lucy broke into his house, and left Lucy there tied up. But the ties were just loose enough that she was able to call the police for help.
They framed Stewart for Lucy’s abduction. Quite why he’d have wanted to abduct her, nobody knows. But it got rid of him, temporarily anyway. Police arrested Stewart, and he was subsequently sentenced to 10 years in prison for abduction and false imprisonment.
Of course this was all Donna and Lucy’s secret. Only they knew that Stewart Jones had been framed for a crime he didn’t commit. It was a secret that would bond them forever, whether Lucy liked it or not.
What happened to Lucy Logan at the end of the series?
Six months later, Lucy Logan – now single – was back on TV. Her part in Ben Hughes’ death forgotten. Instead, a victim of Stewart Jones. But she had a new co-host… Donna was now also appearing on Lucy Logan Live with her own segment ‘Daily Dose of Donna’.
After giving Donna her 15 minutes of fame, Lucy felt she’d done enough and subsequently attempted to get Donna off the show. But it wasn’t going to be that easy to get rid of her. No way. Donna had one last ace up her sleeve. And it was the ultimate way to get Lucy on side, and forever in her pocket.
Like Lucy, her son Jacob had also done something unforgivable and had blood on his hands. And Donna not only knew about it, she’d had a hand in it. As some of us had already suspected, Jacob’s climate change activist boyfriend Vince was not Vince at all. He was actually Donna’s nephew – Ben’s son – Luke. He’s been posing as ‘Vince’ to get close to Jacob, and had encouraged him to fire bomb a fuel depot as a protest. However, there had been a security guard working at the depot, and he was left in intensive care, possibly never to wake up. Naturally, Luke had all this on film.
With evidence that Jacob caused the fire that left the security guard fighting for their life, Lucy had nowhere left to turn. To protect her son, Lucy was forced to keep quiet and continue presenting alongside Donna, a rictus grin across her face.
Donna forever had a hold over Lucy. Lucy was trapped, and Donna had all the power. If Lucy ever spoke up, Jacob might face life imprisonment for the terrorist attack.
Should we feel any sympathy for Donna?
Although Donna had good reason to want justice for her dead brother, our sympathy ran out pretty quick. She was the human embodiment of karma, and certainly proved to be a bitch. She kidnapped kids, resorted to abduction, and orchestrated an innocent man going to jail for a crime he didn’t commit. Okay Stewart Jones was an unpleasant man, but he wasn’t guilty of abduction or false imprisonment. Those were all Donna’s crimes.
She also had the blood of the security guard on her hands, too. After all, it had all been her idea to set Jacob up. But at what cost? Jacob was an innocent in it all at just 16.
And, at the end, it seemed like Donna didn’t just want revenge. She wanted fame, too, just like Lucy at the start of her career. So didn’t this mean Donna was a huge hypocrite?
There were no real heroes here. Lucy’s behaviour towards Ben had been disgusting. Did it cause his suicide? That’s up to you to decide. Lucy only really faced up to her past when she’d been forced to. Meanwhile, Donna took her revenge too far. Stewart was vile, Mel was a vampire, and even Lucy’s husband was selling stories to journalist Jane Shelly. As Channel 5 thrillers went, this one was jam-packed full of unpleasant people.
Will there be a series 2 of Number One Fan?
Channel 5 has not confirmed if there’ll be a series 2 of Number One Fan. And it’s unlikely to get a second series. Most Channel 5 thrillers are written as one series only. Although there are some exceptions such as The Game, which proved so popular it was recommissoned.
If Number One Fan did return for a series 2, viewers would get to see if Lucy Logan ever managed to escape the curse of Donna Hughes. Of course, Stewart Jones was sentenced to 10 years in prison. But what would he do to get revenge when he was released?
Read more: ‘Gripping psychological drama’ The Fortune about dark pasts is coming soon to Channel 5
