Pierre on C4 ending: Solicitor vowed to keep fighting as racist cop Mark Tanner escaped justice, and how this sets up series 2
And Pierre's 'bro' Ronnie wasn't squeaky clean, either...
Pierre on Channel 4 came to a bittersweet ending, with the London duty solicitor failing to bring the people behind Michael Felton’s death to justice. But he vowed to “keep fighting” the racist police officers who were complicit in the murder.
Pierre Jeffreys was a likeable leading character, who prided himself on fighting for the little guy – whatever the cost. And it did cost him. His marriage, relationship with his son, and health all suffered.
Sadly, Pierre came up against the big guns, and was powerless to stop them. But he gave it his best shot. The six-part crime drama saw Pierre discover a culture of bigotry and racism within the police force. And the people pulling the strings were very dangerous.
Although Pierre “liked being the hero”, this wasn’t a fight he could win. So what happened in the finale? Here’s the ending of Channel 4 drama Pierre explained…
***Warning: spoilers from the ending of Pierre on Channel 4 ahead***
Who was Michael Felton?
Viewers saw Pierre become emotionally involved when his client Michael Felton was stabbed to death. Michael had originally been arrested for ‘borrowing’ his aunt Brenda’s car without permission. But his arrest highlighted a much darker crime. He claimed the police – especially one police officer called Mark Tanner – were targeting him.
Mark and his colleagues had stopped Michael multiple times, causing Michael to start keeping a record. He planned to file a case for harassment, and asked for Pierre’s help.
However, just hours later, Michael was found stabbed to death. He was found with drugs on him, and the murder was written off as “gang related”. All rather convenient, yes?
But none of that made sense. Michael was a “good boy”, who didn’t even smoke weed. So why was he found with four bags of cocaine on him when he died? Tragically, Mark Tanner planted the drugs on Michael to discredit him, and to make his death look like a drug deal gone wrong.
Who killed Michael in the Pierre ending on Channel 4?
Over six episodes, the series followed Pierre’s attempts to find the truth behind the death of his client Michael. We discovered that Mark Tanner’s low-life drug addict cousin Jason Granger was the man who actually murdered Michael. But he was doing Mark’s dirty work. Mark Tanner was a corrupt, racist, and vile police officer who was following in his uncle’s footsteps (more on that below).
Pierre saw footage of Mark paying his cousin Jason money just before the crime. Police later found the murder weapon fully implicating Jason in Michael’s death. The knife used to stab Michael was found with Jason Granger’s fingerprints all over it, and Michael’s blood.
Jason met with Pierre, and admitted to killing Michael. But he’d done it for his cousin Mark. Mark then covered Jason’s tracks by planting the drugs on Michael to make it look like a drug deal.
Junkie Jason realised his uncle Jimmy and cousin Mark weren’t going to protect him by giving him enough money to flee. So he tried to strike a deal with Pierre. He’d provide enough evidence to implicate Mark, in exchange for a manslaughter charge instead of murder. Sadly, Jason didn’t live long enough to see it through.
He was found dead, apparently of an overdose. Although of course he was murdered to stop him from giving evidence against Mark. The aim was always to protect Mark and his promising career at all costs. Jason’s phone with the incriminating evidence also got magicked away.
The inquest into Michael’s death would say that Jason Granger killed him. But they had nothing to prove that Mark Tanner had planted drugs on Michael’s dead body.
Pierre on Channel 4 ending: Who was Jimmy Vale?
Jimmy Vale was a respected police officer. Despite a ‘good’ reputation, he was actually a nasty piece of work. During his years on the job, he’d been on the take, ignoring crimes from drug dealers and serious criminals for the right price.
Even worse, he’d targeted black men, and tortured them into confessing to crimes they hadn’t committed. The aim? To keep the crime rate numbers down and to “win points” in a sick game with other officers.
Crucially, Jimmy Vale was Mark Tanner and Jason Granger’s uncle. Now retired, Jimmy had high hopes for Mark to take his place as a corrupt, malignant figure at the head of the police.
Jimmy still had a lot of dodgy friends who were able to carry out attacks on Pierre and his family as warnings to stop investigating Mark Tanner. One of Jimmy’s heavies beat up Pierre’s son Ely, while another drove at Pierre in a Land Rover.
In the Pierre ending on Channel 4, Jimmy Vales gave Pierre a “last warning” to keep out of his business and stop investigating him. Or else.
Were Jimmy Vale and Mark Tanner bought to justice?
Sadly, the bad guys were not caught. In fact, Mark Tanner was cockier than ever. Clearly a vile racist and bully like his uncle, he told Pierre that the Londoners – the black ones obviously – on his patch had to “abide by our way of life”. By that he meant “integration, pride in the flag, learning the language, and freedom of speech”.
Meanwhile, Pierre knew that Jimmy Vale and Mark Tanner could “get to his loved ones anytime they liked”.
Although Pierre had not been able to clear Michael’s name of being connected to drugs, he was not broken. He vowed to “keep fighting”.
Pierre on Channel 4 ending: Was Ronnie Miller corrupt?
Jason Flemyng’s character DS Ronnie Miller, Pierre’s so-called best friend, had consistently told Pierre to “watch your arse”, and “keep out of it”.
This was because he knew a lot more about Jimmy Vale than he pretended to. Turned out, they were roommates during police training, and went on to work together. That’s where Ronnie witnessed a lot of Jimmy’s vile actions, including torturing black men. Ronnie did nothing to help them, something Pierre couldn’t forgive.
In the season finale, Pierre expressed his disgust at Ronnie for standing by and watching Jimmy’s racist persecution of innocent black men. His defence? He was scared of Jimmy, and worried about his career. So weak, basically.
Pierre told Ronnie that Solomon Crosby would be filing an official complaint against the police force – and Ronnie would be implicated. He’d been in the room when Solomon, who had just turned pro for Spurs, had his knee caps broken to force him to confess to crimes he hadn’t committed.
Ronnie needed to be held to account. And it’s likely his friendship with Pierre was over for good.
Elsewhere in the ending on Channel 4, Pierre’s business partner Charlotte had accepted another job at a more prestigious – and better paid – firm. But would she go?
Is there a series 2 of Pierre?
Channel 4 has not confirmed if there’ll be a series 2 of Pierre. But we’d love there to be one. After all, there were several loose ends left hanging. Corrupt copper Mark Tanner was still on the loose, as was his villainous uncle Jimmy Vale. Young black men – and women – were still being targeted by racist coppers, and crimes were still being pinned on innocent people.
And who wouldn’t want to see more of Pierre Jeffreys? A charming, likeable duty solicitor we’d all want on our side in a crisis.
Lastly, David Harewood has made it clear he’d love to film more series. After all, he’s been outspoken about his “frustrating struggle” for his first-ever leading TV role.
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