The Fortune on Channel 5: Why Martin really left his inheritance to Amanda, and who killed Boots revealed in explosive ending
A very unexpected face from Amanda's past re-emerged...
The Fortune ending delivered all the answers we’d been looking for after multiple twists, turns and mounting dead bodies, not least why Martin Worrall had left Amanda Blakefield all his money.
The show in a nutshell: Why would a wealthy businessman leave his huge inheritance to a woman he’d never met? And, more baffling still, why did he cut his own family out of his will?
Over the course of four episodes, we learnt the real reason why Martin had changed his will, and subsequently taken his own life. And Amanda eventually had enough information to make a decision about whether to keep the fortune or not.
Sadly, The Fortune ending did kill off a couple of key characters – one was a bittersweet farewell, another less so. Here’s the finale unpacked, including Martin’s motivations, the real identity of the mysterious taxi driver, and if Amanda ended up filthy rich…
***Warning: spoilers from The Fortune ending ahead***
What happened in The Fortune ending?
The penultimate episode of The Fortune showed Amanda’s mum Linda being driven away from her care home with Jimmy in the back. And the driver? Well, as some of us had suspected, that taxi driver – who always happened to be in the right place at the right time – was behind the wheel. But what was his connection to the family?
In the series finale, Amanda’s life continued to spiral out of control, with her mum and Jimmy both missing. All this while in the frame for Boots’ murder, and receiving what appeared to be threatening messages.
Desperate to find her mother and husband, Amanda looked for clues in the photos she’d been sent. And found one of her parents by the sea, labelled their “happy place“. She subsequently managed to track Jimmy’s phone to his last location – also by the sea.
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Amanda arrived at Jimmy’s location on the coast, a rickety old fishing hut. There she found her mum, fragile but safe. And she also discovered her biggest shock yet – the mastermind behind the whole situation.
Why did Martin leave Amanda his inheritance?
Martin Worrall wasn’t a very nice man, it turned out. He had effectively stolen his money from Amanda’s dad Barry, and gone on to live a very comfortable life. Martin was an old friend of Linda and Barry, Amanda’s parents. Surprisingly, it was Barry who was rich from working on the rigs, not Martin whose business was failing. And Barry wasn’t just rich financially. He also had a wife who adored him and a baby daughter.
Martin wanted Barry’s life. He was jealous of his money, and in love with his wife Linda. Martin, knowing that Barry was an alcoholic, offered to invest Barry’s money for him. He promised to keep it secure, and make it grow bigger for Barry’s little girl. But Martin was “spending his cash” and ended up “sleeping with his missus”.
Boots had previously explained: “Martin was rich again, thanks to Barry’s money. But he couldn’t have the one thing he really wanted – Linda.” Despite Barry’s flaws, Linda still loved him. So Martin decided to get rid of Barry for good. He got Boots to hire a hitman to kill Barry. But Barry got wind of the plan, and was ready and waiting. He killed the assassin, took pictures of the dead body for proof, kept a paper trial of the money he’d given Martin to invest, and fled believing his family would be “better off without him”.
However, years later, Barry returned to haunt Martin. Having been diagnosed with a terminal illness, Barry decided he had nothing to lose, and was determined to secure a future for Amanda. He blackmailed Martin, demanding he help Amanda financially.
Understandably spooked, Martin’s suicide note told his wife: “I’m sorry this has happened. I did my best. But there is something I can no longer protect you from. Love you always, Martin.”
Who was the mastermind – aka blackmailer – at the centre of the plot?
Amanda’s dad Barry was the mastermind behind everything. And very much alive. He blackmailed Martin, sent the pictures to the cafe, and had been sending messages to both Amanda and Jimmy insisting they take the money.
But, his plan looked set to fail when, instead of writing a cheque, Martin panicked and changed his will making Amanda the sole beneficiary. Of course, this then complicated things, as Martin’s wife Fiona and ‘son’ Anthony contested the will. This forced Barry to return and send ‘threatening’ messages to Amanda, insisting she accept the money.
He also enlisted Jimmy’s help in trying to persuade Amanda (behind her back). Despite his unusual methods, Barry wanted the best for his daughter Amanda, and wanted her to receive what was rightly hers. He also wanted to spend his last days with the love of his life, Linda.
Barry believed “not everything was about money”. Of course, it was also about family, and doing right by them. He told a shocked Amanda, who had always thought her dad had drunk himself to death: “I wanted to see Linda one more time. I did what I thought was best. The decision was never about getting back into your life. It was about GIVING you a life. I needed you to think I was dead. I needed you to take the money. To get what’s yours.”
Sadly he added: “This time I really am dying. I wanted to be with your mother. When I got my diagnosis, something clicked in me. I needed to find Martin. I told him he had to give you what you were owed, or else it would all come out. ”
In short, Martin’s inheritance was “Amanda’s money and always was”.
The Fortune ending: Who was Amanda’s real dad?
Barry was Amanda’s real dad, not Martin as some fans had suspected. Which wasn’t a surprise, as we’d known that all along. But the fact he was alive was indeed a surprise!
He first appeared in episode 1 as a taxi driver working near Martin Worrall’s house. He picked Amanda up from the train station when she first arrived to visit the family. How on earth he knew she would be there is anyone’s guess. You’re not supposed to scratch the surface of a C5 thriller, or it all comes undone!
He was also in the right place at the right time after Boots threatened Amanda, and later after Boots was killed. I mean if you didn’t guess this man wasn’t just a regular taxi driver, then armchair sleuth you ain’t!
The Fortune ending: Who killed Boots?
Martin’s son Anthony killed Boots. He believed he was protecting Martin’s memory from the sordid truth coming out. Of course, at this point he didn’t know Martin wasn’t his real dad (more on that below). Or devastatingly, that Boots was. So Anthony killed him own father in a bid to stop him spilling the secrets that only he knew.
Anthony shot Boots through the window, cleaned up the blood, and dumped the body in the ocean.
What happened to Anthony Worrall at the end?
We discovered that Anthony wasn’t actually Martin’s son. Martin could not have children. When Boots’ wife had a baby, and died shortly after, Boots couldn’t cope. So Fiona and Martin took Anthony on as their own son. Crucially, they decided never to tell Anthony the truth about his parentage.
And this, in part, explains why Martin never truly loved Anthony like a son. Fiona told him: “I loved you like my own. But Martin… The trouble was, he loved Linda more than he loved me. More than he loved either of us.”
In The Fortune ending, it was clear Anthony had been done dirty. He was lied to about the identity of his real dad, and cut from his adopted father’s will. However, it was hard to feel sorry for him.
Having killed his own father, and lost his inheritance, Anthony pointed his hunting gun at Amanda threatening to kill her. But he subsequently turned the rifle on himself and took his own life.
What happened to Amanda, and did she take the money?
Fiona suggested a 50/50 split between her and Amanda, and that’s pretty much what she got. Amanda agreed to leave the huge house to Martin’s wife. She said: “Fiona has suffered more than me.”
Although, in The Fortune ending, she didn’t reveal how much of the inheritance she’d kept, she did admit it was enough “to secure son Luke’s future”.
But clearly not enough to become a lady of leisure. She returned to work in Sandy’s seaside cafe, alongside her husband Jimmy. Sadly, Linda died in the “happy place” with Barry by her side. But there was a happy ending of sorts. Amanda finally met her dad, albeit briefly. He, too, was dying but not before he’d corrected the wrongs of the past.
Amanda realised he had always loved her. And, when she called Barry dad, he said he “could die happy”.
Is there a series 2 of The Fortune?
Channel 5 has not confirmed if they’ll be a series 2 of The Fortune, but these mini-series are usually stand-alone without follow-ups. But never say never. After all, Robson Green and Jason Watkins’ thriller The Game was commissioned for more episodes, and will be returning later this year.
However, we can expect to hear more from writer Aschlin Ditta in the future. He’s penned The Inheritance, The Feud, and now The Fortune. He was previously known for writing comedy series, including No Angels, The Catherine Tate Show, Queen of Oz, and Doc Martin.
Aschlin was also behind the films Swimming with Men, and Do Not Disturb.
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