The Game on Channel 5: Essential recap of series 1 as tense cat-and-mouse thriller returns for series 2
It was arguably THE best C5 thriller of 2025
The Game, arguably one of the best Channel 5 thrillers ever, is back for a series 2 with Patrick and Huw going head to head again – so here’s a handy recap of everything that happened in series 1.
The four-parter first aired in 2025 and saw Robson Green and Jason Watkins in the cat and mouse roles. While one was a serial killing psychopath, the other was a dogged detective… And it made fascinating viewing. Frankly, it was the TV double act we didn’t know we needed.
The Game series 2 now lands in September 2026. This time, we meet Huw a year after surviving his brutal stabbing. He believes he has escaped the psychological grip of serial killer Patrick, who is now imprisoned for his crimes. But Patrick is not finished…
From behind bars, he begins a new game – one that reaches deep into Huw’s family, “dismantling his moral compass and forcing him toward an unthinkable choice”. This time, stopping Patrick for good might just come at a devastating personal cost.
Here’s a recap of everything that happened in The Game series 1 ending.
***Warning: spoilers from The Game series 1 ending ahead***
What happened in the series 1 ending?
Detective Huw Miller (Jason Watkins in The Game cast) retired from the police force with very little fanfare. This was probably due to the fact that one of his cases was considered one of the “greatest cock-ups by the police in the past 20 years”. Huw failed to solve the case of The Ripton Stalker – unfinished business that continued to hang over him three years later.
We discovered that the case resulted in Huw having a nervous breakdown, which nearly broke him, his marriage, and his relationship with his daughter. So when Huw’s neighbour, friend and golf buddy Frank died in mysterious circumstances, Huw’s investigative skills started twitching furiously.
And when new neighbour Patrick moved in to Frank’s house and seemed to taunt Huw with The Ripton Stalker’s famous phrase “catch you later”, the former detective became obsessed once again…
By the time the series finale began, viewers knew that Patrick was indeed The Ripton Stalker. And he’d been on a killing spree in Huw’s neighbourhood, taking out several of the residents.
In the final episode, Patrick had set Huw up for the murders of Ruth Parker and Paul Oakley. However, Huw’s daughter Margot was determined to help clear her dad’s name. She broke into Patrick’s repair shop to search for clues. Once there, she found the evidence she needed – specifically Polaroids of Patrick’s victims which he’d been trying to destroy. However she had also walked straight into Patrick’s clutches…
The Game series 1 recap: Was Patrick Harbottle The Ripton Stalker?
Huw’s neighbour Patrick Harbottle was The Ripton Stalker, and he dropped the charming facade in the final episode of the C5 thriller.
After Huw’s arrest for the crimes he did not commit, Patrick confronted Huw’s wife Alice on her doorstep, making damn sure he made her feel threatened. Later the same night, he found Huw and Alice’s daughter Margot snooping around in his shop. At that point, he knew he had to “make her disappear” – even if it meant risking arrest.
However, DS Jenny Atkins followed a hunch after hearing some of Huw’s theories. She arrived at Patrick’s store in a bid to do some investigating of her own. When she heard Margot cry for help, she ran to defend her – only to be attacked by Patrick, who put a knife to her throat. Realising he was well and truly rumbled, he disappeared into the night. But not for long.
The Game series 1 recap: How did Huw catch Patrick?
With Patrick finally exposed, Huw was granted bail. Leaving him free to track down The Ripton Stalker and bring him to justice. Although Patrick had vanished, Huw was quite certain that he’d be back for more. And he was right.
Returning from Ruth’s funeral, Huw found a polaroid of Margot on the mantlepiece of his house. Patrick was back, and the game was on.
Huw sent Alice and Margot away for their own safety, and lay in wait for Patrick who didn’t take long to surface. He broke into Huw’s house, and came at him with a cricket bat – but not before Huw put in a call to DS Jenny Atkins at the police station. Having lured Patrick down into the cellar, Huw finally had a face off with The Ripton Satlker in their “private game”.
Huw told a knife-wielding Patrick: “There’s no way out. We’re in here until the police arrive. I don’t think you want to kill me. You like the chase too much. That’s why you came back. I understand you now. You came back because you’re a predator. Chase, stalk, kill, repeat. That’s why you’re alone.”
He added: “You think less of me because I care. You think you’re better than me because I can love.”
Patrick spat back: “You’re weighed down by unnecessary things.” He went on to threaten Huw’s wife Alice.
However, Patrick was a “genius at messing with people’s heads”. He had finally met his match in Huw, as Huw proceeded to talk about his love for his family – something Patrick had never had.
Patrick stabbed Huw in the tense series 1 ending
In an attempt to stop Huw talking about his happy family life, Patrick lashed out at Huw… During a scuffle, Huw ended up on the floor just as DS Jenny Atkins arrived on the scene.
Knowing he was cornered, Patrick stabbed Huw in the chest, leaving him bleeding out on the floor. As the police led Patrick away in handcuffs, DS Atkins kept the pressure on Huw’s chest to prevent further blood loss. When Alice arrived, she took over and what followed would have melted the coldest of hearts. Probably not Patrick’s though.
As the rest of the street all came out to see Patrick led away in handcuffs, Alice cradled a bleeding Huw in her arms. But we did not learn Huw’s fate. Of course, the new series 2 confirms that Huw survived the attack…
As the new series returns, viewers will once again meet former detective Huw. A year after surviving the brutal attack, he has retreated to a remote coastal home with his wife Alice, determined to leave the past behind. But their fragile peace is disrupted when letters begin arriving from imprisoned serial killer Patrick, proving that he still has the power to intrude on their lives…
Read more: The filming locations of The Game on Channel 5 – and it’s NOT where you think!
