The Imposter on C5 ending explained after evil cow Claire was finally exposed, but others got away with murder
The two Amanda's finally came face to face...
The Imposter on Channel 5 certainly provoked some jaw-dropping moments, with a death every episode and an ending that finally saw Claire get what she deserved.
The four-part thriller united three iconic soap actresses in the mother of all storylines. We watched aghast as ailing hotel owner Helen was manipulated and even drugged by Claire, a woman pretending to be her long-lost daughter.
However, in the series climax, Helen’s real daughter Amanda came forward and helped expose “imposter” Claire for what she really was – a hateful, greedy bitch. And, boy, did she have it coming… But it wasn’t just Claire who was a villain, either. Simon and Todd were heinous human beings, too, but they got away with murder.
Here’s the final episode of The Imposter unpacked, including the fates of Amanda, Claire, and Helen in the tense ending.
***Warning: spoilers from The Imposter ending on Channel 5 ahead***
What happened in The Imposter ending on Channel 5?
In the closing minutes of The Imposter episode 3, viewers were shocked to discover that Claire had murdered Helen’s nicest child Ian. Of course, she’d framed it to look like chem sex gone wrong, putting the blame firmly on his former drug addict husband Lee. Viewers knew that Ian had discovered Claire’s passport, exposing her real identity.
The final episode of the Channel 5 thriller began with Ian’s funeral, where emotions ran high. The AUDACITY of Claire giving a speech at the ceremony, right?!
Encouraged by Claire, Helen blamed Lee for his death. When Ryder and Eden’s bodies subsequently washed up on shore the next day, Todd saw an opportunity to frame Lee for his own crimes, too. He planted GHB – a mood-altering sedative drug – in Lee’s bag. Nice bunch, this lot, eh?
Meanwhile, Simon became suspicious of Claire, while Todd and Amanda became suspicious of each other. Even juicier, Bill and the real Amanda arrived at the hotel and events took an unexpected turn… Leading to a final, murderous showdown.
Who died in The Imposter, and who killed them?
There was quite the pile of dead bodies in The Imposter, and several killers. The first death was drug dealer Ryder, who had fallen off the roof of the hotel. Todd had paid him to “go up there and cause some damage” to prompt Helen into selling. However, not part of the plan was finding Ryder’s dead body on the ground. But it was actually Claire who’d caused his death, having pushed him off the ladder while grabbing his phone after he’d seen her and Simon in the hotel room together and started taking photos of them.
Secondly, Todd killed Eden after she blackmailed him. She’d seen Todd with Ryder’s dead body, and had photographs of the incriminating scene. After drowning her in a swimming pool, he disposed of Ryder and Eden’s bodies in the sea.
Thirdly, Claire killed Ian and made it look like chem sex gone wrong. After Ian discovered her passport, Amanda attacked him with a syringe loaded with GHB and made his death appear like a sex act gone wrong.
In episode 4, Claire tried to kill Todd by reversing her car over him, but he survived. The same episode, Simon murdered Claire by pushing her off a cliff. But not one single person shed a tear. It was more a case of “ding dong the witch is dead”.
The Imposter ending explained on Channel 5
Everything started going wrong for Claire when Amanda’s real dad Bill arrived at O’Riley’s hotel looking for Amanda.
Understandably, imposter Claire truly panicked. Turns out, Bill had met Claire at the adoption agency before when he was trying to track down his daughter Amanda. We know that Claire worked as a receptionist at the adoption agency, which is how she originally met Simon and this whole sorry mess started.
To try to explain why she wouldn’t want to her her real dad, Claire made up an insane story. She told Helen that she’d met him before, but that he’d been “flirtatious”, and had “come on to her”. She even said he’d followed her. It was pretty hard for Helen to believe. After all, Bill was the love of her life. She knew he wasn’t like that.
Helen subsequently pushed Claire for more information about the incident, insisting she was confused. Which is when Claire lost her temper and showed her true colours. She said: “Do you not believe me, is that it? After all I’ve done for you. I’ve given up my life to be here with you. I’ve waited on you hand and foot. And this is how you repay me?”
The masked dropped!
What was Claire and Simon’s plan?
With Claire posing as Amanda, she and Simon planned to win Helen’s trust. Once they had medical power of attorney, then planned to sell the hotel, get the money, and leave for good.
By this point, Claire’s behaviour towards Helen had become quite aggressive and she coerced Helen into signing the documents. Next on her evil plan? Convincing Helen to go on a trip to Yarragon… But not for a jolly day out. More like to push her off a cliff.
Bit obvious just moments after she’d signed the medical power of attorney, though, no?! Mastermind, she wasn’t.
The real Amanda finally arrived!
In episode 4 of The Imposter, the real Amanda (played by Dannii Minogue in the cast) finally showed her face. Although she’d never hankered to find her real mum and was happy with her life, she had been alarmed by an email from her dad Bill about the ‘other Amanda’.
She checked into O’Riley’s on the Pier with her son pretending to be a couple of tourists on vacation. Of course, once there, she discovered that Claire was posing as her – and had evil intentions.
Once the real Amanda was at the hotel with dad Bill and Helen, it was only a matter of time before they all came face to face and the truth came out. And the moment Claire was exposed was truly joyous. Bill showed Todd a picture of his daughter Amanda, and he very quickly realised it was NOT Claire. Jaw-drop moment!
When Todd confronted Claire about being a “con-woman”, she reversed her car into him and left him for dead. All the while, Simon began to realise just what Claire was capable of.
Of course, when Bill introduced the real Amanda to Kate, everyone realised Helen was in serious danger. She was with the ‘fake’ Amanda, who clearly didn’t have Helen’s best interests at heart.
The Imposter ending on Channel 5: Dramatic clifftop scene ended in Claire’s death
As Claire, Simon and Helen embarked on a walk, Helen struggled to keep up and begged for a rest. Reluctantly letting her sit down for a moment, Claire and Simon walked the rest of the way to the viewpoint. It was at this point that Simon asked Claire some crucial questions about reversing her car over Todd, the death of Ryder, and her involvement in Ian’s death.
Accusing her of killing his brother, Claire said: “You hated him anyway.”
A devastated Simon said: “I didn’t want him to die. No one was meant to die.”
As Claire looked over the steep cliff edge, clearly planning to push Helen over the edge, she told Simon: “This is perfect. It’s all a game.”
Realising what a truly evil witch she really was, Simon said “yeah, it is Claire” and pushed her over the edge instead. It looked like Helen had seen it all but, talking to the police, she said she “didn’t see a thing”.
After Claire’s death the whole story came out. She was revealed to be an imposter, who posed as Amanda after having worked at the adoption agency. Simon told his mum “we’ve been had”.
What else happened in The Imposter ending?
Although Simon was complicit in the fraud, he got away with it. Todd could have exposed him because Simon had been in the car with Claire when she’d reversed over him. But, of course, Simon had dirt on Todd too. His part in removing Ryder’s body, and the murder of Eden. Of course, Simon killed Claire. But that was a happy ending for all.
In the end, Todd and Simon conspired to blame Claire for everything, including the death of Eden – which she wasn’t actually responsible for, but it sure saved Todd’s skin!
An embarrassed Helen admitted she’d been fooled so easily by Claire because “she got caught up in what might have been”. She’d always loved Bill, and imagined what future they would have had as a family.
Helen finally met the real Amanda, and it was hugs all around. Never mind the fact that both Todd and Simon had got away with murder.
As for the very first scene of the drama when Helen was seen wading into the sea with blood all over her hands? Put that down to dramatic license. Perhaps the director was hoping we might have forgotten about it. Or maybe it was all just a four-hour fever dream about a woman from Neighbours wearing a scene-stealing wig…
Read more: Five best bingeworthy thrillers on Channel5.com if you enjoy The Imposter
