The Party on ITV ending explained: Twisted relationship between Martin and Ben came to a bittersweet conclusion
It was a "taff and a toff conspiracy"
The Party on ITV gave Martin Gilmour the happy(ish) ending he deserved, but some readers might have hoped for a different outcome.
The five-part series, based on Elizabeth Day’s novel of the same name, centred on the toxic relationship between ‘friends’ Ben Fitzmaurice and Martin Gilmour. One an entitled public school boy always promised that doors would open for him. The other, a scholarship boy with “the wrong accent and clothes” who fell in love with him.
Despite the odds, the pair became firm friends, and ultimately lovers. But the balance was always in Ben’s favour. Tragedy struck the pair on a drunken night out at Oxford University. And the consequences were far reaching.
When Ben got behind the wheel of a car three times over the legal limit to drive, he crashed – killing his twin sister Phoebe as stunned passenger Martin was powerless to help. Determined to protect his precious son, Ben’s father Lord George Fitzmaurice coerced Martin to take the blame for the crash in exchange for a hefty pay-off…
How could Martin say no to such power and influence? Not to mention, ignore his deep love for his friend… The secret between them subsequently came to a head at Ben’s 40th birthday party with tragic consequences. Here’s the ending of The Party on ITV unpacked.
***Warning: spoilers from the ending of The Party on ITV ahead***
What was The Party about?
The Party was a gripping story of betrayal, privilege and hypocrisy, set in the impenetrable heart of the British establishment.
It’s a story that played into almost every anxiety imaginable – a masterclass in betrayal, class disparity and unrequited love. The relationship between Ben Fitzmaurice and schoolfriend Martin Gilmour fizzed with sexual electricity and rippled with secrets, which began to unravel over the course of the titular party.
Martin Gilmour and Ben Fitzmaurice had been best friends for 25 years, since their days together at Burtonbury School. They were an unlikely pair: the scholarship boy from rural Wales, and the dazzlingly popular, wealthy young aristocrat. But they shared a strong bond, with a poisonous secret linking them for over two decades.
At Ben’s 40th birthday party, the cream of the British establishment gathered in a haze of Champagne, drugs and glamour. Amid the politicians, the celebrities, the old money and the newly rich, political journalist Martin once again felt that pang of not-quite belonging. And the night spiralled out of control when journalist Amina Bates revealed she knew their secret…
What happened at the party?
Ahead of Ben’s (preposterously decadent) 40th birthday party, the Conservative leader Elinor Winner announced her intention to stand down. This was big news for Tory MP Ben Fitzmaurice, who had eyes on the big job for himself. This of course meant that if his shady secret got out, his chances would be zero. Not just that, his career would be over – and he’d likely face time in jail for killing his own sister.
That’s when Amina Bates revealed she knew the truth about Ben’s past and “was out for blood”. She had discovered that Ben Fitzmaurice’s family had been paying Martin Gilmour £100,000 a year ever since Phoebe’s death to “take care of him”. Aka, silence him.
Amina’s newspaper also had a witness who’d seen Ben driving the car recklessly on the night his sister had been killed. It wasn’t looking good for Ben at all. While it seemed that Martin might finally get some sort of resolution.
The threat of exposure sent Tory MP Ben spiralling. And he showed his true colours. So used to Martin taking the fall for him, Ben looked every bit a coercive partner as he asked Martin to “give Amina something”. Ben begged Martin to throw his own family under the bus – including a potentially gay father – to take the heat off the real story. But he had finally crossed a line here.
It turns out that Martin’s dad was rumoured to have had an affair with the Burtonbury schoolmaster, which was the reason Martin got into the prestigious school. You do wonder what Martin’s life would have been like had he never attended the school, or met the Fitzmaurices…
The Party on ITV ending: ‘Ben Fitzmaurice killed his twin sister Phoebe’
Amina could prove that Ben killed his own twin sister Phoebe. Desperate to protect his reputation, Ben ordered Martin to help him fix it. But this was something Martin couldn’t do.
Tragically, as things came to a head between Ben and Martin, another tragedy was happening in another room. Martin’s wife Lucy went into early labour when her waters broke at six months.
As Martin prepared to follow Lucy to the hospital, Ben ordered Martin to stay and help him confront Amina. When Martin refused, the pair fought – ending with Martin punching Ben in the face.
Ben’s night simply got worse, when newly resigned party leader Elinor arrived at Denby Hall with bad news for Ben. She refused to back his leadership bid. At the news, Ben’s wife Serena – one of the real villains of the show – walked out on him.
While all this was going on, Martin and Lucy faced real tragedy when she delivered a stillborn son. Furious at the world and brutalised by grief, Martin returned to Denby Hall with revenge on his mind…
Who shot Ben Fitzmaurice?
Although Martin confronted Ben with a gun in the Denby Hall outhouses, he couldn’t actually hurt him. As angry as he was, this was a man he’d loved for 30 years.
Martin told Ben that loving him had “ruined” him, adding: “My childhood was stolen from me. You crushed me.”
In turn, Ben revealed the depths of his own despair. He told Martin: “I wish it had been me who went to prison. I couldn’t hate myself anymore. You couldn’t want to kill me any more than I want to kill myself. I love you. I always will love you.”
In shocking scenes, Ben took the gun from Martin and shot himself in the head. Martin, covered in Ben’s blood, was taken into custody and it looked likely he might well go down for yet another crime he didn’t commit. This time, he faced 30 years in jail.
Everything rested on whether Ben would wake up, and what he would say when he did. After fighting for his life, Ben eventually recovered. And unexpectedly did the right thing, admitting he’d shot himself! After receiving Ben’s statement, the Crown Prosecution Service dismissed the murder charge against Martin. He was free.
Did Martin and Ben end up together?
Martin and Ben went their separate ways in The Party ending. We should have been punching the air for Martin to finally be free of Ben’s stronghold. But did anyone else actually hope in some strange way they might end up together? Of course, it shouldn’t have needed Ben to hit rock bottom to realise he loved Martin.
Was Ben a villain? Sadly, he was the product of breeding, and an uptight family full of toxic old-fashioned ideas. He was bought up to believe he was better than others, including his “Little Shadow” Martin. Even getting Martin to write his essays in uni before standing by as he spent two years in jail for him.
Ben’s family had manipulated Martin, using their power and influence to mould him into a good “little shadow”. But, deep down, we believe Ben loved Martin. But he wasn’t brave enough to defy convention. He told Martin after they slept together for the last time: “We had a great time monkeying around, but I think we need to get grown up. Wives and kids. Can’t avoid it.”
His future was pre-destined for him. And that didn’t include being gay. It included becoming a Tory MP, getting married and having kids.
At the end of The Party, Ben appeared to be on his own. His social climbing wife Serena was nowhere to be seen. His ice-cold mum also absent from his hospital bedside. Ben had nothing to show for his life. In the closing scenes, even Martin left him simply saying “it’s time”.
Damn, they made a beautiful couple though!
The Party on ITV ending: What happened to Martin and Ben?
Although Ben was alive, he would likely need a carer for the rest of his life. And a murder charge wasn’t out of the question.
During Martin’s arrest for the suspected attempted murder of Ben, DC Janet Protheroe uncovered some interesting evidence. During his incarceration, Martin had requested pain medication for his shoulder injury – a strong cocktail of codeine and paracetamol.
A good detective, Janet looked into the pain meds and his reasons for taking them. She discovered that Martin had sustained a seatbelt injury to his left shoulder during a car crash when he was 19 years old. Crucially, this proved that Martin had not been driving the car that resulted in Phoebe’s death.
As well as the evidence Amina had against Ben and the Fitzmaurice family, a jail sentence – at some point in Ben’s future – looked possible.
Meanwhile, the closing seconds saw Martin walk free from Ben. He had finally wrestled power from Ben after three decades. As he walked through a park, Martin saw a gay couple with their baby and it caused him to smile directly at the camera for the first time – breaking the fourth wall.
We have every reason to believe that Martin could now live a truly authentic life, being true to his feelings and sexuality for the first time.
Serena was the real villain in The Party ending
Lydia Leonard’s character Serena was grotesquely evil in The Party. Amongst multiple morally ambiguous characters, she was arguably the worst. Prepared to throw anyone under the bus for her own comfort.
As well as using Clarissa Conrad’s eating disorder to blackmail her, Serena left her husband Ben as soon as his career took a downturn.
When Ben shot himself, she was more concerned about the police arriving and ruining the party, than her husband. But her most evil act was trying to set Martin up for Ben’s shooting.
Serena knew that if Ben took his own life, his dependants would get nothing… So she would make sure Martin went down for murder.
At the end, she was nowhere to be seen. Serena would not stand by and be Ben’s nurse. She was devoid of any real emotions.
What else happened in the ending of The Party on ITV?
- Police arrested Jarvis Conrad for being in possession of 20 grams of cocaine. In the aftermath of the party at Denby Hall, police found Jarvis’ stash of cocaine. Career as a Tory MP over. Shame.
- Lucy and Martin split up after losing their baby, and she went travelling. One of the few decent characters in the series, she deserved some peace.
- Heidi Thompson, a member of Ben Fitzmaurice’s political team, ran for leadership. She “fit the new brief” – daughter of a plumber and a housewife, she grew up far away from the elite boarding schools of Jarvis Conrad and Ben Fitzmaurice.
Is the ITV ending of The Party the same as the book?
The ITV adaptation of The Party changes key elements from Elizabeth Day’s 2017 novel.
Screenwriter Sarah Solemani – who portrayed Martin’s wife Lucy – initially wrote a version where one of the main characters was killed off. But author Elizabeth Day asked for changes because she was writing a direct book sequel in which that character remained alive. It’s called One of Us, and out now.
Solemani updated and shifted the political landscape for the TV series to reflect modern UK politic. These changes included a black female prime minister with more than a passing resemblance to Kemi Badenoch. The book was set in a David Cameron/George Osborne-era.
In the book, the story alternates between a police interrogation of outsider Martin Gilmour and the journals of his wealthy, obsessive best friend Ben Fitzmaurice’s wife. Martin is a less sympathetic character, and as self-absorbed as the people he protects. A borderline psychopath, he even kills a cat!
Will there be a series 2 of The Party?
Although ITV has not confirmed a series 2 of The Party, it is possible. After all, Elizabeth Day has written a sequel to the book The Party.
In One of Us, the author once again revisits the lives of Martin and Ben. A synopsis for the 2026 book tells us: “In this compulsive story of betrayal, old bonds and buried scandals, one British establishment family comes face to face with the consequences of privilege and the true cost of power.
“Martin and Ben were friends for decades — best friends, Martin would have said — before the terrible events at Ben’s 40th birthday party tore them apart. So when Martin receives a surprise invitation back into the inner sanctum of the dazzling Fitzmaurice family after seven years of silence, he can’t resist the chance to get his revenge.”
In the book, Ben has risen through the ranks of power, and is now touted as the next Prime Minister.
