This City is Ours series 1 recap ahead of explosive series 2 of Liverpudlian crime drama
It was a battle for power, but who won?
This City is Ours is back for a series 2 and the stakes are higher than ever, so what better time for a handy recap of the explosive events in series 1…
The crime drama – from Shardlake’s Stephen Butchard – first landed on BBC One in March 2025. It was, and continues to be, a story about family, love, corruption, power, ambition, pride and greed. Perfect for fans of Kin, The Sopranos, Animal Kingdom, and Gangs of London, it introduced Liverpool crime family the Phelans.
Sean Bean portrayed gang leader Ronnie Phelan, who dreamt of retiring from his days as a crime boss. But who would he hand the reins of his huge drug-smuggling empire to?
Ronnie’s son Jamie Phelan would have been the obvious choice… If only he wasn’t so volatile. Meanwhile, Michael Kavanagh (Liverpool-born actor James Nelson-Joyce) was a man who, for all his adult life, had worked for gang leader Ronnie.
However, when Ronnie began to hint at retirement, Michael too began to imagine a different future…
***Warning: spoilers from This City is Ours series 1 ahead in this recap***
What happened in This City is Ours series 1?
In series 1 of This City is Ours, viewers were shocked – to say the least! – when Michael Kavanagh stabbed his own ‘father figure’ and boss Ronnie Phelan to death. It was a bold move, and one that totally changed the dynamics of the gang.
There followed a power struggle between Ronnie’s successors – Ronnie’s son Jamie, and Ronnie’s second-in-command Michael. Jamie saw himself as the heir to his father’s empire, but Michael had different ideas…
But alongside Michael’s ambition was always a desire for a different life. Although crime was all he knew, he imagined a simpler life and a family with his girlfriend Diana.
At the end of This City is Ours series 1, Michael subsequently decided to walk away from the business. He and Diana set off for a new life in “Happy Town”, what they called Spain. Michael left his mate Banksey and Bobby Duffy as “custodians” and leaders of the Phelan firm.
At the end of series one, there was a summit meeting with the Phelan crime dynasty. Bobby was given control over the organisation, in tandem with Banksey.
But Ronnie’s widow Elaine, his son Jamie and, to an extent, Bobby’s wife Rachel weren’t happy – especially with Bobby and Banksey’s apparent lack of ambition. It was clear that the power struggle was far from over as certain members wanted to expand the business.
Meanwhile, Elaine and Jamie knew that it was Michael who’d killed Ronnie. Lastly, Banksey took revenge on “amigo” Ricardo by running him down with a car.
How does this set up series 2?
There is a huge power shift in This City is Ours series 2. The firm has fully fallen out and Michael is out of the picture. At first, at least. Although Michael left Bobby and Banksey in charge, the deal falls flat pretty quickly…
There’s a shift, and there’s a struggle over who’s going to be the leader and call the shots. At the opening of series 2, Bobby is all set to execute his role as joint head of the crime family. But he has a monumental struggle to maintain the power. Not least from his own wife Rachel.
Rachel has been ignored by the men in the business for years. In series 1, she was just starting to get a seat at the table, and then she was pushed aside again. At the end of the first series, you saw her make a little side deal with Jamie. At the beginning of series 2, Rachel is ready to take charge and make big decisions – even against her own husband.
Series 2 picks up where series 1 left off, with the gang fractured. In series 2, everybody has their separate journey. At the beginning, Michael and Diana are more in love than ever and living in their Spanish Happy Town. However, they are soon dragged back into the world of crime to answer questions around Ricardo’s death. And there’s a new Colombian to deal with now – Ricardo’s brother Felipe. Back in Liverpool, there’s a new threat in town. Shaun Evans joins the cast as Ozzie Thompson. He’s a newly-released old-school gangster from Ronnie’s past.
This City is Ours series 1 recap: Michael gave up control of the business
Viewers will know that after Ronnie Phelan’s death, his son Jamie Phelan and his protégé Michael Kavanagh battled to take control of the business. Of course, we also knew that Michael had been the one to push the knife into Ronnie’s belly in the first place.
Jamie Phelan ultimately gained control of the business, but not without a lot of unnecessary pain first. In increasingly tense scenes, Jamie decided to go rogue, leading to a gripping final showdown.
In episode 7, the penultimate instalment, Michael had made the decision NOT to kill Jamie even though he had the chance. He finally chose to put his criminality behind him and start a new life with Diana. However, drug kingpin Ricardo had other ideas… He made it very clear that it wasn’t going to be that simple for Michael to walk away.
Forced to come up with a plan to extricate himself, Michael gathered the gang together and suggested a proposal which potentially suited everyone…
He put forward the idea that Jamie continue to order their drugs from their old supplier Ricardo and the “amigos” – 50 kilos of cocaine no less – allowing Michael to walk free. Jamie would then take over the shipment, and start a “new era”.
While everyone agreed to it during the meeting, Jamie had his own plan to sabotage it.
Jamie Phelan abducted Michael’s girlfriend Diana
Despite being handed control of the business – everything Jamie had wanted all along – he was not happy with the deal. Or, rather, that Michael had been in charge of making the deal. So, he started scheming. It was like watching a car crash happen in slow motion. If you were anything like us, you would have been screaming at the bearded child during this episode.
Jamie did not believe that Michael would walk away. And, because of Michael’s good relationship with Colombian drug supplier Ricardo, Jamie did not want to buy the drugs from them. Instead, he wanted to trade with suppliers in Amsterdam, who were “faster and cheaper”.
Meanwhile, Bobby’s ambitious wife Rachel also let her ego get in the way. She refused to go back to just “being the book keeper”, and decided to back Jamie who she believed she could control… Foolish!
They decided not to pay the “amigos”. Instead, they agreed to buy the drugs from suppliers in Amsterdam. But Rachel and Jamie were actually double-crossing their whole family, who had agreed on the deal that Michael had set up.
In the final episode, Jamie said: “I’ve taken control. I’m going to blow Michael out of the water for good. […] I don’t want to lose again.”
In the last desperate acts of a talentless man, Jamie called Bonehead – the most volatile right-hand man ever – and gave him the order to target Diana, who was subsequently kidnapped. Realising that “Diana was Michael’s Kryptonite” and he would do anything to protect her, Jamie pitched his demands.
In a twist straight out of Shakespeare, Jamie told Michael he would only release Diana if Michael killed himself. Only Michael, having found out that Diana was pregnant with their first child, had ideas of his own.
This City is Ours series 1 recap: Pregnant Diana in grave danger
After Jamie abducted Diana, his family and gang mates were horrified. Rachel realised she’d backed the wrong horse and decided to pay Ricardo the money for the drugs after all.
Meanwhile, Elaine saw her son for who he really was – someone she couldn’t trust.
But all eyes were on Michael, who was snake-eyed with rage that his girlfriend had been put in danger. And, when he eventually found out that she was pregnant, he knew he couldn’t take his own life. He hatched a risky plan that would teach Jamie a lesson – and left viewers gasping.
Cheryl, who was determined to help out of loyalty to friend Diana, visited Elaine’s house pretending to want to help. However, she was really there on an errand for Michael. She took Jamie’s baby Alfie and delivered him to Michael. Michael then told Jamie he would jump off a high building holding the baby. At no point did we ever think he would, though!
Eventually, a “hostage” swap was arranged between Diana and Alfie, and tensions bubbled over. Michael gave Jamie some home truths, telling him to “take a good look in the mirror and try to find a bit of Ronnie”. At the mention of his dead dad, an emotional Jamie pulled out a gun and threatened to shoot. After a tense stand-off, Micheal admitted he killed Ronnie “because it was necessary”.
While Jamie saw sense, thanks to his mum’s imploring, Michael was forced to look Elaine in the eye. She told him: “I will come to despise you. This isn’t the last of it, that’s all I’m saying.”
Michael walked away from his life of crime
At the end of This City is Ours episode 8, the path was clear for Michael to walk away and start a new life with Diana…
Diana feared that criminality was in his blood, but perhaps fatherhood could change that. And would Elaine and Jamie REALLY allow Michael a free life knowing he had killed Ronnie in cold blood?
This City is Ours series 1 recap: Ronnie was a police informant
This City is Ours viewers also discovered that Ronnie Phelan had been a police informant – aka “a snitch” – for years.
Which would explain why he’d never been to jail. However, Micheal and Banksey had both “done some years”.
Having lost Ronnie, DS Barney Styles seemed to be trying to set up Davey’s wife Cheryl Crawford (Saoirse-Monica Jackson) as a new police informant.
Another twist which could be explored in This City is Ours series 2.
This City is Ours series 1 recap: Why did Banksey kill Ricardo?
In the closing moments of This City is Ours series 1, Banksey killed Ricardo. He ran him over in his car – and again for good measure – killing him dead. Of course, Ricardo was one of the “amigos”, the drug suppliers that Ronnie and later Michael had bought their drugs from for years.
Acting on his own, it was revenge for Ricardo’s previous actions. Earlier in series 1, Ricardo had planted a bomb in Banksey’s car, putting his son’s life in danger. It was a mic-drop moment, which reminded us not to trust anyone and to expect the unexpected.
We also knew that Ricardo was never going to let Michael walk away from the business. So Banksey believed killing him would work for everyone. But his actions have bitter consequences for series 2.
This City is Ours series 1 recap: Why is Diana’s mum in prison?
In This City is Ours series 1, we learnt that Diana’s mum was in jail for killing her dad.
However, we discovered by the end, that Diana had actually killed her own dad, and her mum had taken the blame. Diana’s dad was abusive, and she’d killed him to protect her mum from being beaten to death.
This is another storyline which scriptwriters return to in series 2.
Read more: Why Ronnie Phelan actor Sean Bean ‘walked away from the set of BBC drama This City is Ours really upset’
