Coldwater on ITV pitted Ewan Bremner’s persuasive Tommy against Andrew Lincoln’s insecure John in a masterclass of thrillers – and the gripping ending was the pay-off we’d been hoping for. We could have watched these characters all day. 

The brilliantly menacing six-part series introduced John and his wife Fiona, who moved to Scotland for a fresh start. So far so good, until they met their neighbour Tommy. Imagine John as a lamb unknowingly being led to the slaughter and you won’t be far wrong. For those of you who know actor Andrew Lincoln better as The Walking Dead’s Rick Grimes then, let’s just say, Rick would be bitterly disappointed with John’s naivety. As for Tommy, he was worse than any zombie.

As Fiona said herself: “I can’t believe we came here looking for peace and quiet, and instead we’ve landed ourselves in a hotbed of mayhem and death.” In fact, the whole village began to feel a LOT like the one in The Wicker Man…

If you want the short version, when Tommy told John “I’ve got your back”, he was probably planning to stab him in it. If you want the longer version, here’s a detailed recap of the darkly comic thriller.

***Warning: spoilers from the Coldwater ending on ITV ahead***

Coldwater on ITV ending explained

You had to feel sorry for John and Fiona. Moving to Scotland from London for a fresh start, only to find your neighbours were unhinged menaces. By the end of episode 3, John had finally caught up with his wife Fiona and realised Tommy was a wrong’un.

When he arrived in Coldwater, John was a man on the verge of a nervous breakdown. And, after meeting Tommy, he got slightly better then much worse – suddenly considering religion despite being an atheist his whole life. And quick to start wearing the uniform of Tommy and his mates (aka flannel shirts).

Meanwhile, the award for Most Patient Wife must surely go to Fiona, who put up with all his weirdness. However, just when we were marvelling at how much she really, REALLY loved her husband, we found out why she was being so accommodating. She’d cheated on him back in London – with John’s best friend Matthew. Well, that explained a LOT!

As the series went on Tommy became more and more menacing and his behaviour more threatening towards John. Not to mention his delicious (to watch at least) lack of boundaries. He clearly had something to hide, and it wasn’t just his obsession with famous serial killers. So what was his secret, and what were his real motives towards John? By the end of episode 1, we had a clear indication of Tommy’s character. Not quite the man of God he pretended to be, but actually a murderous man. By the Coldwater ending on ITV we knew exactly what Tommy was capable of…

A ‘perilous game of life and death’

At the end of the penultimate episode, Tommy and Rebecca had thrown enough suspicion towards John, that a ‘mob’ – clearly Samuel and his dense mate Brick – attacked his car. But just as things looked bleak for the family, Tommy’s daughter Moira-Jane knocked on their front door with exactly what they needed – evidence against Tommy. Her next challenge? To get hold of Tommy’s jewellery box full of trophies, and presumably take it to the police.

In the final episode of Coldwater, John and Fiona were keen to expose the truth about Tommy and invited their neighbours to lunch (knowing it would leave the house empty for MJ to steal the trophy box). Unsurprisingly, what started as a tense meal turned into a dangerous confrontation.

Ultimately, John found himself caught in a “perilous game of life and death” with the man he once called his friend. John had to kill or be killed.

Who killed Angus Gillespie in Coldwater?

Tommy killed Angus Gillespie, and made John think he had.  The act – totally contrived by Tommy – left John unexpectedly indebted to his new friend. And that was central to the whole plot.

We met John as a highly-strung dad of two – a depressive insomniac, full of impotent rage. The series started with a disturbingly violent scene, which actor Andrew Lincoln has admitted made him turn down the role twice before accepting. Episode 1 ended with another bloody encounter…

Running through the woods during another sleepless night, John came across Angus Gillespie – unhinged town drunk and resident ratbag. Of course, the pair had previously had a heated exchange in the local Co-op which had left John shaken. So when Angus launched himself at John and started beating him, John tried to defend himself. He grabbed the nearest rock and bashed Angus over the head with it, leaving him for dead. But, actually, not quite.

Coldwater on ITV ending: Tommy staged Angus’ death to look accidental

As John arrived back at home covered in blood, his friendly new neighbour Tommy was there to see it all (at 4am in the morning, go figure). Tommy told John: “I’ll deal with the police; I’ll deal with Angus. Do not tell Fiona. Keep this secret. Help me to help you John, okay?” Of course, he wasn’t really offering to be Tommy’s ride or die. He just wanted to have something to hold over him.

In fact, when Tommy drove to the woods, he found Angus still alive and finished the job. Even more disturbingly, he seemed to really enjoy it! He then dragged Angus’ body to his mobile home, left his lifeless body in bed – having first stolen his crucifix necklace – and set fire to it.

The crucifix? Tommy put it in a dusty box in his shed with other trinkets… Later, as John fell apart thinking he’d killed a man, Tommy slept as soundly as a milk-drunk baby.

Police ruled Angus’ death an accident, believing he’d falling asleep with a lit cigarette. But that didn’t change anything as far as Tommy was concerned. He still had something to hold over John. And did. Repeatedly.

What was T0mmy’s secret, and what did he really want with John?

According to John’s wife Fiona, Tommy was an “obnoxious, repellent, piece of shit”. Add to that a “disgusting creep”. And she wasn’t far wrong it turned out. Reader, he was a predator and a psychopath very fond of a chokehold. As a TV antagonist, Tommy was thrilling to watch (from a safe distance obviously). Ewen Bremner was superbly placed in the Coldwater cast, as was Andrew Lincoln as his ‘victim’ John.

Tommy wasn’t afraid to kill cats, beat up women, and toy with men, too (that’s when he wasn’t killing them). Talking about John, Tommy told his wife: “John is a weak man, he’s pliable. I am deep in his soul.” He later bragged to his wife: “John is mine now.”

In fact, it was when Tommy physically attacked Catriona in episode 3 that John finally realised that his new bestie was seriously unhinged. Even his own daughter Moira-Jane was estranged from her dad because of the “beast inside of him”.

Tommy had ‘impulses and urges’

Turns out Tommy was a serial killer. Ending Angus was not the first time he’d taken someone’s life… We discovered that Tommy had “impulses” and “urges” which compelled him to hurt people – and cats.

He’d also attacked Catriona 10 years earlier by pinning her to a wall by the throat. He warned her: “Don’t be a whore Catriona. Whores get killed in this town.”

As his own daughter later realised: “He ticks all of the serial killer boxes. A childhood filled with trauma. Torturing and killing animals. When I was 7, I asked my dad if we could get a cat. And he said he’d already had a cat and it died. He’d tied it to a railway track and watched it get run over. He told me like it was a funny anecdote.” Red flag, anyone?

Coldwater on ITV ending: Who did Tommy kill?

In episode 4 of Coldwater, Angus’ dad revealed his suspicions about his son’s death. He believed his son was murdered. In fact, he said he had a witness (Samuel) who saw John covered in blood the night Angus died. At this point, Tommy took matters into his own hands by taking Nathan for a little drive…

Tommy gleefully told Nathan he’d killed Angus. In a chilling confrontation, Tommy said: “I killed your boy. He got in a fight with John, and I went to check Angus, see if he was okay. He was still breathing. But, when I found him, I out my hand over his mouth, and I suffocated him.”

When Nathan asked him why, Tommy looked him dead in the eye and replied: “I just wanted to.”

Tommy was a serial killer

He then hinted he’d killed before, saying: “You know, the late Ted Bundy was once he couldn’t kill a woman if he knew her very well. He only liked to kill strangers. But I have to say, that was never a problem for me.”

Tommy – who claimed he was “invincible” – killed Nathan moments later. He bashed his head against the window of the car, before strangling him to death with the seat belt. He didn’t get a chance to bury the body, though, as he “had to get back for Bible group”… That’s how Malky stumbled across the body on his gruesome walking tour of the woods.

So that made two people and a cat that Tommy had murdered. We later discovered there were more. Tommy had killed Suzie Bissett 25 years earlier. Tally = three. In fact, he was a serial killer probably responsible for several unsolved murders in and around Glasgow. And not just Glasgow. Tommy and Rebecca moved around a lot before they had kids. We’re talking Edinburgh, Wales, and Newcastle.

Coldwater ending on ITV: Was Rebecca complicit in Tommy’s crimes?

Tommy felt “unhealthy compulsions and desires” – and Rebecca (The Crow Girl’s Eve Myles) was complicit. As the series went on, it became apparent that the vicar knew all about her husband’s wicked secret. In fact, she was a right little Lady Macbeth. Rebecca was manipulative, brilliant at playing dumb and perpetually lying through her teeth.

Worse of all, she lied to her own children in a bid to protect her murderous husband – and made them feel bad for even having suspicions about him. Both Rebecca and Tommy hid their malice behind the veneer of religion.

Rebecca knew about Angus, about Nathan, and the rest. In fact, they worked “as a team”. In a heated exchange after Tommy’s sloppiness led to Nathan’s body being found, a furious Rebecca told her husband: “You never used to be like this when you were younger. You used to be so clinical.” To which Tommy admitted he was feeling “rusty”.

So, Rebecca knew all along that Tommy was a murderer. And helped him hide his crimes. Nathan’s death was no exception, either. As Rebecca promptly started pinning the crime on John.

Looks like actress Eve Myles is getting quite the reputation for playing scary, morally dubious characters… Watch The Guest on BBC iPlayer for proof.

What was in Tommy’s trophy box?

In the first episode of Coldwater, viewers got a tantalising look at Tommy’s shed – and what a fabulous shed it was. Rebecca told Fiona: “A word of advice. Never get John a shed if you want to see him again. Tommy practically lives in that shed. Heaven knows what goes on in there.”

Well, she knew damn well what was in there. Tommy’s box of “trophies” that he took from his murder victims – including the crucifix necklace that he prised from Angus’ dead body.

When adopted daughter Moira-Jane found the trophy box – with Harlequin’s collar inside – she started to realise what a monster her dad might be. The box of trophies also included Nathan’s signet ring, and other pieces of jewellery from Tommy’s victims. When ‘MJ’ bumped into Catriona in the pub, the barmaid was quick to share her story about Tommy’s violence. With all her suspicions confirmed, Moira-Jane became the ally that John and Fiona so desperately needed.

Coldwater on ITV ending: Who was Suzie Bissett?

Suzie Bissett was a young woman murdered in the village of Coldwater (click here for the show’s filming locations). Twenty-five years later, local resident Marky put on a walking tour of her last steps – bad taste, if nothing else.

Vicar Rebecca told new neighbours John and Fiona: “They never caught the killer. It was widely assumed that it was her boyfriend or pimp Brody Dwyer. She was a prostitute so it could have been anyone really.”

We later discovered that Suzie’s body had been found in the very woods where Tommy killed Angus and his dad Nathan. Crucially, her necklace with the initials BD (for convicted criminal boyfriend Brody Dwyer) was missing. Who did we know with a habit of taking trophies from his kills? Yep, the necklace was in Tommy’s box of treasures.

Tommy killed Susie Bissett.

What did Rebecca put in the toy basket?

During the horribly tense luncheon in the final episode, devised entirely so Moira-Jane could get hold of her dad’s trophy box, Rebecca also had subterfuge on her mind. On her way to the toilet, she dropped what looked like a ring into a toy box in John and Rebecca’s living room.

In the closing moments of the series, the camera zoomed in on the object. It was Nathan’s signet ring. Rebecca had obviously trying to plant it on John as evidence.

Coldwater ending on ITV: Tommy versus John in tense climax

In the final episode, John finally got hold of Tommy’s trophy box (not a euphemism). But Tommy caught him in the act and attacked him with a taser. He then gagged John with masking tape, and bundled him in the back of his Volvo with the incriminating box of trophies. As Tommy sped off, Fiona’s heart sank to her trendy pumps as she realised how much danger her husband was in.

In the car, Tommy asked his ‘God’ for guidance. He said: “What shall I do with John? Shall I kill him? Or shall I torture him first?”

At that moment, John managed to get free of the masking tape and leant from the back seat to the driver’s, where he proceeded to bite Tommy’s ear. John escaped from the car and ran for his life. As Tommy trained his gun on his foe, he seemed to be enjoying himself. Was he proud that his neighbour had finally found his balls? Or did he just like playing dirty?

Meanwhile, back on the street, Fiona confronted Rebecca and accused her of protecting Tommy. After pleading ignorance, she broke down in tears. Rebecca told Fiona she was “petrified” of Tommy, and had been “scared for her life for years”. Did we believe her? Like hell we did!

What happened to Tommy and John in the final episode?

John managed to run to Williams’ house, and begged him to hide him. But Tommy wasn’t far behind. Wielding a gun, he threatened Williams and attacked him, prompting John to jump out and help. As Williams lay recovering on the floor, Tommy and John fought for their lives – with Tommy eventually trying to strangle John.

Williams – probably livid with the state his house had been left in – managed to stop Tommy from killing John by pointing his hunting rifle at him. Realising how dangerous Tommy was, he called the police.

But Tommy had one more trick up his sleeve… He appealed to John’s decency, and begged him to be allowed one phone call to his wife. Ever decent, John agreed. But, when there was no signal in the house, Tommy walked into the surrounding fields waving the phone in the air.

When he finally got through to his wife, she told him that Fiona had called the police and that they were looking for him. She said: “It’s over Tommy. Whatever it is you’ve done, just hand yourself in. We can’t go back now. Do you understand?”

Once Fiona was out of ear shot, Rebecca told Tommy she loved him and then ordered him to “run”.

Did John die in the Coldwater ending on ITV?

In the closing denouement between the two main characters, Tommy told John: “You were nothing when I found you. You were so weak. It’s me that turned you into a real man. Everything that you are now is because of me.”

Tommy subsequently admitted he’d killed Angus to “help” John, but he said the act had “opened up something in me”. He also confessed to murdering Nathan and “your stupid cat”. RIP Harlequin.

The serial killer then dropped to his knees in front of John who was still pointing the gun at him. Tommy said: “I can’t go to jail John. You need to finish this. Show me what you are made of. Because otherwise I’m going to have to kill Fiona. Then I’m going to have to kill your children.” He added: “Be a man John. Shoot me.”

But John wasn’t like Tommy. He told his neighbour: “I’m not a killer. I’m not your [bleep] friend. And I’m not your [bleep] Johnboy.”

That’s when the screen went blank.

Tommy escaped, while John stayed in Coldwater

Realising John wasn’t going to kill him, Tommy seemed to launch himself at John and we heard the pair struggle – presumably causing the gun to go off. As the screen returned from black, we saw John left bleeding from a bullet wound to the shoulder, with no sign of Tommy who’d clearly legged it.

Tommy was gone, on the run from the police. Newspaper reports subsequently called him the “Coldwater killer”. And Rebecca? Well, she’d pretended she had no clue what a monster her husband was. She remained as the vicar in Coldwater, preaching values she didn’t live by herself. We last saw her telling her congregation that there’s “no limit to forgiveness”.

Lastly, John recovered, and was cleared of any wrongdoing, He and Fiona were seen recording a news interview about their experience living next door to a killer. They told the interviewer their brush with Tommy had made their marriage “stronger”. They decided to stay in Coldwater, albeit with only an inkling that neighbour Rebecca was complicit in Tommy’s crimes.

What else happened in the Coldwater ending on ITV?

• Sadly, Samuel showed he was just as violent and unpleasant as his dad – just as we’d suspected. As well as starting a witch hunt against John, and attacking his car, he also had an unhealthy relationship with women. As well as attempting to break into Catriona’s house and watching her sleep, he turned violent towards his own sister. When she confronted him with the truth about their dad, he grabbed her by the mouth and throat – his dad’s signature move. Luckily Moira-Jane was able to escape when she stabbed him with a pair of scissors.
• Catriona left Coldwater forever during the series ending on ITV . And who could blame her?
• Weirdly, Tommy’s Bible group continued with the same faces, and one new addition – John.
• Viewers saw Samuel hiding around a corner, calling his dad. Although we didn’t see Tommy answer, it was implicit that the pair were still communicating. And that Samuel still sided with his dad.

Is there a series 2 of Coldwater?

Coldwater slowly built up to the mother – or in this case, father – of all climaxes. And, in our opinion, was the thriller of the year so far. Forget The Game, The Guest, and Protection, this Andrew Lincoln/Ewen Bremner series perfectly married suspense with the blackest comedy.

Although ITV hasn’t confirmed a series 2 of Coldwater, we’d be surprised if they didn’t recommission it. Frankly, the dynamic between the four main characters was delicious, and we could have watched them all day.

Series 1 of Coldwater on ITV certainly left plenty of dangling loose threads during the ending, too. Not least the whereabouts of serial killer Tommy. Would he come back to murder John? Or keep him promise and kill John’s whole family?

Would Samuel turn out to be as deranged as his dad? He certainly liked to watch women sleep, and even turned violent towards his own sister. Or would he finish off what his dad started? The persecution of John.

We’d love a series 2 of Coldwater. ITV, are you listening?

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Coldwater is currently available to stream as a boxset on ITVX.