The Guest on BBC One has come to a spectacularly fraught ending, with Fran finally exposed as the master manipulator we all suspected she was – here’s the final episode explained.

The thriller introduced two very different women from opposing worlds. First of all, successful businesswoman Fran, who lived in a ginormous house, and wouldn’t have dreamt of doing her own washing up. Secondly, cleaner Ria, who was down on her luck, and still grieving her dead mum.

When Ria started cleaning for Fran, the pair embarked on a very unhealthy co-dependent relationship. At first, it looked like they were becoming mentor/protégé, but it was much darker than that.

On the surface, Fran encouraged Ria to “take the loaf” – i.e. refuse to settle for the ends. She coaxed Ria into joining a dating site behind her long-term boyfriend’s back. And that’s when things went horribly wrong for Ria. Whereas Fran subsequently had Ria exactly where she wanted her! When the poop hit the fan, who would the police believe – Fran or Ria…?

So what were Fran’s motives, what really happened to Anna, and how did the series end for Ria? Read on for The Guest on BBC One‘s ending explained.

***Warning: spoilers from The Guest ending ahead***

The Guest on BBC One ending explained

At the end of the penultimate episode, Ria looked like she’d been well and truly stitched up. She’d been drugged, had a nasty argument with Fran, and woken up the next day with a bloodied meat hammer beside her.

Staggering to the house’s kitchen, she saw what we’d all guessed was coming – a very dead Simon. And it looked like he’d been battered to death with something strongly resembling a meat hammer.

Of course, it had been clear for a while that Fran wanted Simon dead. But was she really a victim of domestic abuse as she’d hinted? And how was Ria going to prove her innocence with all the evidence stacked against her?

The final episode of The Guest began with Fran arriving home, and seeing Ria standing over Simon’s bloody corpse… As Fran screamed “what have you done?” – presumably for the security cameras she had installed in the house – Ria ran for her life. And the police weren’t far behind her.

But did Ria really kill Simon? Nope. And did Fran get her comeuppance? Also nope. Read on to find out more.

Was Fran the victim of domestic abuse?

Fran was used to getting what she wanted – and the death of her husband was what she really, really wanted. But was he really abusive? What were Fran’s real motives?

Fran had several things over Ria – power, persuasiveness, and the ability to pull strings. Did Fran, as Ria later suggested, “collect broken young women and make them need her”?

It was true that Fran was the victim of domestic abuse. Simon “used Fran as a punch bag for years”, according to her sister Helen. He was abusive and controlling. Also creepy… Who didn’t notice him put his hand on Ria’s leg and try to work his way up? Gross.

In the final episode of The Guest, viewers finally got an insight into Fran’s behaviour via her younger sister Helen. She described Fran as always having “chased danger and adrenalin”. Helen also confronted her sister with the truth about her marriage – that Fran had “married her father”. This suggested that Fran and Helen’s dad was also abusive in some way.

In fact, we discovered that their father had been arrested. Fran said: “I was 15 when they locked him up. And 16 when he hung himself.”

So Fran (played brilliantly by Eve Myles in The Guest cast) was damaged. Which may or may not partly explain her subsequent behaviour.

What was the meaning of ‘Lonely Girl Last’?

The three words Lonely Girl Last were found in Anna’s notebook, as well as on the top of Mike’s invoices.

They were in fact related to what3words.com, which linked to a location. In this case, Lockbay storage unit. We knew nothing good was going to be found in that unit.

Luckily for Ria, Mike’s sister Gemma had found all the passcodes for the storage unit…

How did Fran make her money?

While we’d been led to believe that Fran’s riches came from her father, this wasn’t true. In fact, Helen and Fran admitted they’d “had everything and then nothing” as children.

And her business certainly wasn’t beautiful interiors, either.

Once inside the storage unit, Ria discovered hundreds of prescription drugs, as well as an USB stick – and crucially a crypto device. Amidst dozens of documents, Ria found a scan of Anna’s passport. As well as copies of multiple other passports belonging to young girls – including Ria’s.

That explained Anna’s plentiful trips to Dubai, all paid for by Fran. The penny dropped as Ria phoned Gemma to tell her what she’d discovered. She said: “They are literally drug dealers. That’s what they are. Simon ships it in. Fran sorts it, and Richard sells it. And I think they send girls to Dubai with cash, and they turn it into crypto.”

She added: “I think Mike’s job was to bring girls in. Like he did to Anna, and to me.”

However, that fateful night at the house, Mike had “gone off script”. His violent reaction to Ria, and his ultimate death, were obviously not part of the plan.

Did Ria get away at the end of The Guest?

Having discovered all of Fran and Richard’s dirty little secrets, Ria tried to leave the storage unit – but Richard was waiting for her. He ambushed her, bundled her into his car, and tied her up. Our suspicions about Richard were correct. He was a nasty little git as well. Well he did throw his own dad under the bus by putting him in a home when he started asking questions.

Having driven Ria to Fran’s isolated house on the Gower peninsula, Richard began crushing some pills in a pestle and mortar. Ria’s fate looked sealed which is when Fran turned up.

What were Fran’s real motives?

Fran certainly didn’t seem to be too devastated about her husband Simon’s death. In fact, within a few hours, she’d turned up at her lover Richard’s door. She told him she “needed him”. But it looked a LOT like begging.

Of course, Richard had a wife and kids and wasn’t about to drop his entire life for Fran. Or perhaps he could detect how toxic she really was. Fran’s plan was clearly beginning to fall apart. But she still wasn’t being eyeballed by the police. Not yet anyway.

It was pretty obvious that Fran had wanted her husband dead. After all, he was a very nasty man. So what really happened? Having arrived at her lovely Gower peninsula house, viewers finally got the explosive showdown between Fran and Ria…

The Guest ending on BBC One: Who killed Simon?

In The Guest ending on BBC One, we learnt that Fran had killed her husband Simon. Well of course she had! But she insisted she hadn’t mean to. However, she FULLY intended to set Ria up as the murderer.

The increasingly unhinged Fran crushed up sedatives and added the drugs to a bottle of wine she gave Ria. Ria then blacked out. But, by this point, Simon was already dead.

After Simon’s pervy behaviour towards Ria, she ran to the guest house to get away from both Simon and Fran. Later, Fran went to get Ria, insisting that Simon had gone to bed. But he’s actually been bludgeoned to death and was already lying in a pool of his own blood on the kitchen floor.

Ria called Fran a “monster”. But, in fairness, she had been defending herself. Much like Ria when she killed Mike. As Fran made herself a cup of tea, Simon grabbed the top of her hair and pushed her face scarily close to the AGA’s hot plate. She grabbed the nearest thing she could – a meat hammer – and smashed him over the head with it. Multiple times.

What really happened to Anna Simons?

Anna Simons was Fran’s previous cleaner turned assistant. She mysteriously disappeared after working for Fran. And, Ria was shocked to discover, the similarities didn’t end there – Anna had also dated Michael Rice. Of course, viewers know that Mike was how this whole sorry mess started.

Fran encouraged Ria to go on a dating website, which is where Ria made a connection with Michael. However, a date turned violent and Ria killed him in self defence.

During the tense ending of The Guest, we learnt that Mike had worked for Fran – charging £10,000 a pop. Mike was generally the person who found the girls. When his sister Gemma started looking into, Fran threatened her.

Fran believed she was helping the girls she used. She told Ria she “offered them a way out” by selling prescription medication to “bored housewives”, and “middle-class office workers living for the weekend”.

Fran had targeted Ria because she “ticked all the boxes”. She had no money, no family, and a “shitty boyfriend”. However, Fran also insisted that she’d cared about Ria, and had wanted to help. She told her: “I wanted to give you a chance.”

She said: “Two or three trips to Dubai, nice holidays, some sun, clear your debts and get on with your life… That’s all it had to be. A chance. An opportunity to earn, to move up, to move on.”

As for Anna, Fran told Ria she’d been stealing from the company. We didn’t actually find out what had  happened to Anna. Fran swore she’d never hurt her. All eyes would be on Richard as the person who ‘disappeared’ her. He was more than prepared to take out Ria, after all.

Is Anna’s fate something for a series 2 to explore perhaps? More on that below.

What happened to Fran and Ria in The Guest ending on BBC One?

In the closing minutes of The Guest on BBC One, Richard tried to drug Ria by making her drink water loaded with sedative. Would Fran let him do it, or finally see right from wrong?

Hallelujah sister, Fran saw sense and stopped Richard by smashing him in the head with a heavy mortar – the very one that he’d used to crush the drugs. Once he was incapacitated, Fran untied Ria and let her go.

The final episode subsequently skipped to two weeks later, when a radio station appealed for information on the whereabouts of Fran Sharp in what authorities were calling “a sophisticated operation”.

The report continued: “More than one million pound’s worth of unlicensed prescription-only medication have now been seized across the capital.”

Although Fran managed to get away, Richard wasn’t so lucky. He faced the rest of his life in jail.

Meanwhile, Ria – having learnt a very valuable lesson in who to trust – was researching backpacking around Italy’s Amalfi coast. Remember that favour she’d asked the receptionist at the storage unit? Well he’d sent her the crypto device in the post. She was last seen looking up “how to recover access to your crypto wallet”.

So, with access to Fran’s millions, Ria proved she was ready to “take the loaf”. Yes, she was stinking rich. Admittedly on very dirty money, but who are we to judge? She won’t have to backpack the Amalfi coast either, she could travel in a limo and stay five star all the way!

Will there be a series 2 of The Guest on BBC One?

Although BBC One has not confirmed a series 2 of The Guest, we think there’s plenty of mileage for one.

After all, Fran was ‘missing’ at the end of series 1, although she did have a big bag of company cash with her. So perhaps Ria might see her on the Amalfi coast…

We’d love to see more of Eve Myles‘ brilliantly conflicted character Fran in another series. And relative newcomer Gabrielle Creevy was compelling as Ria. We could have watched these two play off of each other all day.

Oh and there’s also the mysterious fate of Anna Simons to unpack. We never did find out exactly what happened to her. Or Fran’s family background, and her dad’s crimes. So watch this space for more info on a series 2 of The Guest if and when we get it.

Read more: Inside the upcoming new series Riot Women from Happy Valley creator Sally Wainwright

The Guest is currently available to watch on BBC iPlayer.