The past of TV's most dysfunctional family was key to the ending as Sergeant Catherine Cawood's final mission before her retirement turned out to be a break-in at her own home. She found escaped killer and rapist Tommy sitting in her kitchen, attempting to kill himself with a load of painkillers with her treasured photo albums in front of him.
There was an emotional showdown between the pair as Tommy told Catherine he could see what she had done for his son Ryan, in raising him following the suicide of her Becky as opposed to his delinquent childhood. After breaking in and viewing Ryan's bedroom laden with his favourite things and Catherine's photos charting his happy upbringing, he forgave her, he told her, for interfering in his and Becky's relationship.
But for Catherine this was a step too far. "You forgive me?" asked Catherine incredulously, leading Tommy to decide to take his own life with a can of petrol..
