Couple Next Door ending explained: Who shot [SPOILER]? (2024)

The Couple Next Door spoilers follow.

The Couple Next Door has given us six episodes of twists and turns ahead of a dramatic finale showdown in the woods, where this delightfully soapy Channel 4 tale came to its bullet-riddled conclusion.

At last, the finale resolved the question that had lingered since the first scene of the premiere episode, which teased some dramatic happening in the Yorkshire Dales involving the core four.

The final episode ties up most of the loose ends piece by piece until we get to that scene of the neighbours-with-benefits weaving through the treeline in hot pursuit of Evie (Eleanor Tomlinson), who we now know is pregnant with Danny's (Sam Heughan) baby.

So, what happened in that showdown, and who shot the gun?

The finale episode begins with Evie ensconced at her parents' place, having told them her good news that she's pregnant — but not who the father is. Despite some pretty obvious hints, all is not well with Evie. Her obsession with Danny has taken on a life of its own, and her folks are happily oblivious and agree to let her use their spare cottage for a mini break.

Meanwhile, Danny's professional life is not merely in hot water but has now reached an intense, rolling boil. His partner in copper crime is being raked over the coals about his part in a bank robbery in one of those eerily nondescript rooms with a two-way mirror.

And that's only the beginning of Danny's problems. Becka (Jessica De Gouw) has discovered the secret child Danny fathered with a woman who was a witness in a police case. The twists just keep twisting here.

Danny's co-workers on the police force are trying their best to track him down, presumably having pieced together the fact he was taking side payments from criminals. What happens to this storyline? Well, we're not entirely sure – it's sort of forgotten once we get into the thick of the woodland dramatics. Perhaps Danny got off with a light warning from HR.

Speaking of the woodland, Evie and her extremely conservative father seem to be making some progress and finally have a heart-to-heart as they make their way to the cabin — only for things to fall to pieces when Evie tells him about her future baby's parentage. Suffice it to say, he doesn't take the news that Evie is in love with her neighbour Danny all that well.

Back on the Leeds cul de sac, Danny is mid-apology to Becka for making a mess of the whole secret child thing when he gets a call from Evie. Her dad has gone "mad", she says. He's "trapped" her in the cabin, she says. An unlikely tale, it turns out, but Danny and Becka still rush over to help.

At this point, we're reminded of Evie's jettisoned hubby, Pete (Alfred Enoch), who we find asleep on the sofa in the middle of the day. On the coffee table in front of him, where you might expect mug rings and remote controls, is the criminal's gun from the confrontation with Danny the night before.

Jean (Kate Robbins), who has decided to leave her creepy husband (Hugh Dennis) and start a new life, tells Pete that Danny and Evie have been at it behind his back. The Couple Next Door very briefly turns a bit EastEnders as Jean wishes Pete and co well before driving off in a taxi to her better life.

Pete figures Danny and Evie must be together and goes on a search, gun clumsily stuffed into the waistband of his jeans.

Then, we finally make it to the long-teased "violent showdown" between the couples at the woodland cabin. Danny pitches up and finds Evie not in the mortal danger she had claimed to be in but instead in the bath, primed to seduce him... until Becka walks in.

Pete then comes storming into the mix, gun still in pants. After Danny rejects Evie and professes his love for Becka, a brawl begins.

The dodgy associate from the criminal syndicate also shows up, bearing a scary-looking rifle. That is until Evie's dad appears, fresh from some wood-chopping, and shoots him.

Then Evie's off running — repeating that first scene — and they all make off after Pete and his gun.

They decide to stop running once they all get a bit out of breath.

"Evie, please," Pete begs. "I've never loved anyone before you. And I'll never love anyone again. Please. You can't leave me."

At this point, Danny inexplicably charges, and Pete lets off a shot, which lodges in Danny's leg. As Becka tends to Danny, who takes the gunshot fairly well, Evie crushes Pete with the softly-spoken confession that she doesn't love him anymore.

Then, just off-screen, Pete is shot in the abdomen and crumples to the ground.

So, who shot him? He was holding the gun the last we saw it, so was it self-inflicted? The more likely answer is that Evie eased the gun out of his hands while she broke his heart with her admission of lovelessness.

But the sight of Pete shot near-dead is enough to get Evie to crack, realising what she's done and running to hold him.

But Pete's not dead! We see him wheeled off by the medics and Evie taken into custody alongside her father. She shares one last lingering look with Danny and smiles — so maybe she hasn't quite shaken off her obsession?

The last we see of Evie, she gets the classic police officer head-shove into the back of the cop car. Maybe the jury will go easy on her.

The Couple Next Door is available to stream on Channel 4.