Ridley series 2 ending explained: will there be a season 3 on ITV? What has been said
A Ridley star has offered their thoughts on a potential third season 👀
- Ridley’s second season concludes on ITV tonight (August 25).
- Adrian Dunbar leads the cast as the titular character.
- But will he step back into the detective’s shoes for series 3?
Full spoilers for Ridley series two up-to-and-including episode four. Don’t read if you haven’t finished the season yet.
Ridley’s highly anticipated second season will come to an end tonight (August 25). Fans faced a nearly three years wait for the titular detective to return but it has been worth the wait.
ITV has changed up its schedule for the Bank Holiday and will air the series two finale this evening. It means a double-dose of the crime drama - although the full boxset is already available on ITVX/ STV Player.
The filming locations for the show have been revealed, along with the cast for the latest set of episodes. Adrian Dunbar plays Ridley, but remind yourself of which other familiar faces feature.
But how does Ridley season two end, and what happened in the last moments? Here’s all you need to know:
Will there be Ridley series 3 on ITV?
ITV has not yet delivered an update on the future of Ridley. But it seems like the stars are hoping to return in the future.
Bronagh Waugh, who plays DI Carol Freeman in the show, has been speaking about a potential third season. Cosmopolitan reports that she said: “There are plenty of [plot] ideas if we are lucky enough to get a third series."
She added: “Let's see what happens.” Fingers crossed!
How did Ridley season 2 end? Explained
For its season finale, Ridley was tackled with unravelling a particularly knotty case. It started out appearing to be the simple story of a mother who had gone missing - in the form of Tara Dunning (Emily Stott).
It was a case that sent Ridley and DI Carol Farman (Bronagh Waugh) diving into the missing mother’s history of mental health and raised issues such as post-partum psychosis.
The story took a grim turn as her car was found with blood and the pressure to find her was notched up as the case went viral on social media. Having been pointed in the direction of a registered sex offender who had recently arrived in the village, the cat was thrown among the pigeons when a seemingly close friend of Tara’s - Celia (Maggie Steed) - was found dead in her home, in an apparent break-in.
Ridley and Carol find out that Tara was having an affair, leading her to get pregnant again, and her sudden reappearance pointed it all in that direction. However, it was revealed that Tara had crashed her car after the affair broke-up and called Celia to help.
Celia, desperate for someone to need her and rely on her, kept Tara drugged in her home. After a dose wears off, Tara realises what is happening and ends up killing Celia.
She is arrested for murder and the case has been cracked. The episode also wraps-up some season long plotlines.
Carol’s son Jack, after his entanglement in the murder case in the previous episode, is shown doing community service. Not a totally happy ending, but he’s back on the right path.
Ridley finally returns to Annie’s club (Julie Graham), having first been bought out by Harry Bentham (John Michie) back earlier in the season. Annie and Harry had started a relationship, with Ridley’s feelings for her meaning he had stopped performing at the venue.
However, Harry’s desire to make drastic changes to the club leads to Annie breaking-up with him. The season ends with Ridley performing once more and then enjoying a night with Annie.
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