The Listeners ending explained: What was the hum in the unsettling BBC drama?

If you've seen all four episodes of The Listeners, you might still have questions about the origin of the hum and exactly what happened in the closing moments of the show.

For those wondering if BBC One's The Listeners is based on a true story, you might be surprised to find the surreal drama does have roots in real events. Protagonist Claire, has her life turned upside down when it appears she's the only person able to hear a mysterious hum. Consumed by the noise and its origin, she experiences intense relief when as a teacher, one of her students, Kyle, admits he can also hear the hum.

Eventually joining a cult-like group who also claim to be able to hear the noise, Claire and Kyle's lives unravel further - they alienate themselves from their families and take on the group's belief that those who can hear the sound are a chosen few, and have been sent it as a gift. Those who have already watched all four episodes of The Listeners have some questions about the ending - we delve into exactly what happened in the final episode of the series and what turned out to be the source of the hum.

The Listeners ending explained

The Listeners concludes with viewers finding out the hum that has driven Claire and Kyle to the edge of their sanity, is nothing more than a natural gas pipeline. This aligns with some real-life public reports of hearing mysterious hums, that have also been put down to mechanical and industrial sources, or naturally occurring events such a jet streams.

However, while this explanation is offered to Claire as the source of the noise, The Listeners maintains a sense that there could still be an other-worldly explanation, and the there could be an element of truth to the conspiracies she's been fed about her situation.

The final episode also reveals what viewers probably guessed all along - Omar and Jo were manipulating those who could hear the hum into believing they were higher beings, sent the noise because they're special. The pair secured intense loyalty from those they recruited into the group with their dubious methods, and instilling of unlikely beliefs. Again, it's left ambiguous what is the truth - those tuning in are left to decide whether they believe the cult's explanation of the hum, or that of the local council and their gas pipe theory.

A tragic twist comes at the end of the story when the police descend on Jo and Omar's house, just when the group are all present and in the throes of a hum listening session. Claire's state of hum-meditation inspired ecstasy comes to an abrupt end when the police shoot Damian, who brought a gun to the gathering because of his longstanding paranoia.

Sadly, Kyle is caught in the crossfire and is also shot. He bleeds to death as Claire hold him and cries, while still caught in the tail end of her ecstatic state - her emotions collide in a way that's both moving and uncomfortable to watch.

Unsurprisingly, Jo and Omar are arrested, and Claire is committed to a mental institution and medicated for what health professionals believe is a psychotic state. Reunited with her husband and daughter when deemed well enough, Claire asserts that the hum has disappeared.

Clearly grieving the loss of Kyle, Claire can either apparently still hear the hum, or could do with some further psychological support in the aftermath of his death. Her computer history reveals searches for the chances of dying from grief by wishing for it, and the length of time it takes a body to smell. Again, her thought process in relation to her former student isn't made clear, and viewers can make what they will from her intentions over the search questions she types.

Visiting the place Kyle was living in the run up to his death, it appears that Claire is indeed still hearing the hum - whether real or manifested in her head. At Kyles old residence - an old shed - Claire also has visions of her former friend which brings back memories of their time together.

Her memory takes to a time she and Kyle were in a field, and he shared memories of his favourite sounds. As the memory fades, Claire is alone in a field but apparently happy with the memory she's just experienced.

Viewers might choose to believe she's smiling because she really can see her friend before her, in a non-linear timeline where he still exists - one of her previous internet searches had revolved around the concept of time and whether it could deviate from an apparently straight line.

Claire could also be accepting of the fact Kyle has died, and ready to move on with her life. Although ambiguous endings aren't always popular with viewers, plenty of what plays out in The Listeners remains open to viewer interpretation, and the ending isn't tied up with a neat bow as some would prefer.