Towards Zero ending explained: How did the Agatha Christie murder mystery conclude?

A high profile celebrity divorce, tangled loves lives and murder - Towards Zero had it all, but who was the killer?

Not only did Towards Zero have a sumptuous period setting, the Agatha Christie murder mystery adaptation brought to life the story's scandalous celebrity divorce and larger than life characters. They become embroiled in the tangled love lives of British tennis star Nevile Strange (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) and the women in his life.

The star-studded cast took on the roles of a long-suffering lady’s companion, a mysterious gentleman’s valet, an exiled cousin with a grudge, a venerable family lawyer, an inquisitive orphan and a French con man - and of course, there was murder. But who killed the wealthy Lady Tressilian, Nevile's aunt? If you enjoy delving into the ending of TV shows such as Call The Midwife and Unforgotten, read on for a in-depth look at the ending of Towards Zero.

Towards Zero ending explained

After spending some time at Gull's Point and having played a tennis match with Nevile, Inspector Leach came to the realisation that it was Audrey who had planted incriminating evidence against Nevile to bring on a divorce. Announcing this revelation, the Inspector expressed his belief that this was the jumping off point for the murders.

Handsome and successful Nevile had felt publicly humiliated by Audrey when she'd filed for divorce, damaging his public image and reputation in the process. Although he'd been a serial cheater throughout their marriage, his affair with Kay Elliott had tipped her over the edge.

Audrey decided the only way to get a divorce was to steal Kay’s monogrammed compact and plant it in Nevile’s car. When it was found, this was enough to get the tennis star to admit to being unfaithful - something he'd previously denied in court. Furious with Audrey for leaving him when he believed they'd be together for ever, despite his dreadful behaviour towards her, Nevile had been out for revenge and wanted Audrey framed for murder, knowing what the consequences would be.

Nevile married Kay despite not loving her, just to spend their honeymoon at Gull’s Point when he knew Audrey would be there. Once he, his former and current wife were under the same roof, he murdered his aunt Lady Tressilian in order to frame Audrey for the killing and complete his revenge plan.

Meanwhile, it transpires that Kay is actually a con-artist working with Louis and was initially only interested in Nevile as a mark. However, she'd actually fallen in love with Nevile, which created the strange tension between herself and Louis. Kay and Louis are ultimately reunited once Nevile is arrested for murder and their story concludes with them heading off into the sunset once Kay's inherited his money.

The Towards Zero ending also got to the bottom of exactly what Nevile's valet, Matthew Hutton 'Mac' is up to. While it appeared Mac wanted to push Nevile from his family perch and position as Lady Tressilian's heir, he was actually sizing Nevile up to see if he could spot a family resemblance - he turned out to be a long lost illegitimate cousin.

Mac was the result of an affair between the late Sir Matthew Tressilian and a teenage house maid. Lady Tressilian found out about the baby and Mac became a hushed family secret. He's also the reason Lady Tressilian watched her husband drown and didn't bother trying to get anyone to rescue him.

It remains unclear whether Mac inherits Gull House or any of its contents. His illegitimate status would've usually meant he wasn't entitled to anything, yet with no other relatives available, he could've found himself with something from the family pile - we'll never know.

Mary and Thomas are two people we *do* know benefited from the murderous events that went on at Gull's Point. Both were left money in Lady Tressilian’s will, meaning they could leave the area and have a little independence. They, perhaps had one of the best outcomes of anyone in the series when it comes to inheritance.

In terms of happiness, Inspector Leach offers to take in Sylvia, the young ward of Mr Treves who was Lady Tressillian's family lawyer and had been murdered by Nevile to push the spotlight back on to the framing of Audrey. With her guardian dead, Sylvia was once again alone in the world, but Leach stepped in to save the day. Mrs Barrett, now out of work, joined their newly formed family, sharing a lot in common with Leach and the two having a lovely bond.

As the series drew to a close, Audrey had been totally cleared of suspicion and was also free to leave Gull's Point. Nevile was implicated in all of the murders after he eventually confessed in the wake of Inspector Leach's theory and Audrey's distressed reaction and his fate is sealed - he is to be hanged for his crimes.

Speaking about adapting a novel from such a legendary crime writer into a TV series, screenwriter Rachel Bennette says, "Well, obviously, adapting the Queen of Crime, the Greatest of All Time, is somewhat daunting…

Adaptation is quite a brutal exercise – you have to pull the book apart to understand what makes it run, and then put it back together again in a new form, and you have to be steely about the things you love but can’t use, because the demands of a three hour drama on screen are not always compatible with what the book is doing – but of course, you want to do justice to her, to the book.

It’s all quite conflicting and complicated – but I also loved it, because you have to be so on your game, it’s weirdly thrilling. And it’s an incredible privilege, to get this glimpse into the deepest workings of the Christie mind."