Virdee BBC ending explained: is there a season 2 and will the BBC show return in the future?

• BBC’s crime drama Virdee’s first season comes to an end tonight.
• The Yorkshire-set thriller has been airing weekly on BBC One.
• But what happened at the end of the first season?

Spoilers for Virdee season one - including episode six. Don’t read if you haven’t watched the full series yet.

Virdee is set to bring an end to its first season on the BBC in a matter of hours. Staz Nair stars as the titular character in the six-part crime series.

Based on a series of novels by A A Dhand, viewers have been left on tenterhooks for weeks as bodies continue to pile up throughout the episodes. While Harry’s wife Saima is now very much in danger as the season draws to a close.

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But you might be wondering whether the show will be back for a second series. Here’s all you need to know:

Will there be a second series of Virdee?

The BBC has not yet announced a second season of Virdee. However the broadcaster usually makes such announcements after a series has concluded - so keep your eyes peeled for updates.

According to the BARB viewing figures, Virdee debuted with more than 3 million viewers for its first episode. It has continued to score ratings in the millions in the weeks that have followed.

Virdee is based on the book series by A A Dhand - who also adapted them for TV. There are four main novels in the Harry Virdee series so far - and one novella - so plenty of material left to be adapted.

The season finale ends with Harry and his brother-in-law Riaz looking out over the city of Bradford together - after they formed a new partnership.

Virdee ending explained - how did the first season conclude?

The season finale opens following drug kingpin Pawa’s admission that he has Saima (Virdee’s wife) but won’t reveal her location. The crime lord then reveals that he knew Riaz was the leak back in 2017 and responsible for him being sent to prison.

He also tells Harry that he orchestrated the killings in order to be caught and sent to prison, to force a confession from Virdee that he’d been working with Riaz. Revealing that he wanted to cause Harry’s downfall - and that is why he didn’t kill him.

Pawa tells Virdee that he wants him to hold a press conference and confess to working with Riaz. But later agrees to trade Saima for Riaz’s girlfriend Sophie - who in the flashback at the start of the episode was revealed to have been his wife previously and also crossed Pawa.

Harry and Riaz come up with a plan to intercept the car transporting Pawa to a more secure facility. During the raid, Harry is shot but is wearing a bulletproof vest.

They take Pawa to one of Riaz’s warehouses and attempt to get him to reveal Saima’s location. Sophie arrives and goes in to speak to Pawa, not realising he has a shard of glass in his hand.

He eventually stabs her and tells her: “This all ends where it started.” Harry realises this is referencing the place where Pawa was arrested all those years ago.

What follows next is a tense conclusion as Saima first attempts to hide from Pawa but accidentally gives away her location. He is holding her at gunpoint when Harry arrives - fortunately Riaz arrives and shoots Pawa, causing him to let go of Saima.

Riaz shoots Pawa again in the head, killing him, later ordering Harry and Saima to dispose of their clothes and Virdee’s gun, so they can’t be traced. Saima is shaken by learning about her husband and brother’s involvement in criminality.

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Harry and Saima manage to reconcile by the end of the episode - with Virdee coming clean about how he’s been working with Riaz for years, telling her it was to try and get him to stop. He does however lie about the death of racist yob Paul, once again laying blame on Raiz.

After being estranged from his father Ranjit all season, over his marriage to Saima, Harry meets his dad on a bench. Teary, Harry explains about how his father’s actions and disapproval have affected him, Ranjit places his hand on his son’s seemingly suggesting a new start for them.

What did you think of Virdee’s first season, would you watch more episodes? Let me know by email: [email protected].