Close to Me ending explained: Why Channel 4 drama had to wrap up the way it did

"It was... obviously incredibly painful [to play this role]," Connie Nielsen (Jo) told Pop Culture, highlighting both her character's "trauma", as well as the fact that Jo "now has to play a detective in her own life" with a brain that's not running at full capacity.

There are twists and turns galore in the Channel 4 drama as Jo becomes suspicious of her seemingly devoted husband Rob, played by Christopher Eccleston.

“This show had a lovely reversal of the usual, far too familiar, sensitive, caring female taking a supportive role to a male as they wrestle with existential dilemmas," he told RadioTimes.com. "This was very refreshing.”

And Jo's also concerned that she’s had an affair with her daughter’s boyfriend Thomas (Nick Blood), which is far from ideal.

The narrative revolves around how she contends with the many secrets that she uncovers along the way, but with a brain injury to manage, working out what's real and what's fiction is tricky business. Did Rob push Jo down the stairs? And was Jo's affair with Thomas real, or just part of her psyche?

Read on for everything you need to know about Close to Me’s dramatic ending…

*Warning: this article contains spoilers for the entire Close to Me series.*

Close to Me ending explained

Close to Me ends with some powerful showdowns, highlighting indefensible behaviour with direct dialogue that is wholly appropriate for the subject material.

In the final instalment, Jo finds herself back in hospital after fainting, but makes her escape after sending Rob home. She heads off to see Anna (Leanne Best), her husband's pregnant mistress. Anna is adamant that Rob still loves Jo and isn’t capable of physically hurting her.

Already aware of how forcefully he has manipulated recent events to his advantage, Jo remains unconvinced, and visits her ailing father.

A flood of memories come back to Jo during their time together. First, after she spots ex-colleague Nick (Ray Fearon) she recalls an incident in which she made a move on him after learning of her husband’s infidelity. There’s an awkward shared look between Jo and Nick as she remembers his rejection.

She also gains clarity over her childhood flashbacks, which show her father Frederik (Henning Jensen) almost killing her adulterous mother through strangulation. Jo had called out for him to stop, and in the present he breaks down in tears as she confronts him over his actions.

The scene is a huge turning point, setting up what happens next and leading to the most satisfying conclusion Close to Me could have.

Jo’s father’s weak reply that he attacked her mother “only once” is met with a firm “once is too often”. In that moment, the series treats the context of the violent outburst with the seriousness it deserves.

The response carries real weight, and crucially doesn’t make any allowances for Frederik. It also influences how Jo decides to deal with Rob.

After leaving her father, she returns home and informs their grown up children Sash (Rosy McEwen) and Finn (Tom Taylor), of Rob’s affair and subsequent unborn baby.

Left alone with Rob, Jo accuses him of pushing her down the stairs, but he claims she slipped and he tried to save her. A sudden flash of memory, however, confirms her suspicions. Rob deliberately let go of her hand, allowing her to fall.

Jo finds an inventive way to broadcast this revelation. The writing is on the wall - literally - as her post-accident timeline bears one last message: ‘Rob tried to kill me.’

The words are seen by daughter Sash and her boyfriend Thomas; so whether he is cast out of the family or arrested, the idea is that Rob faces a definitive justice of some kind.

Rob tries to diminish his cheating betrayal by blaming his wife for being “cold”. But as Jo rightly points out, she was going through the menopause and when she later “blossomed” in her career and social life, it was his bitterness alone that led him to stray.

Rob’s flawed reasoning isn’t even considered, and his flat-out denials over Jo’s fall are also in vain. It’s not just viewers who will be condemning him - the drama is too.

Speaking to RadioTimes.com about the show's willingness to deal with the menopause, Nielsen said: “What was important to me here was to speak to the kind of experience that you have never seen on TV; I’ve never seen a story about a woman going through menopause.

“It was really, really important to me, over and over again, that we show the experiences of [her] going through hot flashes, and sexual difficulties, or sleeping difficulties – all these different things on top of her accident.

"For me, the more we start talking about that experience, and showing that experience, the sooner women will have the dignity of being seen. And that they receive the proper support and care, but also respect for dealing with extraordinarily daunting physical aspects that you try to travel with for 10 years of your life. It’s sort of a coming of age story as well. It is a transformation that you go through. And as a chrysalis – you see that happening to Jo as well, coming out on the other end.”

She added: “It’s my hope that when people – when women especially are watching this, they experience a sensation of being seen.”

Neither of the men in Close to Me are excused for their actions, and this is exactly as it should be.

Jo is picked up by Helen (Lorraine Burroughs) who she befriended at her support group. The closing moments find her in her homeland of Denmark where she is now beginning to move on. The focus is very much on Jo as a survivor, and it's important that her story is wrapped up in our eyes.

The fact that the ending leaves us guessing over Rob’s fate is the right choice. It’s enough to simply know he must face up to his actions one way or another.

Close to Me resonates through its unwavering, unfiltered storytelling, as the final chapter exposes its male characters without justification.

Want more Close to Me content?

• Is the Channel 4 drama Close to Me based on a book?
• Close to Me review: Christopher Eccleston plays a deceptively charming husband in Channel 4's drama
• Christopher Eccleston reveals why his role in Channel 4's Close to Me is an unexpected "reversal"
• Where is Close to Me filmed? Location guide to Channel 4 thriller

Close to Me episodes 1-6 are available to stream now on All 4. Episode 6 airs on Sunday 12th December at 9pm on Channel 4. Visit our Drama hub for more news and features, or find something to watch with our TV Guide.