The Inheritance debut ends on major cliffhanger in dramatic funeral scene

The first episode of the drama, which stars Robert James-Collier, Gaynor Faye and Jemima Rooper as siblings Daniel, Sian and Chloe, saw the trio discover their father Dennis (played by Larry Lamb) had died of alcohol asphyxiation, despite them all attesting that he rarely drank.

While Daniel wanted to get Dennis's house straight on the market, having secretly got himself into some financial difficulties, Chloe was against it. However, any plans to sell were soon upturned.

The trio found that big sums of money were going out of Dennis's account, and later were told that they were no longer the beneficiaries to their father's estate - instead, everything had been left to a new wife they had never met called Susan, who turned out to be the ex-wife of Dennis's former best friend.

When the trio met Susan (played by Samantha Bond), she told them that she had been with Dennis for 14 years. Yet, still, they naturally remained deeply suspicious.

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The episode culminated in Dennis's funeral, where, as his body was about about to be taken away to be cremated - despite his children saying this was against his wishes - the coroner interrupted the procession, along with police officers, saying they would need to take the body.

As shock set in on the faces of all those at the funeral, the episode came to a close - leaving us on one big cliffhanger ahead of next week's second episode.

James-Collier previously teased that there are "a lot of twists and turns" across the series, telling RadioTimes.com and other press that he was "disorientated and discombobulated, and I was in it".

He continued: "You think you've worked it out, it's just going to be a traditional pastiche family drama, and then curveball, and then you think it's going that way, and then curveball back.

"And if they can keep up with it, there’s drama at every turn in every episode that will make your head spin, in a good way."

The Inheritance continues Monday 11th September at 9pm on Channel 5. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what's on tonight.

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