The Long Shadow ending explained: How was Peter Sutcliffe caught?

For those who have got to the end and want a recap, or those who want to know how it all comes to a close, you can find a full recap below of just how the show's final episode plays out.

Read on for everything you need to know about the ending of The Long Shadow.

*WARNING - CONTAINS FULL SPOILERS FOR ALL SEVEN EPISODES OF THE LONG SHADOW*

How is Peter Sutcliffe finally caught?

At the start of The Long Shadow episode 7, Peter Sutcliffe is seen with a prostitute in his car. Two police officers spot him and question him. He gives them a fake name and they check his license plates, finding that they are registered to a different car and owner.

Both Sutcliffe and the prostitute he was with are arrested and questioned, but Sutcliffe manages to hide his knife and hammer.

Sutcliffe gives his real name and address but the detectives realise something is off. They try to send for help from Leeds, but they won't send anybody. After a search of the area where Sutcliffe was arrested, the police find the hammer and knife.

The team in Leeds subsequently look back through their files and find details of other times Sutcliffe's car has been spotted and he has been questioned.

The detectives visit Sutcliffe's wife, who proves non-responsive. They find that a knife is missing from Sutcliffe's kitchen. Under questioning by Sheffield detectives, Sutcliffe admits to the murders.

The arrest is announced to the press and the police laugh and smile as they announce how "delighted" they are by the developments.

What happens after Sutcliffe is imprisoned?

After Sutcliffe is imprisoned for life, Chief Constable Ronald Gregory appears on a TV panel discussing the case, along with Jayne MacDonald's mother Irene and others with a relation to the case, including journalists who had covered it since the beginning.

Doreen Hill, the mother of victim Jacqueline Hill, appears virtually from a London studio.

The presenter questions Gregory on his obsession with the hoax tape sent from someone pretending to be the murderer, which diverted police attention towards those with a Wearside accent.

Doreen questions Gregory on the discovery of Jacqueline's handbag, and calls for an inquiry. Gregory says he would not resent an inquiry, but does not "welcome" one.

Hill laments the press continuing to call Sutcliffe the "Yorkshire Ripper", arguing that they should call him by his name now that they know it.

DC Andrew Laptew speaks with the press about his previous interview with Sutcliffe, revealing the rest of the police department's unwillingness to look into him further. It is revealed Sutcliffe had been interviewed nine times before he was caught.

Gregory moves George Oldfield to a new, diminished role, chief of operational support, saying he should attribute it to his health and arguing he is doing so to move him out of the "line" of the inquiry.

The timeline then jumps ahead to 2005, when the chief superintendent at the time, who was a junior officer on the Sutcliffe case, visits Richard McCann, the son of Sutcliffe's first victim Wilma McCann.

He informs McCann that they have found Wearside Jack, the man who sent the hoax tape to the police. His real name is John Humble.

McCann is later seen giving a piece to camera about how he and the other survivors are still haunted by the murders, and explaining how the police failed to see and understand the women who had been murdered.

Text at the end of the episode reveals further details surrounding what happened to McCann, Marcella Claxton, Oldfield, Gregory and Hill.

The Long Shadow is available to stream in full now on ITVX. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.

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