Until I Kill You ending explained: What happens when Delia attends John’s trial?

The penultimate episode sees Delia come to grips with the monumental decision to do so and we see that she's struggling to cope, turning to alcohol to calm her nerves before taking the stand.

On the stand, it's clear that Delia is not in a fit state to give evidence as she lashes out at those around her – but what happens in the final episode of the series? Will she be able to get cross-examined?

The series is a fictional retelling of Balmer's book Living with a Serial Killer and so far, chronicles her harrowing ordeal at the hands of Sweeney, the police and the justice system as Sweeney was released on bail after keeping Balmer imprisoned in her own home for a week.

Sweeney was eventually caught – but will he be sentenced for his crimes?

Read on for the complete breakdown of the ending to Until I Kill You.

Until I Kill You ending explained: What happens when Delia attends John’s trial?

Called to give evidence at Sweeney's trial for his attack on her in 1994, the penultimate episode saw Delia go through quite the range of emotions as she shouted at people in court, showed everyone her scars and scolded Sweeney himself.

After taking pause and speaking to DC Christine Webb (Laura Morgan) who reminded her that her outburst was just what Sweeney would want, Delia goes back to give evidence once again.

Referring to it as "the night he killed me", Delia recounts the night where she cycled home from work and was approached by Sweeney at her doorstep.

Detailing the effects of the injuries that she's been left with, it's clear that Sweeney is exasperated by such detail as he sits in the courtroom facing her. "I don't like looking at my injuries, I have scars all over my body," she tells the court.

When Delia then reveals the impact the attack has had on her mental health, Sweeney rolls his eyes at the mention of PTSD. Delia explains that she doesn't take antidepressants, saying that she "feels as though I'm in a black hole".

The prosecution's line of questioning riles Delia up when it's implied that her and Sweeney had a sado-masochistic and consensual relationship. Once up on the stand himself, Sweeney denies everything but the jury are then presented with one of Sweeney's drawings.

The picture is of a boot about to crush a cockroach, with writing on the front section of the boot reading: "May you never die until I kill you."

In another image with words that had been removed with Tipp-Ex, it clearly holds details related to Sweeney's date of birth and the date on which he attacked Delia. The following day, the jury returns after deliberating and find Sweeney guilty of the attempted murder of Delia.

After the sentencing, Delia is agitated because she feels as though the nation is laughing at her but David (Kevin Doyle) tries to cheer her up.

DC Webb comes round to deliver the news that Sweeney has been given four life sentences but that actually, the judge ruled that Sweeney would be eligible for parole in nine years.

It becomes clear that David and Delia are drifting further apart, with an eventual date night of theirs descending when David cites Delia's admission in court that she's never loved anyone.

Things go from bad to worse when, fighting over the wine bottle, they smash some glasses and Delia leaves the restaurant.

Walking past some police officers, they arrest her for drunk and disorderly after she starts shouting at them in the street. She has to spend a night in a cell but is free to go in the morning. When she arrives, David is there, but she breaks up with him.

Later on, Delia returns to work in the hospital and offers up her services for free in another ward as a therapeutic masseuse. Her new role provides Delia with a bit of a new lease of life and she starts to get close to one patient, Nabil. But when he leaves the ward to go home, it's clear that Delia is struggling after thinking she made a friend.

The timeline skips to 2009 and in Amsterdam, we see that the original case officer for Melissa Halstead's case is calling the police station handling Paula Fields's investigation.

She has news on Sweeney after the remains of Halstead were identified by a cold case team after her body was initially found in 1995. With her head, hands and feet having been removed, there are stark similarities to Fields's murder.

With his parole coming up, the pressure is on for the police to gather evidence against Sweeney for the murders. They say that the evidence provided by Balmer – where Sweeney told her he murdered Halstead – was never put before a jury.

The police visit Delia to tell them they intend to charge Sweeney with the murders but given the fact he'll plead not guilty, they'd hope to get the case to court and that Delia could give evidence in court.

After her experience the first time round, she refuses and the police understand. Although they'd prefer her live testimony, the retrieval of hundreds of Sweeney's drawings and poems mean that they've got enough evidence to allow Delia to just give a videotaped statement.

Delia agrees to it but does so under the influence of alcohol. Although the police would still want to use the video, Sweeney has argued that because of the severity of the case, Delia should give her evidence in-person in court after being deemed fit to do by a psychiatrist. The police warn her not to drink any alcohol before the psychiatric evaluation but even so, Delia goes out to buy wine and brandy the night before.

In the morning, she tells the officers that she actually didn't touch a drop of either and attends the psychiatrist's session to see whether she's mentally fit enough to give evidence in court.

In the session, she opens up about her family and the night of Sweeney's attack. The psychiatrist thinks there's a very real possibility that Delia could take her own life and so, it's decided that under no circumstances will Delia have to give evidence in court.

Is John Sweeney sentenced at the end of Until I Kill You?

We learn that Sweeney has been sentenced to two life sentences without the possibility of parole this time around, known as a whole life tariff.

Delia reports the news to her brother, Stewart, on a phone call and we see Sweeney continue to finish a disturbing sketch of the judge. "You won, Delia. He tried to kill you and he couldn't because you are too strong," Stewart tells her, saying that she's always been the strong one in the family.

We then see Delia ride her bike around a park, overlooking London. As she returns home, she sees that her new passport has been delivered and we then see her packing up a travelling rucksack, ready to leave.

The end notes of the series reads: "Delia Balmer wrote a book about her ordeal at the hands of John Sweeney and the Criminal Justice System. This drama is based on that book."

With the final shot of Delia walking onto a sunny beach and towards the water, further end notes reveal that the real-life Delia still does therapeutic massages, dances and travels when she can.

Until I Kill You will air on ITV1 and ITVX from Sunday 3rd November to Wednesday 6th November at 9pm on ITV1.

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