Virdee ending explained: What happens to Harry and Saima?

Harry (Staz Nair) and his team have worked round the clock to get former Bradford big shot Jai Pawa (Ramon Tikaram) nabbed for his recent slew of murders, as well as ensuring the safe return of Alastair Boardman (Jack Archer).

But it was in the penultimate episode's final showdown between Pawa and Harry that Harry notices an especially eerie detail – he's wearing Saima's (Aysha Kala) necklace.

The last we saw of Saima was her car getting slammed into and a mysterious driver getting out to retrieve her phone to disconnect the incoming call from Harry.

The lasting shot of that episode is of an unconscious Saima tied up in a disused warehouse somewhere, but will Harry be able to use Pawa's arrest to his advantage and ensure the safe return of his wife?

The brooding Bradford gang wars also reached quite the fever pitch as Riaz (Vikash Bhai) killed Vasil Shala (Andi Jashy), with his sister Saima watching the whole thing unfold, unbeknownst to him.

The final sixth episode sure packs quite the punch, with the stakes at an all-time high for Harry and his family. But how do things end in Virdee? Read on for a full breakdown of the BBC thriller's finale.

Virdee ending explained: What happens to Harry?

The final episode opens up with a flashback to 2017, where we see a completely different version of Pawa, the drug kingpin.

He's organising a major shipment and we see that not only was Riaz part of Pawa's team, but that Riaz's current girlfriend Sophie (Nichola Burley) was actually married to Pawa initially.

Riaz is seen giving a nod to Sophie as he exits the building. Trouble then ensues when it's found that the shipment is four crates short of what had been previously agreed, and when guns are drawn, the police take them all by surprise.

In walks Harry, and as he's arresting Sophie, Harry tells her to "keep it together, we're nearly done", clearly demonstrating that she was part of Pawa's takedown.

Back in the present, Harry is still reckoning with Pawa's admission that he has Saima but that he can't tell anyone.

Riaz gets intel from a uniformed officer on his payroll that Pawa has surrendered, and immediately Sophie knows that he must be there for her and to get revenge on them both.

Back in the police station, Pawa tells Harry that he knows Riaz was the leak and the reason why he got sent to prison. He knows Riaz used the missing £30 million worth of drugs to float his own business and pay Harry off. But Harry is more concerned with where Saima is, something Pawa refuses to tell him.

Pawa tells Harry that his plan of murdering people in Bradford was all so he could eventually surrender and be sent to prison, forcing Harry to confess to his own work with Riaz.

Pawa tells Harry that he didn't kill him because he wanted the Virdee name to be tainted with corruption and death instead. Pawa says that he wants Harry to confess everything about his work with Riaz publicly at a press conference, which will lead to Harry and Riaz's arrest.

Ultimately, Pawa wants them to be sent to prison where he will be waiting for them so he can inflict his plan of suffering for them both. But Pawa says he'll trade Saima for the other person who crossed him, Sophie.

Pawa says he hasn't been able to find her because she's deep in witness protection, and that's when we realise that Harry has no knowledge of Sophie and Riaz being together either.

Later, Harry has put through the witness protection detail request via his boss Clare (Elizabeth Berrington) but hasn't heard anything back just yet.

Harry drives to Riaz's warehouse and angrily confronts Riaz about the fact that Pawa has Saima and will kill her. They make a plan to intercept the car that will take Pawa to a more secure facility, with Riaz's team all set to help.

But when drafting up the plan, Riaz's right-hand man Enzo (Tomi May) says that they'll only do it if this is the last negotiation of the sort from Harry. He says that after they do this major favour for Harry, Harry should agree to partner up with Riaz, as Riaz has always wanted, meaning Riaz will also be calling the shots.

Harry agrees to the partnership, and the next day, the ambush plan goes well until DS Amin (Danyal Ismail) tries to attack one of the masked kidnappers. They try to shoot Amin but Harry goes in front, taking the bullet. Thankfully, he's wearing his bulletproof vest and isn't hurt in the process.

Later, in one of Riaz's warehouses, Enzo tries to get Pawa to tell them where Saima is, to no avail. At the same time, we see Saima struggle to break free from where she's being kept, injuring herself in the process.

With Pawa not cracking, Sophie turns up, telling Riaz that she should go in there to float the idea of them running away together, thinking that's what Pawa has always wanted. Harry is surprised to learn that Sophie and Riaz have been together all this time.

Sophie goes in to speak to Pawa but doesn't realise that he conceals a shard of broken glass in his hands. As they speak, Sophie reflects on the past and the fact that Pawa used to cheat on her with multiple other women.

She admits she's not there to find out where Saima is, and suddenly, Pawa stabs her. He tells her, "This all ends where it started," and disappears.

Telling Harry and Riaz what Pawa said, Harry realises that Pawa is referring to the warehouse where they executed the sting operation all those years ago, the same one which got Pawa sent to prison.

It turns out that is where Pawa is keeping Saima as when he goes there to kill her, he finds she has broken free and is hiding.

What happens to Saima?

With Pawa in the warehouse and looking for Saima, it's quite the tense showdown as they both have guns. Saima is shaky as she tries to find a good hiding spot, revealing her location in the process.

Harry eventually makes his way to the warehouse, trying to find his wife, but at the same time, Pawa closes in on Saima. He grabs her, aiming his gun at her head just as Harry finds them. Pawa tells Harry to forfeit his guns on the floor and so, with no way of defending himself or Saima, the chances of getting out of the situation are slim.

However, Riaz has secretly come to the warehouse also and comes up behind where Pawa is holding Saima and tells her about Harry and Riaz's dodgy dealings. Riaz manages to shoot Pawa in the stomach and temporarily stun him, giving Saima enough of a chance to hit him and break free.

Riaz eventually shoots Pawa in the head, killing him. Enzo and Riaz order Harry to dispose of his guns and clothes so that they can't be traced back, telling Saima to do the same as well.

Saima is visibly shaken by not only what's happened, but also learning that her brother and husband are caught up in criminality. Crying, Saima tells Harry that she doesn't know who he is anymore and doubts she's ever really known him.

Later, when discussing how to make things right with Saima, Riaz tells Harry to put it all on him and lie. He doesn't mind taking all the blame and not implicating Harry if it means his marriage is alright.

When they make their agreement, they also vow to never say anything about Paul King, the racist yob that Harry stabbed and killed when he was a teenager but that Riaz took the blame for.

Who dies at the end of Virdee?

Both Pawa and Vasil Shala (Andi Jashy) are found dead at the end of the episode, with a note left on Pawa's body reading: "The debt is now paid."

Harry is one of the attending officers at the scene with Clare, putting forward a new theory – that Pawa had help killing Vasil but that the same help turned on him, closing the loop of the Bradford rivalry and pointing towards a new kingpin.

However, DS Amin approaches Harry later and says that he swung by the hospital to check that he was alright. Of course, Harry didn't go to the hospital and instead went to the warehouse after the arranged ambush. Amin tells Harry that the hospital said he hadn't been checked in but Harry manages to wriggle out of the lie by citing Saima's work as a nurse there.

Amin is then called into an impromptu meeting with Rebecca (Elaine Tan), who reveals that the case with Pawa and Vasil points at more than just organised crime groups. She explains that there's rumblings that the Greater Yorkshire Police has been compromised by these groups and that she's going to investigate it – but wants Amin's help on the case.

What happens between Harry and his family?

Back home after his stint in hospital, Ranjit (Kulvinder Ghir) is solemn, but Tara (Nina Singh) confronts him about his treatment of Harry when the family gathered for Diwali.

He explains that his father died when he was younger, and so he didn't exactly know how to be the best dad – that is until Tara came along and showed him how he could be a better parental figure.

Tara and Jyoti (Sudha Bhuchar) seize the chance to tell him that Harry still loves him and that it's never too late to try again. Ranjit thinks about it and admits that he doesn't know how, but Tara says they can help him.

Later, we see Ranjit sitting on a bench in a park where he's met by Harry, who is teary as he tells Ranjit about the impact of his actions and disapproval. Ranjit doesn't say anything but simply places his hand on Harry's, marking the possibility of moving on and starting afresh.

The next day, Harry goes to meet Saima and apologises for everything, but Saima wants to know the truth. Harry admits that he's been working with Riaz for years, telling her that he's been trying to get Riaz to stop. But Saima then asks about Paul King, with Harry forced to lie about him.

Harry lies to Saima and says that he saw Riaz the day of Paul's murder, Riaz told him what happened and that Riaz wanted to run away but Harry wouldn't let him.

Saima still sees the keeping of that information as a betrayal of trust and is still upset, with Harry vowing that he will make it right between them again.

The very last scene is of a silent Harry and Riaz meeting on the roof of a building, overlooking Bradford. While no words are exchanged, their new reality (and partnership) awaits them.

Virdee airs Mondays at 9pm on BBC One and is streaming on BBC iPlayer now.

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