Playing Nice ending explained: who dies and what happens to Theo and David?

Playing Nice is an intense psychological thriller set in Cornwall where two couples discover their toddlers were somehow switched at birth, all down to a terrible hospital mix-up.

What comes next is a horrifying dilemma — do they keep the sons they have raised and come to love dearly, or reclaim their biological child? As the drama unfolds between the couples, it turns out this nightmare is only just beginning.

Here is everything that happened in Playing Nice episode 4...

The final episode of Playing Nice opens with Maddie and Pete arriving for their supervised visit with Theo, where the Family Court Advisor watches their every move. It all goes well until Theo tells Maddie she isn't his mummy, Lucy is, and she gets upset. She asks the Family Court Advisor why she isn't writing this down, and gets cross, resulting in the Advisor terminating the session, and Pete and Maddie are forced to leave.

Anika, Pete and Maddie's lawyer tells them that the Family Court Advisor's report on them is very damning after their ill-fated session with Theo, but reminds them that this is just one person's opinion.

The day of the court case arrives and the child psychologist is first in the witness stand. He tells the court that Theo is showing signs of detachment and that is probably hereditary... and that he thrives in Maddie and Pete's care becasue of their supportive nature. He also says David would show signs of huge distress if he was separated from Lucy, but there is no mention of Miles.

Next Pete and Maddie are on the stand and the Lamberts' lawyer digs up all the dirt he can, from shaming Maddie for being a working mother to asking intrusive questions about her postnatal depression and then using her answers against her. Maddie gives a rousing speech about how much love she has for both boys, telling the court why she thinks they should be with her and Pete. But next on the stand are Lucy and Miles and they soon undo all Maddie's hard work.

As the Lamberts spin lie after lie despite taking an oath, things are looking dire for Maddie and Pete and they are forced to bite their tongues. Lucy throws Maddie under the bus, painting herself as the perfect mother who gave up her career for her child, telling the court that she can't understand any mother who would want to work.

Miles, meanwhile, is telling the court that they are best placed to look after Theo when the door opens, and in walks Edith, his estranged mother who he told everyone was dead.

During a break in the court, Miles corners his mother in the reception and is vile to her, looming over her, not listening to a thing that she says, and telling her that no one wants her there. But he doesn't realize Lucy is standing behind them and has heard everything. As Miles walks out, Lucy talks to Edith and is shocked as Miles always maintained he didn't have a mother. Edith warns Lucy that Miles is a nasty man, that he has done bad things in his past and does she really want to bring up Theo and David in a house with someone like him?

Later that night, Lucy tries to address the fact his dead mother turned up at court, but Miles threatens her, tells her she is a useless wife and mother and pins her to the wall before demanding she comes to bed. But as she follows him up the stairs, Lucy sneaks a glance at the security camera.

When everyone arrives in court the following day, there is a TV screen in the room and Ankia asks the Lamberts' lawyer what it is for, but he is as clueless as she is. The judge announces the video was sent in anonymously and it shows Miles giving Theo the cannabis gummies just before he was rushed to hospital.

The court is stunned that this has come out, and Lucy says it must have been one of the nannies who sent it in. Pete and Maddie are finally given hope that they might win custody of both boys, but instead, the judge decides a full investigation into the poisoning needs to take place and in the meantime, Theo will return to Pete and Maddie.

Maddie is horrified that David will stay with Lucy and Miles until the judge announces that Miles is to move out of the Lambert family home. The relief on Lucy's face is unmissable as she realises she will finally have a break from her controlling husband.

The next day Pete and Theo are having chips at the harbour when Theo vanishes and Pete panics. He asks if anyone has seen Theo in his bright yellow coat and a woman says he went off with a man with a beard. Knowing instantly that this is Miles, Pete gets in his car and drives to follow a location that Miles has sent. But when he gets to an empty beach he sees Theo's yellow coat in the sea, the same opening scene from epsiode one, and races into the waves to save Theo.

Theo is nowhere to be found and it is just his coat in the water and it is only when Pete comes out of the sea that he sees Miles watching him from afar and confronts him, demanding to know where Theo is. Miles tells Pete that he wants him to know what it feels like to lose your son, just as Theo comes running out of the bushes, where Miles told him to hide.

Later, the police send a unit car to find Miles but he isn't there. Maddie goes to see Lucy and tells her what happened and she is stunned, apologising on behalf of her husband, but that's when Maddie sees bruises on Lucy's wrist from when Miles grabbed her in court. Maddie tells Lucy that she knows Miles is dangerous and that if Lucy and David ever need someone, she is always there for them.

The next morning Lucy wakes early to find the bedroom window is open and David missing from his bed. She panics and races around the house looking for him, only to find Miles standing in the kitchen, drinking coffee. He tells her to get dressed as they are going for a picnic. She doesn't want to go but he says David is already in the car. When she goes to get dressed Lucy secretly calls Maddie, but she is driving and doesn't hear her phone. It is only when she stops and sees Lucy's left a voicemail that we hear what has really been happening in Lucy's world.

As Lucy's voicemail plays out telling Maddie that she has been scared of Miles for a long time we see her getting out of the car in a remote spot with Miles and David. Lucy's voicemail explains how Miles has always been controlling, which got worse during her pregnancy, and that he hurts the people he loves and she's always been scared he would do something truly awful.

Becasue of this fear she explains that she switched the babies in NICU to save her son from growing up with a father like Miles. Then when she saw Pete, with his kindness, looking after who he thought was his son in the hospital, she knew she had done the right thing to protect her son and give him a loving family. She then goes on to say that she promised at that moment to always protect David and tells Maddie in the voicemail that she is sorry and has always loved David with her whole heart.

Maddie is in tears as she listens to the truth emerge while sitting in the car and as the voicemail ends Lucy tells her that Miles is there and he is taking them somewhere. At the same time, Miles is leading Lucy and David along a cliff edge and Lucy manages to secretly share her location with Maddie, so she knows where they are.

Miles confronts Lucy about the fact she was the one who sent the video to the court, she tries to maintain it was the nanny, but he isn't listening and grabs David, standing right on the edge of the cliff, terrifying Lucy that they are going to fall off.

Miles pretends to throw David off the edge until Lucy confesses it was her who sent the video in. Meanwhile, Maddie finds their abandoned car and races to find Miles, Lucy and David. Desperate to get David from Miles, Lucy tells him that she will give David to Maddie and Pete, and they can raise Theo. This isn't what she wants, but knows it is what Miles wants to hear. However, he says he doesn't need her or David and will raise Theo on his own, and it seems like he is going to throw both David and Lucy over the edge just as Maddie arrives.

Thankfully Maddie calls Lucy's name, and Miles is momentarily distracted from what is happening, giving Lucy the chance to grab a rock and hit Miles over the head. Maddie grabs David away from them, while Miles starts to slip over the edge of the cliff... taking Lucy with him. However, Lucy manages to get free and gives him a final shove, sending him plummeting to his death.

Later Maddie is helping a stunned Lucy wash the blood from her hands at her house and she asks if she will be okay. Lucy says that now Miles is gone, she will. Lucy asks if she will ever forgive her for swapping the boys at birth, and Maddie says she understands she was trying to protect her son from Miles.

Later the police arrive and Pete is also Miles and Lucy's house. They all lie to the police telling them that Miles came to the house earlier, was distressed and angry before leaving and driving off towards the coast, seemingly framing his death as suicide.

The epsiode then flashes forward three months and we see Pete and Maddie playing on the beach with Theo, once again a happy family. As Maddie looks behind her, Lucy is sitting on the beach playing with David.

It is unclear who actually gets custody of each of the boys, but with Miles now out of the picture, it is assumed that Lucy, Maddie and Pete have come to an agreement that they all see each of the boys as often as possible.

As the episode ends, Maddie is seen looking over at Lucy with a serious look on her face, which turns into a smile as their eyes meet. But as she looks back out to sea her serious look returns, perhaps the enormity of their lie to the police and everything that has happened over the last three months weighing heavily on her mind.

Playing Nice is a four-part series that started on Sunday, January 5 and Monday, January 6. The final two episodes air on Sunday, January 12 and Monday, January 13 also on ITV1 at 9pm.

All four episodes are available as a boxset on ITVX now.