Playing Nice episode 1 recap: what sickening bombshell does Miles drop on Pete and Maddie?

Playing Nice is an intense ITV 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?

Here is everything that happened in Playing Nice episode 1...

The first episode opens with Pete running along a coastal clifftop shouting for Theo, who is missing. His heart plummets when he sees a child's yellow raincoat in the rough see below and immediately fears the worst. He scrambles down the cliff edge and runs into the sea to save Theo, but when he reaches the coat, Theo is nowhere to be found.

The episode then flashes back three months and Theo and Pete are sitting watching the sea, which is much calmer, and Theo is wearing the same yellow raincoat. They head home to give Maddie milk for her coffee and they are the perfect picture of a happy family at breakfast time.

Maddie is at work in a restaurant where she works as a head chef, while Pete takes Theo to nursery, but when a teacher asks to speak to him about sports day, he sees a man watching them from afar.

Later, Maddie is in the middle of the lunchtime rush when Pete calls her about something urgent and she drops everything to meet him at the hospital where they have a meeting with the board who tell them that they have reason to believe that Theo isn't their biological son and that another couple took their son home by accident. They say the 'other party' would like them to do a DNA test to know for sure, but while Pete is adamant they aren't going to do the test, Maddie has flashbacks to when Theo was born and what is being said to her in the boardroom is drowned out by her panic.

Maddie and Pete get home and Maddie tries to talk to Pete but he doesn't want to discuss it. As far as he is concerned Theo is their child and wherever their test results say, he always will be.

Miles comes to Pete and Maddie's house unannounced and introduces himself as 'the other dad' Pete doesn't want to let him in, but Maddie is slightly more welcoming and he comes in to talk. He tells them he and his wife, Lucy, have known about the hospital error for longer because their son, David, was showing signs of a developmental delay and they thought it could be genetic.

Miles says that although David is okay and they think his delay is due to his traumatic birth, the moment they found out that their son wasn't related to them was the worst moment of his life, and so he wanted to check on them both. He gives them a photo of David and Maddie cries, while Pete stays silent throughout the whole conversation. Miles says he and Lucy would love to get the boys together so everyone can meet and invites them to their house, but Pete says they are still processing the news. When Miles asks for a photo of Theo, Pete refuses to hand one over.

Later, the family are playing on the beach when both Maddie and Pete's phones ping and the results are in - neither of them is a biological match to Theo.

Maddie and Pete arrive at Miles and Lucy's house, which they are shocked to see is huge. Everyone introduces themselves and Maddie and Pete are surprised when Miles goes straight ahead and gets Theo out of his car seat without asking. He then whisks him off into the house while Maddie and Lucy are left standing on the drive together. Maddie has flashbacks to when she was in the baby intensive care unit (NICU) and saw Lucy standing over an incubator next to her.

Inside Lucy and Miles chat about their fancy home they built front scratch and Lucy's painting that was in the Royal Academy, and Pete and Maddie realise that David's first few years have been completely different from Theo's.

As David wakes from his nap, Lucy brings him down and Maddie is thrilled to meet him, and he takes an instant liking to her. Miles then calls a nanny, which shocks Maddie and Pete, and she takes the children away so the four parents can talk.

As Miles offers fizz around Maddie is surprised to learn Lucy doesn't drink, before Miles reveals he has done his research on Maddie and says they have eaten in her restaurant a few times. Maddie says she thinks she recognised Lucy, but Lucy denies them talking in the NICU and is off with her when she tries to remember where she knows her from.

Miles tells Maddie she is amazing for juggling work and raising Theo, but she points out that Pete gave up his job as a journalist to raise Theo, and rich Miles seems uncomfortable when he reveals that he has a job interview for a landscaping company to tide him over now Theo is at daycare.

Maddie says that she and Pete would like to keep Theo, which is good news for Miles and Lucy, who would like to keep David. They also all agree that they would like a role in each child's life and that maybe the boys could grow up almost like brothers. Everyone is visibly relieved and the tension evaporates... until Miles then suggests they sue the hospital.

Maddie and Pete aren't sure as it won't fix anything, but Miles says it would stop it from happening again and that Maddie and Pete could keep all the money becasue he and Lucy don't need it. As Maddie and Pete leave, Maddie asks little David for a hug, and while Lucy says he doesn't like hugging strangers, he launches himself at her and they share a close moment, much to Lucy's horror. But as the gate shuts on Maddie and Pete's car, Miles' friendly persona vanishes and he walks away from Lucy.

Miles and Pete go surfing together and talk about how hard life was when the boys were born prematurely and they bump into some of Pete's friends, Jem and Maya. Meanwhile, Lucy and Maddie walk along the cliffs but while Maddie has brought Theo along for the day, Lucy says she left David behind with the nanny becasue he needed some 'quiet time' and Maddie is clearly disappointed.

Later while washing up, Maddie has flashbacks to the NICU again and she remembers meeting Lucy there.

The next morning Pete announces he has got the landscaping job, but their celebrations are cut short when Theo eats some cannabis gummies that Pete has bought to help his dad's back. The couple rush him to the hospital and the doctor says Theo will be fine but she will have to report it to social services because it is routine when a child is exposed to drugs at home.

As they bring Theo home from the hospital, Miles is waiting for them at their house and they're annoyed that he has turned up unannounced. He instantly realises something is wrong and they have no choice but to admit that they have been to the hospital, but they say Theo had too many sweets and leave out the fact they were cannabis gummies.

Miles has bought Theo a new bike, but Maddie says he isn't well enough to ride it and takes him inside. However, when Miles mentions going on a holiday to Norfolk, Maddie is cross and Pete realises he has forgotten to ask her.

Maddie is adamant she isn't going on holiday with strangers, but Pete tells her that this is their chance to get to know David, especially as Lucy always seems to have an excuse to leave him at home when they meet up. Lucy is adamant that they are not going and the decision is made.

The following day Pete is about to head off for his first day at his new job when the nursery calls and says Theo has hit another child and he needs to come and collect him. Desperate not to miss his first day at work, Pete tries to call Maddie and his dad, but when neither answer he takes Theo to Miles and Lucy's house and she agrees to look after him for the day.

When he goes to collect Theo, it is late and he is sleeping next to David in bed. Pete tries to talk to Lucy, but she is as closed as usual when Pete says that Maddie would like to spend more time with David. As they're talking there is a crash from outside and Pete goes to investigate in the dark... and he finds a bin has been knocked over. But as he stands it up again, a mystery figure launches itself at him in the dark, only for it to turn out to be Miles. He thinks it is funny, but Pete is clearly rattled.

Indoors Miles is his usual overpowering self as he suggests that if Maddie and Pete are struggling for childcare, they should bring Theo to their house each day so that the nanny can look after both boys together. He says that he and Lucy will pay for it, and Pete seems to warm to the idea.

When Pete gets home, Maddie isn't happy that he has left Theo at Miles and Lucy's house, but Pete says he didn't want to wake him. He then suggests the nanny idea, but Maddie says things are moving too fast for her liking. She asks him if he told Miles and Lucy about them not coming to Norfolk, but Pete says there wasn't a good time and they argue.

The next day, Maddie is having flashbacks to her time in NICU when she talks to Lucy, who admits her baby might not make it. As we return to the present day, Maddie rushes out of the restaurant, upset, and goes for a walk on the beach. Her colleague at the restaurant, Ollie, sees and goes to comfort her, but Miles is nearby and sees them together on the beach.

Later that night, Miles turns up at Maddie and Pete's again, under the pretense that he has bought them a new top-of-the-range baby monitor. Maddie is uncomfortable with yet another gift, and even more so when Miles asks to see Theo, even though he is sleeping in bed.

When Maddie says no to him seeing Theo, Miles is clearly annoyed and asks her if he saw her on the beach earlier, making it clear that he saw Ollie with his arm around her. She is annoyed that he has bought that up and so retaliates by telling him that they aren't coming to Norfolk, lying that Pete's sister, Emma, is over from France. But Miles isn't taking no for an answer and tells them to bring Emma and her family, too. Maddie makes excuses and Miles appears to drop it, but once Maddie has gone back inside, Miles asks Pete for the details of the nurse who was looking after Theo in the NICU for his lawyer. Pete says she was called Stella and doesn't want her involved in their legal battle, and Miles seems to leave it for now.

A few days later, Maddie and Pete are having dinner with Jen and Maya when Miles and Lucy turn up at the restaurant. Things are awkward because they are meant to be in Norfolk and Pete quickly tells Jen that she needs to pretend that she is his sister, Emma, who they lied was coming to visit - completely forgetting that Miles met her briefly on the beach recently. Miles grills 'Emma' about the flight and knows that she is lying, not only becasue the flight she says they got from France doesn't exist, but also becasue he remembers meeting her when Pete had been for a surf.

Maddie is annoyed at being caught out and having had a few glasses of wine, she tells them like it is, admitting that they didn't want to go to Norfolk and lied about Emma staying. Miles does a wounded act, saying he and Lucy have been making all the effort and he is fed up with it. Things couldn't be more awkward and you could cut the tension with a knife... especially when Miles tells them they haven't made any effort to see David only for Maddie to point out that Lucy won't let her near him.

Miles and Lucy walk out and Gem is mortified about being made to pretend to be Emma. They all have another bottle of wine to get over what has happened... but as they're leaving the restaurant later, a motorbike courier drives up to them with paperwork. Maddie and Pete open it and are shocked to discover Miles is now taking legal action against them and wants custody of both David and Theo. Will he get it?!

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

All four episodes also drop as a boxset on ITVX from Sunday, January 5, 2025.