Nightsleeper ending explained: what happens in the final episode of BBC drama?

Although episode three is airing on Sunday night, the entire series of Nightsleeper is now available to watch on BBC iPlayer, meaning that impatient fans - or those just wanting to know how the series concluded - have taken to the streaming platform to watch the show in its entirety. So how did Nightsleeper end? Find out here and warning! We're going full steam ahead with spoilers…

One of the biggest mysteries of the show was the identity of 'the Driver', the mysterious hacker who was keeping the operation 'on track'. It turned out that the person behind the chaos was actually Pev, Abby's mentor who she contacted immediately during all of the drama, despite literally everyone telling her not to.

He wanted to show how vulnerable national security is to a cyber-attack, and very much proved his point by using Abby's code to hack the Glasgow to London journey.

Angered by the lack of interest in his work, and losing his job at the National Cyber Security Centre, he decided to take matters into his own hands - arranging for the train to make a stop so no one would be on it when it ultimately crashed into the station - which didn't work out as he didn't think about inaccessibility, stubborn first class passengers and young boys who just want to play on their Nintendo Switch in peace.

Of course, Pev had intended for Abby to be safely tucked away from all of the trouble on her holiday to Marrakech, but as their flight was already delayed, the chaos began while she was still on the ground. He also recruited the train worker Yaz to plant the phone blockers and computer hacking device after being made redundant without a package.

What happens to the train?

Thankfully, Abby (not Abigail, thank you very much) saves the day by stopping The Heart of Britain just moments before it crashes into a station, leaving its hostages in a cloud of smoke but very much alive and well, luckily enough for Joe and his new pal Mouse.

Abby was able to stop the train by hacking red traffic lights near Victoria, as trains have an automatic safety feature where they will stop at a red light - saving the lives of the remaining passengers.

Joe and Abby meet for the first time on the platform, where they share a moment and Joe reveals that he plans to finally give himself up to the police and face the music after admitting that he did indeed steal £200,000 on a job back when he worked for the police.

Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter to discuss the ending, one person wrote: "I made it. I made it to the end of #Nightsleeper. The final episode contains the most unintentionally hilarious scene I've ever seen on British television. The motivations and behaviour of the villain make no sense whatsoever. Surrealist brilliance. A masterclass. I'm in awe."

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Another person added: "Finally made it to the end of #Nightsleeper. A real test of endurance. Don’t think I’ve ever shouted, “Oh for [expletive] sake!” so often at a TV. By the end I didn’t care who lived or died… including myself. Less like this please BBC."

However, not everyone disliked the ending, with one fan writing: "That’s probably the first time I’ve binged a BBC drama just because of the first episode, but I really enjoyed #NightSleeper. Just when I thought I’d predicted every twist - turns out, I hadn’t!

"Didn’t expect that ending, which did feel a little rushed, but great series overall," while another person wrote: "Finished #Nightsleeper and honestly one of the best things I have seen this year! Phenomenal cast and had you guessing until the very end, loved it.

All episodes of Nightsleeper are available to watch on BBC iPlayer