BBC The Listeners ending explained from The Hum to Claire's fate

The Listeners Follows the story of a teacher who becomes obsessed with a low humming sound that only she can hear, leading to devastating consequences.

Based on Jordan Tannahill's novel of the same name, the series centres around English teacher Claire (Rebecca Hall) and her student Kyle (Ollie West) as they start hearing a low hum that seems inaudible to others.

As Claire tries to find others who can also hear the hum, she finds herself increasingly distanced from her loved ones and discovers a questionable group claiming to hear the same mysterious sound known as "The Hum".

The four-part drama is currently available in full on BBC iPlayer, with The Listeners also airing weekly on BBC One at 9pm on Tuesdays.

The final episode of The Listeners brings the drama to a tragic conclusion and provides an explanation for the mysterious noise. Here's what happens in the ending of The Listeners.

What happened in The Listeners ending?

In the fourth episode, Claire embraces Omar and Jo's group as she becomes more isolated and distant from her husband Paul and daughter Ashley.

Claire starts experiencing more intense sensations from listening to The Hum as the wider world grows increasingly worried about the cult.

Kyle's mother arrives at the house with Paul and Ashley seeking answers, but the group remains steadfast and stays in the house. The police are called and later send armed officers when they learn that group member Damian has brought a gun.

The group members are deeply engrossed in their listening session when Claire becomes lost in her own euphoria. Suddenly, armed officers storm the garden, shooting ex-soldier Damian dead and student Kyle is caught in the crossfire.

Kyle dies in Claire's arms, leaving her sobbing uncontrollably. She seems to be experiencing both the pleasure of The Hum and the shock and pain of his death.

Omar and Jo are arrested while Claire is sectioned. Diagnosed with psychosis, Claire is eventually released to her family and attempts to resume her life and new teaching role.

Claire tells her family that the hum has disappeared, but there are signs she remains intrigued by the sound and what really happened.

Still grieving over Kyle's death, Claire soon needs additional psychological support. She looks up online whether a person can die from grief and how long it takes for a body to start smelling.

Claire visits the dilapidated shed where Kyle once lived, seemingly reconnecting with The Hum and seeing a vision of Kyle looking at her.

She also recalls lying on the grass with her former student. It's unclear from the final scenes what Claire is experiencing.

One interpretation could be that she still sees Kyle, suggesting she's still under the hallucinatory influence of The Hum. Alternatively, she could be mourning Kyle and accepting that her friend is truly gone.

Was The Hum in The Listeners real?

After Claire's sectioning in the final episode, we learned that The Hum was due to vibrations from a natural gas pipeline, as found by the local council.

However, the truth of this claim remains debatable. The Listeners maintains an atmosphere of uncertainty throughout the drama, hinting at possible non-natural causes for The Hum.