The Sixth Commandment ending explained

The Sixth Commandment is a gripping four-part drama about Peter Farquhar and Ann Moore-Martin, two retired, deeply religious neighbours who both got involved with charismatic student Ben Field.

The title is a reference to the Bible's sixth commandment which is "Thou Shalt Not Kill", something which Ben himself references multiple times throughout the series, even preaching about how bad murder is at one point.

Both Peter (Timothy Spall) and Ann (Anne Reid) were deeply religious but fell in love with Ben (Éanna Hardwicke), who drugged and murdered Peter and later preyed on Ann for her cash, while pretending to dote on them both.

Ben's actions shocked the village of Maids Moreton, Buckinghamshire, and he had managed to convince many people around him that he was just a loving, helpful member of the community when that couldn't have been further from the truth.

Throughout the course of the episodes, we follow Ben's relationship with both Peter and Ann, as well as his eventual capture by the police when his lies begin to unravel.

But what happened at the end of The Sixth Commandment? Here's everything you need to know.

The Sixth Commandment ending explained: What happened to Peter and Ann?

Before we get into Ben's trial, let's recap what happened to both Peter Farquhar and Ann Moore-Martin.

Ben prayed on Peter first, soon after meeting him while he was giving university lectures. He took advantage of Peter's closeted sexuality, manipulating him with love poems and caring gestures, until he eventually moved in with him.

Following this, Peter had changed his will to include Ben, a gesture which concerned his brother. But Peter was adamant he and Ben were in love and that he wanted to do this.

Ben carried on his manipulation of Peter, drugging his drinks with benzodiazepines and hallucinogens to "torment" him. Side effects of this included confusion, hallucinations and, most upsettingly of all, public humiliation at a book signing in front of all his friends.

He kept on tormenting Peter until one fateful night when he staged his death, making it look like he had drank himself to death, claiming that Peter was an alcoholic.

Ben later moved on to Peter's neighbour Ann Moore-Martin.

Ann also changed her will to include Ben after falling in love with him.

Ann later died of natural causes but had found out she was being conned and had removed Ben from her will prior to her death.

Did Ben Field get convicted?

Following the ordeal, Ben Field pleaded guilty to the lesser charges of drugging Peter Farquhar and defrauding both for the amount of £160,000 from Peter's will and £31,000 in cash "gifts" from Ann. However, he denied involvement in either of their deaths.

Ben Field was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 36 years behind bars in 2019 after jurors at Oxford Crown Court found him guilty of murdering Peter Farquhar.

Forensics concluded that Peter hadn't drunk enough ­alcohol for it to be fatal, while hair tests confirmed he'd been drugged for at least six months, which led to them having enough evidence to convict Ben of Peter's murder.

Mr Justice Sweeney's sentencing said that Ben's actions had been "clearly for gain" and that, when it came to Peter, there was "a significant degree of planning and premeditation, mental and physical suffering inflicted on the victim before death".

Since Ben Field was convicted in 2019 he remains in prison to this day.

He was also accused of plotting to kill Ann Moore-Martin but was found not guilty.