The Rumour Ending Explained: The Jaw-Dropping Twist Behind Sally McGowan's True Identity

Channel 5's The Rumour finally cashes in on the question it has been dangling from day one: who is Sally McGowan? The finale doesn’t just answer that — it untangles the whole messy web of suspects, school-gate gossip, vigilante outrage, and one very personal vendetta. Let’s walk through it without the noise.

The setup: Joanna vs. the whisper network

When Joanna (Rachel Shenton) moves to Flinstead, she stumbles across an online claim that Sally McGowan — the girl who killed five-year-old Robbie Harris when she herself was 10 — is living in town under a new name. Joanna tells the worst possible focus group: the schoolyard mums. It spreads like wildfire. Then things get ugly: vandalism, a mob, a Halloween death, a gas attack, a kidnapping. You know, community spirit.

The suspect carousel

First up is Sonia, Joanna's frosty next-door neighbor. Why her? Joanna points to a tattoo, a past stint in rehab, and that prickly vibe. It escalates fast: someone vandalizes Sonia's shop, a reporter blasts the rumor public, and an angry crowd shows up at her door. Then, on Halloween, Joanna's son Alfie finds Sonia dead while out trick-or-treating. It looks like suicide at first, but the police quickly call it murder.

Joanna doesn’t stop. She pivots to Kay, literally corners her with accusations, and only backs off when it’s clear Kay isn’t Sally. Not that Kay is safe — she later barely survives an attack of her own.

Even with threatening messages and getting fired, Joanna keeps digging. Michael (Samuel Anderson), her ex, and her mum Bea (Joanne Whalley) try to yank her back, and she ignores both. Next theory: Liz (Ellie Haddington), Bea's partner. Joanna links Liz’s painting style to a prison artwork she believes holds the key. She tracks down the painting… and the signature’s handwriting matches Bea's. It’s the moment the floor drops out. The show also throws in a stray detail that Joanna once went by the name Lucy — an odd aside that basically underlines how many identities have been in play without changing the core reveal.

Joanna confronts her mum in the finale. Bea admits it: she is Sally McGowan. She did not kill Sonia, and she did not try to kill Kay.

So who killed Sonia and terrorized Kay?

The behind-the-scenes saboteur is Rachel (Lucy Speed) — Joanna's friend and confidante, which is a bitter punchline. Rachel is Robbie Harris's sister. She cozied up to Joanna to siphon theories and then weaponized them: she tipped off the journalist, sprayed 'rumours kill' on Joanna's garage, killed Sonia by suffocation, and tried to gas Kay in her own home. Once she learns Bea is Sally, she kidnaps Alfie and lures Bea to a remote woodland cabin Rachel had previously shown Joanna. Yes, if you see 'Lucy' attached to this scene in some recaps, that’s the actor’s first name — the character is Rachel.

The cabin, the confession, the fire

Bea heads to the cabin alone. On the phone, she won’t tell Joanna where she is — just this:

'I will make everything alright.'

Inside, Rachel has doused the place in petrol and sedated Alfie. She wants a recorded confession — not a legal one, an emotional one — with Bea admitting she is evil and explaining why she killed Robbie. Rachel plans to kill herself and Alfie after she gets it, carrying out a lifetime mission drilled into her by a mother who, as Rachel tells it, only had her to replace Robbie.

One of the mums tips Joanna to the location, and she races over. Bea spots Joanna sneaking in and deliberately provokes Rachel, goading her into a lunge that sparks the fire. Joanna freezes — flames are her worst nightmare — but shakes it off, grabs Alfie, and gets him out. The cabin collapses with Bea and Rachel still inside.

The morning after

The town keeps chattering because, of course it does. Joanna and Michael reconcile, pack up, and leave with Alfie for an actual fresh start. Bea survives the fire and is later seen living with Liz in another country.

Key reveals at a glance

• Bea (Joanne Whalley) is Sally McGowan, the former child killer living under a new identity; she did not kill Sonia or attack Kay.
• Rachel (Lucy Speed), Joanna's friend, is Robbie Harris's sister and the true killer of Sonia; she also tried to kill Kay by filling her house with gas.
• Rachel manipulated the rumor mill: 'rumours kill' graffiti, tipping the journalist, and feeding chaos to flush Bea out.
• Alfie was kidnapped by Rachel and sedated in a petrol-soaked cabin, where Rachel demanded Bea confess on camera and planned a murder-suicide.
• Bea intentionally provoked Rachel, a fight started the fire, and Joanna rescued Alfie as the cabin collapsed.
• Aftermath: Joanna and Michael leave town with Alfie; Bea survives and relocates abroad with Liz.
• Side note on identities: a prison painting led Joanna to Bea via handwriting; the show even nods to past name changes, including a brief mention that Joanna once used 'Lucy,' though it doesn’t affect the core twist.

Where to watch

The Rumour is available in full now on 5.