Playing Nice ending explained: who switched the babies Theo and David in ITV drama

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Playing Nice finally reveals who switched the babies in ITV thriller 🕵️‍♂️
  • Playing Nice has left viewers with plenty of questions.
  • The ITV drama revolves around two couples who discover their babies were swapped at birth.
  • But who switched the babies - and who ended up with custody of them?

Spoiler warning: This article continues details and plot information from Playing Nice episode four. Don’t read any further if you haven’t watched the episode yet.

ITV’s Playing Nice comes to a conclusion with a suitably dramatic ending. The thriller has had audiences talking since it premiered earlier in 2025.

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Viewers were left on tenterhooks waiting to find out who had swapped Theo and David as babies. While Pete and Maddie awaited the outcome of their court battle with the villainous Miles and his long-suffering wife Lucy.

The final episode airs on ITV tonight (January 13) - find out more about the TV schedule here. However it is available to binge on ITVX already and you may have watched the ending - but were left with questions about what went down.

One of the standout parts of Playing Nice is the beautiful Cornish locations - discover where it was filmed. And this is where you’ve seen the cast before.

Synopsis for finale of Playing Nice

The blurb for the final episode of Playing Nice reads: “The final court hearing looms and the fate of the boys' is set to be decided. Will Miles's twisted lies be exposed for what they are, or will Pete and Maddie lose everything?”

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James Norton in Playing Nice on ITVJames Norton in Playing Nice on ITV
James Norton in Playing Nice on ITV | ITV

What happened to Theo and David on Playing Nice?

Much of the episode revolved around the hearing which would decide which of the couples - Pete and Maddie, or Miles and Lucy - would get to keep the children. For much of the first half of the episode, the narrative successfully spun by Miles appeared to be winning the day - and it looked like Pete and Maddie would lose both children.

However in a major twist, a video recorded in the Lambert’s house revealed that Miles had been the one to feed the drugged gummies to Theo - causing him to be sent to hospital in episode three.

The boys remain with their current parents - Theo with Pete and Maddie, David with Miles and Lucy - in the aftermath. After the dramatic conclusion, it appears that Theo is still living with Pete and Maddie, while David lives with Lucy, although the show does not explicitly depict their living situations.

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Who swapped the babies on Playing Nice?

Lucy reveals that she was the one that was responsible for the babies being switched in the hospital. Telling a nurse that David was her son, not Theo - in a bid to save her son from Miles.

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How did Playing Nice end on ITV?

During episode four, after the judge is unable to make a decision on custody of Theo and David - Pete takes Theo for a walk and the young child asks for chips. While ordering the chips, Theo disappears.

A woman nearby informs Pete that she saw the child with a man who matches Miles’ description. Pete chases after them and spots Theo’s yellow coat in the water, rushing in to rescue him - but finding just the jacket.

Playing Nice on ITV.Playing Nice on ITV.
Playing Nice on ITV. | ITV

It turns out that Miles had just dropped the coat in the sea to make Pete ‘know how it feels’ to lose his son. Theo appears and is reunited with Pete - in a scene that has appeared prominently in the marketing.

After this incident, Maddie visits Lucy and asks to talk - with Maddie suggesting that it was Lucy who sent the video of Miles drugging Theo to the court. She urges Lucy to leave Miles, having witnessed him treating his wife aggressively after the latest hearing.

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The next morning, Lucy wakes and is unable to find David, instead discovering Miles staring out into the sea. He reveals that David is in the car and wants to ‘go for a picnic’.

Lucy attempts to ring Maddie, running water in the bathroom to disguise it. But Maddie doesn’t hear the ringing over the radio in her car.

Maddie eventually listens to the voice mail, Lucy begins to explain how the babies came to be switched. She reveals that it was her fault, that she told the nurse that the wrong baby was hers - in a bid to save Theo from Miles and his controlling behaviour.

Maddie races off after Lucy and Miles, desperate to save David. The Lamberts stop for a picnic on a cliff by the coast - with Miles getting aggressive with Lucy in a bid to get her to confess that she leaked the security footage to the court.

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Miles stands on the edge of the cliff with David until Lucy admits it was her. He tells his wife that he has “lost a family before”.

Maddie arrives in time to startle Miles as he appears to be preparing to throw David off the cliff. This gives Lucy time to strike him with a rock and free the boy from his grasp - the couple grapple and Miles appears to fall to his death.

Lucy calls the police, the couples tell the officers that Miles left “towards the coast”. The show then jumps forward three months and shows Pete and Maddie at the beach with Theo, while Lucy reads to David.

It ends on a slightly ambiguous note, seemingly suggesting that David is still living with Lucy - now that she is free of Miles. But the two families are shown to be close and have moved past the drama.

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What did you think of the ending of Playing Nice? Did it live up to your expectations - let me know by email: [email protected].

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