ITV viewers were left emotional on Monday evening as the finale of Sheridan Smith's latest thriller No Return hit screens.
The ITV drama has followed the Powell family as their Turkish family holiday turned into a sexual assault accusation nightmare, which left Noah Powell facing a 12-year jail sentence.
His mum Kathy, played by Sheridan Smith, has done everything in her power to convince the authorities that her son is innocent.
The series concluded with a courtroom drama in the final 10 minutes, as defendant Noah stood before Turkish judges to plead his case on the sexual assault accusation levelled by 15-year-old Milo, after the pair met during a beach party and hit it off.
Noah told the judges in the courtroom that he made it clear he was attracted to the Spaniard, prompting the pair to slip away in the hotel grounds to a quieter spot, where Milo claimed Noah forced himself on the teen.
Noah wholly rejected the accusation and finally explained his side of what happened during a statement in the courtroom on Monday night’s dramatic finale.
He said the pair had started kissing and that “things got pretty heated pretty quickly”, only for Milo’s mum, who we learned is a devout Christian and part of a group that engages in gay conversion therapy, to call repeatedly.
Noah said of the calls: “And a look crosses his face like he's suddenly seeing himself from the outside.”
He went on to describe how a furious Milo then spat at him, leaving Noah confused and assuming it was an invitation for rough sex.
Noah continued to detail their sexual exchange, but said that when Milo’s mum again called, he “pulled away”, gave him a look of hatred and fled the scene, then reporting the incident to the police as a sexual assault.
The head judge gave a closing statement to the court in which he told Noah he had “taken his desires too far”, touching on the defendant’s “anger issues”, but said that what happened was “almost certainly consensual”.
But the judge went on to say that as Milo was 15-years-old, regardless of the fact that he was wearing a blue wristband signalling he was 16 or over, a crime had been committed.
The judge said that due to his age and the lack of a risk to the public, Noah would be given a three-year suspended sentence, allowing him to leave Turkey and return home to Manchester with his family.
ITV viewers took to Twitter in the show's closing moments to praise the ending and the stellar performances throughout the four-part series.
One wrote: "Cried my eyes out at the end of that...Could happen to anyone's kid" alongside a string of crying emojis, as another tweeted: "Sheridan Smith absolutely brilliant drama! In floods at the end!!"
A third chimed: "I'm so glad he made it out of prison, but I’m also gutted because I’m guessing there won’t be another series!"
"Wow! Well done to everyone at No Return. What a real eye opening, gripping drama. Brilliantly written and incredibly acted. Sheridan Smith, Mike Jibson and all the cast and crew, absolutely fantastic!" another tweeted.
A fellow ITV fan said: "That was a remarkable explanation by Noah, not being accepted for who you are and who you love will always affect every aspect of you're life but Noah speaking from his heart has saved him and in part redeemed the crazy sub stories. Noah was the story"
Another social media user posted: "No Return Well, thank goodness for that!! The story ended in a good way. Noah got to go home! We need some good news at the moment!"
