Vigil: how many episodes of the BBC series are there, is episode 6 the last, and will there be a series 2?

BBC drama Vigil has been a hit with viewers since it premiered during the August bank holiday.

The show, described by cast member Paterson Joseph as “the wet Line of Duty,” has already become the BBC’s most watched drama of 2021.

The series stars Line of Duty’s Martin Compston as Craig Burke, a Navy comrade in charge of monitoring the ship’s direction, and I am Victoria’s Suranne Jones as DCI Amy Silva, leading an investigation into a death on board the vessel.

Vigil has now run for five episodes, airing weekly on Sundays on BBC One at 9pm.

So, how many more episodes are there and will there be a second series? This is what we know so far.

How many episodes of Vigil are there?

Vigil consists of six, 60 minute episodes.

The final episode will air this Sunday, 26 September on BBC One.

All previous episodes are available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

What has happened so far?

**spoilers**

The thriller-drama follows DCI Silva as she is deployed onto HMS Vigil in Scotland, with the task of solving the murder of Craig Burke.

The series follows Silva as determines whether the death, which came shortly after a fishing trawler vanished at sea, was an accident or something far more sinister.

The series is set almost entirely aboard HMS Vigil, a nuclear submarine. The confined spaces and risk of a murderer at large makes for a sense of claustrophobia, anxiety and fear among the crew.

Silva is helped by her right-hand woman, DCI Kirsten Longacre, who helps her from dry land.

Longacre exposes Silva to the secret and questionable relationship between Elliot Glover (Shaun Evans) and Tiffany Docherty, using a coded message.

However, that is not the only compromising relationship as it is revealed Silva and Longacre have also dated in the past.

When Longacre tracks murder victim Craig Burke’s girlfriend, Jade, in a bid to understand his acquaintances and interests, she finds her also murdered.

The investigation also uncovered a vital incident which occurred while Vigil crew were on shore leave in Florida, when classified documents were exposed by Burke - including a photo of Glover and Docherty together.

MI5 revealed to the police that the suspected murderer of Jade was a Russian spy with diplomatic immunity. After the discovery that there is a Russian spy on board Vigil, a decision is made to recall the submarine, but there is no response.

Vigil is out of power and as Silva continues her hunt for Burke’s killer, suspect and Vigil cook Jackie Hamilton is found dead.

Episode five seemed to point to the perpetrator who killed Craig Burke. The investigation of Hamilton’s sudden death results in fears she was contaminated with a poisonous nerve agent.

When Silva returns from investigating Hamilton’s body, she is overpowered by Doward, the officer who replaced Burke. Doward traps her in the torpedo tube and starts to fill it with seawater.

Will there be a second series of the BBC drama?

There has been no confirmation as to whether Vigil will run for another series, with the ending to series one still to air and no hints that the story could continue.

The success of the initial series could lead to the BBC commissioning a further storyline, this article will be updated if and when a second season is announced.