Professor T season 3 finale spoilers follow.
What happened to Jasper's (Ben Miller) father has been a question that has long plagued fans of Professor T almost as much as it has troubled the enigmatic criminology lecturer himself.
Since that dramatic season-one finale, it has been teased that Jasper either killed his abusive father or that he may have been otherwise involved in his not-so-sweet papa's death.
After years of being subjected to his father's cruelty, Jasper's patchy, fragmented memories hint that he may have acted impulsively to protect his mother Adelaide (Frances de la Tour).
"He has these really strange visions of being a child and holding a shotgun to his father's chest," Miller told The One Show.
Avid fans will know that this moment occurred at a younger Jasper's seventh birthday celebrations, during which his father turned violent against Adelaide.
Jasper's initial attempt to defend Adelaide failed and he was pushed away by his father, which led to him taking up the gun.
Jasper's involvement in the season one finale, present-day case – where a young man confessed to killing his own father – triggered the memory of his own gun-wielding incident during which his father urged Jasper to "pull the trigger!"
A gunshot sounded but it was unclear whether or not it was from the present-day Jasper, who had lifted a gun off his mantlepiece, or 7-year-old Jasper, fresh from shooting his father.
This flashback certainly doesn't align neatly with that of his father's death – a supposed suicide. The lack of clarity surrounding this event has formed the basis of this three-season-long mystery.
Finally, Professor T's season three finale puts an end to all the speculation in answering that burning question. Was Jasper responsible for his father's death?
Did Jasper kill his father in Professor T?
The answer is revealed when Jasper begins probing into the reason behind Adelaide's recent injury.
Her fall down the stairs leading towards the attic has caused him to wonder what she was up there looking for.
He enlists the help of his reluctant therapist Dr Helena Goldberg (Juliet Stevenson).
After some gentle persuading, Helen agrees to enter the attic on his behalf and rummage for clues.
Helena very quickly discovers some diaries belonging to Adelaide and a damaged trophy of Jasper's, tinged with dried blood.
Despite bringing them down from the attic for Jasper to have a look at, neither one of their codes of ethics will allow them in good conscience to breach Adelaide's trust by reading her diaries.
The trophy, however, does trigger the memory of his seventh birthday and the image of his father's feet swaying in mid-air.
Jasper is then able to recall the voice of a man. No more comes of it but Helena can't let the smear of old blood go and so obtains his father's autopsy report.
After contacting the coroner who filed the report Helena learns that the bruising around Jasper's father's neck, caused from the hanging, may have occurred after his death. The fatal head injury, however, that "was apparently suffered when the rope was cut and his body fell," may not have occurred from the fall.
No police investigation was carried out at the time because that same coroner was influenced by an eyewitness – Adelaide's very good friend and respected professor of criminology Wilfred Hamilton (Douglas Reith).
The pieces begin to whir into place and Jasper deduces that the voice he heard in the cellar that day was Wilfred's. Filled with emotion, Jasper heads straight to the hospital to speak to Adelaide.
When he arrives, an agitated Jasper finds Wilfred there waiting for Adelaide to return from physio. He confronts Wilfred about being present at his father's death and bluntly asks, "Did you kill my father?" He then accuses him of the murder, and covering it up.
Adelaide returns ready to tell him the truth. It is then, during their chat, that Jasper discovers he did not kill his father and that his memories hadn't been entirely complete, but if not him, then who?
Who killed Jasper's father in Professor T?
Adelaide admits to Jasper that she was the one who killed his father.
Explaining the truth of that night she proceeds to tell him: "Your father loved you, Jasper, but he had problems."
She shares how his drunk father had hit her and held Jasper up by the throat after he'd attempted to come to her rescue.
Fearing that he would kill Jasper, Adelaide panicked and hit him with the trophy, delivering the fatal blow. While the young Jasper ran to the cellar, Adelaide called Wilfred who helped her cover up the murder as a suicide.
Jasper still can't recall any of the details and becomes distressed by the fact that, in all these years, his mother did not confess to him.
"My whole life, I've been blaming myself. He did it because he was ashamed of me because I was not worth living for," he tells Adelaide, which leads to a devastating exchange between mother and son.
Jasper calls her a narcissist, implying that she kept the truth from him not for his wellbeing, but for herself.
What happens to Adelaide after she reveals the truth about Jasper's father's death?
Adelaide killed Jasper's father and so, with that knowledge, the law-abiding Jasper is compelled to inform the police.
Helena attempts to dissuade him as he makes the call, but he tells her: "If I do not tell the truth, I do not know who I am."
Thankfully, it doesn't take much persuasion for him to be convinced to listen to Helena's advice and he hangs up the phone, shortly before breaking down into his handkerchief.
His tears are a manifestation of his breakthrough as a beaming Jasper admits: "I did not know I could do that."
He goes back to see Adelaide who is ready to take the burden off Jasper and confess to the police but there is no need, he has decided against reporting her.
She smiles and puts her hand on his own latex-bound hand when Jasper does the most remarkable thing. He takes off his glove and touches his mother's hand, bare skin to bare skin.
It truly is a special moment – one he marks by commenting: "This is not unpleasant."
All episodes of Professor T are available to stream on ITVX.
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TV writer, Digital Spy Janet completed her Masters degree in Magazine Journalism in 2013 and has continued to grow professionally within the industry ever since. For six years she honed her analytical reviewing skills at the Good Housekeeping institute eventually becoming Acting Head of Food testing. She also freelanced in the field of film and TV journalism from 2013-2020, when she interviewed A-List stars such as Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. In 2021 she joined Digital Spy as TV writer where she gets to delve into more of what she loves, watching copious amounts of telly all in the name of work. Since taking on the role she has conducted red carpet interviews with the cast of Bridgerton, covered the BAFTAs and been interviewed by BBC Radio and London Live. In her spare time she also moonlights as a published author, the book Gothic Angel.
