The Game episode 3 recap: Huw is framed for murder, but who else is dead?

The Game is a gripping four-part thriller that sees a retired detective suspect his new neighbour is, in fact, the notorious serial killer he failed to catch.

Jason Watkins plays DI Huw Miller, who can’t quite settle into retirement, as he remains haunted by the memories of a case he failed to solve - that of serial killer, The Ripton Stalker.

But when the handsome and enigmatic Patrick Harbottle, played brilliantly by Robson Green, moves into a house on his street and utters the chilling phrase ‘catch you later’ - the sinister sign-off the stalker used to taunt Huw - he’s confident he’s got his man.

As an intense cat-and-mouse game between the neighbours ensues, will Huw finally be able to beat his most-feared opponent?

Here is everything that happened in The Game episode 3...

The third episode opens with Huw waking up on Patrick's sofa after passing out in his lounge the night before. He is terrified when he hears Patrick upstairs and gets his shoes on as quickly as he can, making a bid for freedom. But Patrick catches him and acts like nothing happened the night before, and offers him a coffee. Huw confronts him about spiking his drink and Patrick pretends he doesn't know what he is talking about. Huw says he remembers him admitting he is the Ripton Stalker, but Patrick says he is confused and manipulates the conversation to make it sound like Huw was drunk and talking nonsense before passing out. There is a change in Huw, however, as he is angry and lashes out at Patrick when he mentions Frank's name, telling Patrick that he knows he killed his friend and that he is the Ripton Stalker. He tells Patrick that he is coming for him and will put him in prison, but Patrick fobs him off by telling him he is still drunk.

When he gets home, Margot tells him he isn't allowed into the house. They fight on the doorstep and she tells him that he is sick and needs to get better.

With nowhere else to go, Huw goes to see Ruth, but she doesn't answer. He gets back in his car and calls Jenny, but when she doesn't pick up, he leaves a message asking her to call him back urgently.

Back at home, Patrick bumps into Steve on the street and asks after his work trip - but Steve is more worried about Liz after she confessed to thinking someone was in their house. Patrick plays dumb and tells Steve that Huw was in his house last night, putting him in the frame. Steve seems shocked, and tells Patrick that when Huw failed to catch the Ripton Stalker he had a breakdown and so has form for odd behaviour. Patrick uses this to his advantage and says that it could have been Huw in their house, planting the seed of suspicion in Steve's mind.

Huw goes to see someone called Declan, who the police thought was the Ripton Stalker. Declan isn't happy to see Huw and tells him he ruined his life. Huw says he doesn't think he is a killer now and that something has happened and he needs his help. But Declan doesn't want to know and races back into his flat.

Jenny and her colleague go to see Ruth, but when there is no answer, they break in and find her dead in her bedroom. She has been bound by her wrists and ankles and is covered in blood. Jenny tells her colleague that she has seen this before, referring to how the Ripton Stalker bound his victims before killing them.

At the police station, Huw has gone to see Jenny, but she isn't there, not realising that she is at Ruth's house, which is now a major crime scene. When Jenny doesn't appear to talk to, Huw goes to leave the station, but calls Ruth on the way out. He leaves a voicemail in which he explains he is sorry for hurting her, and that he knows it is too late now, but that he can't stop getting things wrong. He is apologising for the fact he took her to see Patrick at the shop, but it sounds like he is apologising for killing her and Jenny is in Ruth's house listening to the voicemail play out.

Alice gets home from work to find Margot sitting in the kitchen having a coffee with Patrick. He gaslights them both by telling them he is worried about Huw and that he ended up passing out drunk on his sofa last night, leaving out the bit about how he drugged him. He manipulates the moment by hinting that Huw is unravelling and asks Alice how she puts up with him. But she seems to be getting wise to his nice-guy act and tells him that Margot is too young for him and kindly but firmly guiding him to the door and out of her house.

Huw manages to get Declan to open the door and he goes inside his flat to talk about the Ripton Stalker case. Declan says he still gets bricks through his windows even though he was proven not to be the killer, but people have seen his face on TV and his life is ruined. He tells Huw that he couldn't have killed the victims as the only one he knew is Ruth, and that all the links to the other victims must have been planted by the real killer. Huw tries to put the pieces of the case together as they talk, realising that the real killer must have seen Declan stalking Ruth and that is how he came up with the idea to frame him. Huw says he needs to work out why the real killer framed Declan, but Declan turns on him, telling Huw that he is as bad as the Ripton Stalker, because he ruins people's lives like him and Ruth, and that no one is better off for having Huw in their lives. Huw doesn't like what Declan is saying, so he leaves, but Declan has clearly struck a chord.

At the police station, Jen is shocked to hear that Huw has been placed at the scene of the crime the night Ruth was killed by a neighbour's witness statement. She is cross that he went back to her house after he promised he wouldn't, and her colleague thinks that this means Huw is the Ripton Stalker. But Jenny says she was wrong and Ruth's death isn't the same as the past Ripton Stalker killings, that this is a copycat killing because while it is similar, the stabbings are different, and the rope used to tie Ruth up is different. Jenny's colleague wants to bring Huw in for an interview, but she defends him, saying he was a good boss and all the links he has to Ruth's murder are circumstantial.

Patrick is talking to Tina outside their houses and she says she is feeling creeped out by the fact someone was in Liz's house. She also asks him about Huw being in his house and he makes out that the twins could have been in danger after she asked Huw to babysit and tells her to call him if anything happens. Patrick is very clever to make sure he doesn't actually say Huw is the stalker, but instead just plants seeds of doubt to make people think Huw is dangerous. Paul comes out of the house and asks Tina what Patrick said, but when she says he was just being friendly, Paul says he is going off Patrick since he started spreading rumours about Huw, telling his wife that Huw is a good man.

Alice meets Huw in the park and she gives him some food and water, plus Frank's postmortem that he asked for. He wants to see if there is anything that could have knocked Frank out before he was killed, and he sees that a natural substance is on the report, which could be the same thing Patrick used to drug him the night before. But as he gets excited, thinking he is cracking the case and telling Alice that Patrick admitted to being the Ripton Stalker the night before, she gets angry, telling him that he is drowning and that she won't let him take her down with him. Alice says she can't do it anymore, and that if he is so convinced Patrick is a killer, then either prove it or drop it, otherwise, their marriage is over.

That night, Liz wakes and hears someone downstairs in their house. She wakes Steve and he goes down to see who is down there... but when he gets into the living room he sees the back patio doors are open and a golf club is left on the floor. The next morning, Patrick ironically makes everyone feel safe by installing a video camera outside Steve and Liz's house, and they are grateful. Everyone is talking about how to stop Huw breaking into their houses, like it is definitely him, and Patrick asks if the golf club is Huw's. Liz says she has called the police but they haven't sent anyone around yet, probably because Huw is ex police, but as they talk, it is clear that Paul isn't buying Patrick's nice-guy act.

Later, Paul calls Huw, who has been sleeping in his car. He says he wants to see him and talk about Patrick, but while he is on the phone, Patrick is watching from his van.

Paul meets Huw in a pub and tells him that Steve and Liz were broken into last night. Huw asks if things were moved around but nothing stolen, and Paul seems surprised he knows this. He tells Huw that everyone thinks it is him, but that he thinks Patrick is being devious and gaslighting everyone. Huw tells Paul that Patrick is dangerous and so Paul offers to help snoop around Patrick's house. Huw says it is too dangerous and that he shouldn't get involved, and, as Paul leaves the pub, we see Patrick has been watching them through the window from his van.

In the pub, Huw listens to the voice recording of his conversation with Declan and listens to the bit about the ballet dancer ornament that he found in an antiques shop and thought of Ruth. The mention of the ornament triggers something in Huw's memory and he races back to see Declan.

Huw is all wound up about the statue and asks Declan why he needed to get it fixed up - he explains that he dropped it when he first bought it, and the arm broke, so he took it to a repair shop and a man fixed it for him. Huw is desperate to know what the man in the repair shop looked like, but Declan says it was years ago and he can't remember, but he was charming, did a good job fixing the figure and took a photo of him after seeing how pleased he was with the repair job.

Back at home, Huw goes to find a USB with the case files on it, and Margot is shocked to see him there. He tells her he is sorry for hurting her and that he promises one day he will make her proud.

Huw then goes to Paul's and together they go through the case files from the other victims of the Ripton Stalker. In the photos from the second person killed, they find a receipt from Patrick's repair shop, and Huw realises this is the link between all the victims - Patrick's repair shop.

In the shop, we see Patrick looking at Polaroid pictures, but we can't see what the photos are of.

At the police station, Jenny is typing up a report when her colleague comes to see her and says forensics found something under Ruth's mattress and it is one of the cufflinks that she gave to Huw when he retired. She is stunned and races off to see Huw to confront him.

However, Huw is at Patrick's repair shop where he sees a wall of Polaroid photos that have been made, all with seemingly happy customers with their mended items, but one of the pictures is of Declan. Huw's blood runs cold as he sees it, just as Patrick comes through to the front of the shop from his workshop. Huw tells Patrick that he knows who he is, but Patrick is his usual charming self and pretends he doesn't know what Huw is talking about when he asks if all the victims are on that wall.

As Huw leaves the shop, he tells Patrick 'Catch you later' as he goes out to his car, but it won't start. Hitting a stumbling block, Huw calls Paul for help and asks him to go into Patrick's garden and get the spare key from under the gnome. Patrick tells him he needs to go in and out in a flash, but he has to get the case that is under his bed. Paul tells him he knows the one, and it is because he has already been in Patrick's house and got the briefcase. Huw is shocked that Paul has gone rogue and tells him to stay put until he gets there.

Meanwhile, Alice and Margot are talking about Huw and Margot asks her mum if they are getting a divorce. Alice says no, and that she didn't believe Patrick was the stalker at first, but then when she saw him with Margot the other morning, she saw something in his eyes that made her think he is a killer. Alice tells Margot she is going to call Huw and ask him to come home.

Meanwhile, Huw gets a taxi back to his street after his car broke down and Steve sees him getting out. He demands answers, believing it is Huw who has been breaking into his house. But Huw doesn't want to talk, he is determined to get to Paul and see what is in the briefcase, convinced he is close to catching Patrick.

But, when he gets to Paul's house, the front door is open. He calls out for Paul but there is no answer and he sees the briefcase on the table, which he opens and sees cut-out images of all the Riptson Stalker's victims. However, while he is looking, Huw hears a noise and goes into the kitchen, where he finds Paul bleeding to death on the floor and a bloody knife next to him. As Huw tries to stop the bleeding, the police arrive and Jenny is shocked to see Huw covered in Paul's blood and leaning over him like he has just killed him.

As the ambulance arrives for Paul, Huw is cuffed and Alice comes out of her house, shocked to see her husband being arrested for murder. Tina gets home and sees the commotion at her house and is oblivious to what has happened to her husband.

As a crowd gathers on the street, Huw is put into the back of a police car, and through the window, he sees Patrick standing in the crowd, who smiles sinisterly at him and gives him a wink before he is driven away.

The Game airs on Channel 5 over four consecutive nights from Monday, May 12 to Thursday, May 15 at 9pm. It is also available to stream on 5.