Martin Compston, Tony Curran and Ashley Jensen in Mayflies
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Mayflies on BBC One: 4 burning questions we have after episode one

Will Tully go through with his plan to go to Switzerland?

Mayflies on BBC One has left us grabbing for the tissues after the first episode.

In the heartbreaking two-parter (which concludes tomorrow), we follow the friendship between Tully and Jimmy, from their teens to adulthood.

Over the years, the pair have built a strong bond with each other, almost like a brotherhood.

However, when Jimmy receives a call from Tully, he learns of some tragic news that turns his world upside down and puts their friendship to the test.

Here are the all the questions we are left with after the devastating first episode.

Martin Compston and Tony Curran sitting in the grass in Mayflies
Tully reveals some tragic news to his old friend Jimmy (Credit: BBC One)

Mayflies episode one: Why is Tully eager to go to Switzerland?

Episode one opens with Jimmy (Martin Compston) reciting a passage from his own book to a room of fans.

Jimmy is a wealthy and successful author living in London with his wife Iona.

However, his perfect life is interrupted when he receives a phone call from an old friend, Tully, asking him to meet with him.

Jimmy could tell that there was something important Tully needed to say, as he wanted to speak in person.

But none of us were expecting the devastating news that Tully had to share.

Tully revealed that he has cancer in his oesophagus, liver, stomach and lymph nodes and he only has four months left to live.

However, when Jimmy claimed that he’ll get another opinion, Tully shared that he’s not even considering chemo.

He said: “I’m doing this my way.”

And that includes choosing exactly how and when he dies.

He told Jimmy: “I want control. So write this down, item two, Switzerland.

“As soon as this gets bad, and it will soon, take me to Switzerland.

“When the bad times come I want to end it myself. I want to go to Switzerland and I need you to to sort it.”

Of course, Jimmy didn’t agree and said: “No! [bleep] no! Tully I love you but you can’t ask me to do that.”

But Tully has already made up his mind.

So why is Tully so determined to go to Switzerland? And will he actually go through with his plan?

Martin Compston and Tony Curran standing together
Martin Compston and Tony Curran portray Tully and Jimmy in Mayflies (Credit: BBC One)

How far will Jimmy go to help Tully?

Throughout the episode, we saw the strong brotherhood between Tully and Jimmy.

The pair became close when they were teens as their friendship ignited through their love of music and arts.

Despite their terrible relationships with their own family, the two boys had each other and they practically became brothers.

The two lads would do anything for each other, so when Tully asked Jimmy to sort out his trip to Switzerland, Jimmy was left with a terrible dilemma.

But just how far will Jimmy go?

Jimmy hasn’t told Tully’s new wife about his plan – will he actually agree to help him?

Ashley Jensen holding a bouquet in Mayflies
Ashley Jensen plays Anna in Mayflies (Credit: BBC One)

Mayflies episode one: Will Anna find out about Tully’s plan?

In episode one, we saw Anna (Ashley Jensen) have the biggest day of her life as she married Tully.

Anna is devastated that Tully has cancer and, before she agreed to marry him, she made him promise to give chemotherapy a try.

Tully then reluctantly agreed to do chemo in order to marry the love of his life before he passes away.

But, despite agreeing to do chemo, Tully’s plans to go to Switzerland were still in motion.

How long can he keep up his charade before telling Anna?

Will Anna eventually find out about Tully’s plan to go to Switzerland?

Matt Littleson lying on the floor in Mayflies
Matt Littleson plays Limbo in Mayflies (Credit: BBC One)

What happened to Jimmy and Tully’s friend Limbo?

Jimmy and Tully also met with their old friend Tibbs in episode one of Mayflies.

Tibbs was heartbroken by the news that Tully has cancer, but was convinced he could change his mind and make him stay around as long as possible.

He then went on to mention another one of their friends, Limbo.

He said: “We do everything we can to help him stay around, as long as humanly possible.

“We do for Tully what we should have done for Limbo.”

It then cut to a flashback of their friend Limbo being drunk in the bathroom.

When a young Jimmy tried to comfort Limbo, he said: “We had a good time though, didn’t we?

So who is Limbo and what exactly happened to him?

The next episode of Mayflies will air on Thursday, December, 29 at 9pm on BBC One.

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What did you think of episode one of Mayflies? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know.


Aaliyah Ashfield
Digital Marketing Apprentice