It started with a machine-gunned cat and last night the fourth and most successful series of Love/Hate ended with a strangled dentist.

Andrew, the middle-class dentist played by Los Angeles-based actor Peter O’Meara, met a violent end when he was rumbled for ratting out on a drugs shipment to the gardaí and killed with a plastic bag over his head by an increasingly demented Fran.

Compromised by his ill-advised visits to Nidge's brothel, Andrew found himself being used to import Lidocaine in industrial quantities into Ireland as a mixing agent for illegal drugs.

O'Meara's character may have come to an untimely fix in Love/Hate, but the actor himself will enjoy something of an afterlife as he has been co-opted into the three-part drama series Citizen Charlie about Charles Haughey.

Wayne, played by Barry Keoghan, caused consternation in the first episode among animal rights activists when he shot a cat.

Having tried to kill gang boss Nidge himself, Nidge brought the young protege into his confidence before dispatching him in last night’s episode.

With another series already in the production pipeline, the creators of Love/Hate were never going to kill off Nidge.

The viewing figures for last night's finale will not be available until today at the earliest, but RTÉ is hopeful they will be the highest ever for a Love/Hate episode.