24/05/2024

At the Tearoom, Paul’s surprised to see Fallon looking so well after her drunken night out last week. That is until Fallon explains that she spent most of yesterday in bed at Kirsty’s. But now she feels like a reset button has been pressed and is feeling much better about everything. When Fallon notices Paul looking a bit uncomfortable, he says he’s fine. But later when Kirsty asks him if he’s got fleas or something, he brushes it off as sunburn. Later, Fallon starts to get flashbacks from her night out – and Kirsty’s forced to remind her of rapping and being thrown out of the club. Although Fallon’s embarrassed, it was also just what she needed, and she now feels she’s drawn a bit of a line. And Harrison seems much happier in himself too. Fallon was dreading her birthday, but now she’s looking forward to it with Harrison.Justin mentions to Fallon that there’s been no further cases of Strangles at The Stables. Things are still fraught there though with Oliver’s horse still struggling. Justin’s worried about Lilian which is why he’s insisted she take a lunch break. When Lilian talks about how stressed she is, Justin broaches finding a replacement for Alice. Lilian’s defensive, pointing out that alcoholism is a disease. And anyway Alice didn’t do anything wrong, any horse can get Strangles. Justin concedes that they do at least need to look at the practicalities. He’ll compromise by sounding out a few potential replacements on a no obligation basis, just so they’re prepared for the worst. Lilian agrees as long as Justin’s discreet.

Alan and Harrison meet in the church for private prayers and meditation for Harrison to think about his loss. Before they start Alan checks that this time Fallon knows what he’s doing, but Harrison hasn’t told her because it always leads to a row. He wants these prayers to be unspoiled. Afterwards Harrison feels more at peace with everything, and Alan says he’ll remember both Harrison and Fallon in his prayers. But he reminds Harrison that he ought to let Fallon know what he was doing and why.Fallon’s out on the town with Kirsty, celebrating her birthday early. She’s told Harrison that she’s staying at Kirsty’s and watching a film. Fallon just wants a night away from all the recent angst with Harrison. They agree not to talk about anything work or man-related. As the evening goes on Fallon gets tipsy and tells Kirsty she bumped into Lily, Paul and Josh in the bar. Paul’s there trying to take his mind off his relationship troubles with Etienne. Fallon’s agreed to go on to a club with them afterwards, commenting that it’s good to have mates – she’s glad she’s got Kirsty. As the evening progresses Fallon gets drunker, but Kirsty stays with her. When Fallon opens up about how she feels that people are trying to control her personal life, Kirsty counsels that sometimes it’s not about control. There are people out there who love her. Fallon adds that there’s also fun out there as well as worries, so she’s going to dance the night away!

Stella can’t get over yesterday’s cyber-attack – she should’ve been prepared, but Pip thinks Stella shouldn’t blame herself and anyway Stella may not have been responsible. When Stella starts catastrophising, Pip checks whether everything’s been saved on to the cloud and Stella confirms it has. So nothing’s been lost. Later they discover that it was Brian’s fault – he’d clicked on a link and let the virus in. Stella praises Pip for dealing with it all so calmly, when she’d fallen to pieces.Lily and Josh check in with Paul about his relationship with Etienne. Paul’s very unhappy, particularly when Josh let’s slip that he thinks Etienne is dull and then Lily confirms it. They wonder if Paul might be better off without Etienne, especially as it sounds like he wants to cheat on Paul. Paul’s not sure if he wants to end the relationship yet, but he does want to take Lily and Josh out to thank them for being true mates.The Grundys discuss what they should do about Bartleby – Meg needs to know whether they’re willing to sell him by the end of the day. But when they share what they think, they all have opposing views. Later they ask for Oliver’s help, and he suggests holding a secret ballot with family members who can text their votes to him. As there’s an even number of voters, Oliver will have the casting vote if there’s a draw. In the end Oliver declares that selling Bartleby has won by a single vote.

Stella asks for Pip’s opinion on a sustainability paper she’s writing for Borchester Land. Stella agrees when Pip suggests commissioning an ecological survey of all the BL land. But as Stella’s about to add that to her document, the computer starts to crash. Pip realises it’s a cyber-attack, telling Stella to shut it down immediately.Kirsty catches up with Fallon to ask what she wants to do for her birthday next week. Fallon says truthfully she’d just like to spend it with Harrison. She’s missed being close with him. They’re interrupted by Alan who mentions that he’s on his way to see Harrison about the order of service. Fallon knows nothing about it and is upset when she realises it’s a service for the loss of unborn babies. Alan’s apologetic, realising Harrison didn’t tell Fallon, and makes a quick exit leaving upset Fallon to wonder how Harrison could do this to her.Furious Fallon confronts Harrison about organising the service behind her back. He tries to explain that he and Alan were only looking at it as a possibility. He didn’t mention it because he wasn’t sure how Fallon would react. Fallon feels betrayed. Harrison has really tried but he can’t turn his feelings off. Harrison goes and Fallon tells Kirsty she’s changed her mind - she wants to go out and celebrate her birthday with Kirsty before next week.Alan counsels Harrison, saying he needs to acknowledge his own grief. Perhaps instead of a service, Harrison and Alan could have a private time of prayer. But Harrison needs to tell Fallon this time.

Lily and Josh discuss Paul’s boyfriend Etienne, who’s asked for an open relationship. Paul’s really down about it. Josh thinks Paul would be better off without dull Etienne and they wonder what they can do to help. They decide that it’s best to keep their distance - Paul only has to ask if he needs any support.Lilian visits Paul at the Vets to discuss Oliver’s horse Duke, who’s not showing any signs of improvement from his Strangles infection. Lilian notices Paul’s not himself and asks Josh what’s wrong. When Josh says it’s boyfriend trouble, Lilian points out that Paul’s lucky to have Lily and Josh as housemates to shore him up. Later Lily agrees with Josh that it would be better if they reached out to Paul.George tells Emma that someone called Meg Mellor really took to Bartleby at the County Show on Sunday. He’s invited her over to see Bartleby in his home environment – there might be a commercial opportunity in it, like sponsorship for Bartleby or buying online advertising around George’s posts. She might even make a charitable donation which would help with vets fees. Emma’s surprised when she discovers Meg’s visiting today. When she arrives early, Emma learns that Meg wants to buy Bartleby. She runs a sanctuary for veteran horses, and she’d really like Bartleby to be a companion pony. Ed thinks they should tell Meg to sling her hook but is stopped in his tracks when he hears how much she’s willing to pay for Bartleby.

Lilian and Paul look over Oliver’s horse Duke, who’s struggling with Strangles. Lilian confides to Paul that she feels she hasn’t managed the situation at The Stables very well – she wouldn’t blame Oliver if he held her entirely responsible for this whole disaster. There’s no guarantee that Duke will survive this. Later when she visits Oliver, he’s understanding and apologises for being snappy last week. Lilian opens up saying she thinks she’s losing her grip by failing to control the spread of Strangles. Oliver knows exactly how she feels – he’s felt like that in the past with Grey Gables, but it turned out alright. With Roy away, Oliver feels that chaos could be one step away again. But we cope, he says! Lilian’s comforted and admits she thought Oliver would shout at her about Duke. She’s not a flimsy woman, but Oliver’s sympathy has made her feel tearful.Lily and Josh sunbathe in the garden and chat about Paul’s messages from Denise who’s having a great time on holiday. Lily muses that now she’s finished her course for the summer and her placement at Grey Gables is coming to an end, it’s going to be the start of her hot girl summer. She’s going to a spin class at Grey Gables as part of her summer plans to get tanned, then toned. Paul turns up saying he’ll join her at the class as he needs a distraction. They have fun but afterwards Paul receives a text from boyfriend Etienne, wanting to open up their relationship. Paul worries that it might signal the end for him.

When Alan catches up with Harrison, he admits that although things are now good with Fallon, he can’t get away from a nagging feeling about the miscarriage. Alan advises talking to Fallon, but Harrison doesn’t want to rock the boat. When Alan suggests doing something practical, Harrison says he’s already applied for a baby loss certificate, to acknowledge it happened. Alan wonders whether he would also consider a Church of England service for the loss of unborn babies, but if so Harrison would need to share it with Fallon. Later Harrison tells Alan he’d like to do the service and Alan suggests calling round later in the week to talk to both Harrison and Fallon. Harrison’s not sure about putting Fallon in the picture, but he’ll definitely let Alan know if Fallon’s not going to be there.Ed and Emma are at the Borsetshire County Show where Bartleby’s the star attraction in his VIP enclosure. George looks miserable though, but they agree that the recent hero worship may’ve affected him. Will arrives with the ‘Little Grange Tree Surgery’ flyers and business cards to distribute, and Ed gets a phone call. It’s a local tree surgeon needing emergency help to clear a tree from a road. Ed and Emma accept the job, leaving Will and George to do publicity work. Afterwards Ed and Emma are delighted - their business is up and running! Will’s less delighted at being left leafletting, but mentions a woman who was keen on Bartleby. But despite being a celebrity, Bartleby is costing them more that he’ll ever make.

Fallon and Harrison wake up together feeling close again, but she checks he was ok that they just cuddled? Of course. Harrison looks for Jolene at the Bull and shares good news with Kenton – Markie has been arrested for receiving stolen goods and should be facing jail. Kenton asks about Fallon and Harrison admits that recently has been the worst time they’ve faced together. Kenton and Jolene really care about Harrison - Fallon is like a daughter to Kenton, and Harrison is like a son.Fallon feels that things are on the up, and Harrison comments about the importance of finding justice for hurt loved ones. Fallon knows what he really means and asks that they don’t go there.Jakob instructs Lilian on dealing with Strangles, and she feels like crying. Lilian is critical of Justin over his assumptions that Alice’s drinking is connected to problems at the Stables and Jakob thinks Justin’s being unfair.Oliver hopes his horse, Duke, will survive, and acknowledges that the Stables have just been incredibly unlucky. But Lilian confesses that she can’t find the essential paperwork about Cinnamon, the original horse with Strangles – which means she could be seen to be personally at fault for trusting Alice. However, Lilian phones Oliver again, relieved to have found it, and to reassure him. Oliver is cool with Lilian and suggests she get to the bottom of what happened so that it doesn’t happen again.Jakob looks over Duke again and tells Lilian he’s sorry, but he can’t make any promises about whether the horse will survive.

Chelsea and Ben prepare for their D-Day performance, dressed in authentic costume. Ben carefully asks Chelsea if she’s ok about doing this play with him, and she agrees. Ben also fills Chelsea in on Freddie and Vince’s discovery last night. Chelsea does Fallon’s hair and Fallon’s amazed at how much she looks like her Great Aunt in her photo. Chelsea jokes about how much Harrison will fancy Fallon in her vintage look, and admits that she’d like to fall in love, before sharing that it’s weird that everyone knows about what happened between her and Ben – but doing this play has actually been good for them both. Joy tells Emma about Mick’s work at Grey Gables, and the issue of his motorhome, and Emma complains about snobbery. They share a joke with Harrison, before Lynda introduces her short play performance - a promenade piece. Ben performs as a young soldier, writing a letter home to his beloved before their wedding, in which he dreams about their life together after the war. Then there’s a playful hair-washing scene between Pearl (Chelsea) and Connie (Fallon), which takes a sad turn. An emotional Emma and Joy congratulate Chelsea and discuss the story – the soldier was killed the day before starting leave to get married, and it was all a true story. Chelsea finds Ben to say well done. Meanwhile, Fallon marvels at how Lynda wrote the play in a day and tells Harrison that she can’t imagine what she’d do if he died. Harrison comforts Fallon and jokingly reassures her he’s not going anywhere.

George admits to Emma that he’s keen to forget about his recent heroism, and she agrees not to go on about it. Emma was really worried about George going down a bad path, but now she knows it was just a phase. Emma saw Lilian and wonders whether Alice will be sacked from the Stables for negligence. Ed and Emma talk disparagingly, but guilty George tries to find out more about Alice, admitting he feels a bit sorry for her.Ed and Emma’s luck seems to be in – there’s an offer of work from a more established tree surgeon, and thanks to George, Bartleby has been asked to lead the County Show livestock parade on Sunday. Ed also sees an email from an Echo journalist who wants to interview George about the car accident. But George has already said no, and Emma offers to email her back. Ed doesn’t get it, but Emma tells him to leave it.Vince plans to do some detective work following the sacking of Jason. Freddie wants to come along on a stakeout and wins Vince round by offering his more low-key car. They chat about Nigel - Vince wonders whether Nigel would like him. Freddie pays Vince a backhanded compliment in response. Vince can’t believe his eyes – it’s Markie, the guy involved in the dog attack on Kenton and who then intimidated Jolene. Vince suggests they take his number plate, and some photos, to show to the police. But Freddie takes the initiative and gets out of the car to approach Markie, under cover as someone buying meat.