The Shawicks

Last Updated February 1st 2004

The Shadwick family moved into No 6 Brookside Close in April 1998, although the head of the household Greg appeared several weeks before this. Greg a builder and his son Jason were seen working on Brookside Parade carrying out some work at Elanor Kitson's office.

Jimmy Corkhill was having trouble with the plumbing at No 10 and asked Greg to do some repairs for him. It was while working at Jimmy’s house that Greg discovered No 6 was for sale and although it was a bit small for his family, Greg decided to buy it, intending to build an extension on the back later. Joining him on the close were his wife Margi, son Jason and daughters Nikki and Emily. Margi worked as a union representative, Nikki was a student at a local college while Emily the youngest, attended Brookside Comprehensive School.

Greg was always on the lookout for more work and was pleased when his estimate to build an extension was accepted by neighbor Ollie Simpson. Margi was constantly nagging Greg to do work on their bungalow and although he did his best, Greg's customers always came first.

Greg had hoped the income from the building work at the Simpson's house would enable him to spend more money on his own house, but when the Simpson's moved away without settling their account Greg was left to foot the bill for the building supplies.

Meanwhile Jason was having problems of his own, he discovered his girlfriend Katrina was pregnant. After much thought he and Katrina decided it would be better if she were to have an abortion, something that Greg strongly disagreed with. Jason and Greg argued about this resulting in Jason moving out for a while until Greg accepted that Katrina and Jason had made the right decision.

Emily was keen on athletics at school something that both Greg and Margi supported, but unfortunately at the same time they dismissed Emily's claims that her athletics instructor Mr Abbott was pushing her too hard.

Nikki was enjoying life to the full as a student, but the events of one night were to have a devastating effect on her. Nikki was invited to a party at the Johnson’s house and although at first she enjoyed herself, later in the evening she felt unwell. Mike Dixon who was with her at the time took her to an upstairs bedroom, where he left her having a lie down until she recovered. Unknown to Nikki, her drink had been spiked with a drug which made her unaware of what was going on. The effects of the drug made Nikki sleep through until the morning.

When she woke in Gemma’s room the next day she discovered her clothing had been disturbed and later realised she had been raped. When Nikki heard Mick return to the house she panicked and threw the bed sheet out of the window to hide any traces of what had happened, as she was frightened of anyone finding out. When she left the Johnson's house a short while later she hid the bed sheet in a dustbin bag outside the bungalow along with some building rubbish. At first Nikki only told Katrina about the events of the night before, but after some coaxing told Margi and Greg.

The police were called, several suspects were interviewed and eventually Luke Musgrove was arrested and charged with rape.

Meanwhile Emily was having a bad time at school, being continually harassed by her Mr Abbott who believed she should do better at school athletics. After one training session at the school, Margi who had been watching Emily train, caught Mr Abbott shouting at her so told him to leave Emily alone. Margi reported him to the school head ( Mr Thornton ) for bullying her daughter although he was reluctant to take any action.

Greg meanwhile was feeling neglected by Margi as she spent more and more time working away from home home. While working at Susannah’s house he found himself attracted to her and soon discovered the feeling was mutual. Greg had an affair with Susannah which lasted for several weeks before his guilty conscience made him decide to stop seeing her and devote his attention to Margi instead.

After Katrina’s abortion she and Jason split up for a while but later were reconciled, Jason was delighted a few weeks later when she accepted his proposal of marriage.

Although Greg tried to stay away from Susannah it was not long before he changed his mind about ending their affair and they were soon seeing each other again. Greg even arranged for them to stay at a hotel for a weekend while Margi was away on a conference.

Meanwhile the day of Nikki's court case arrived, with the Shadwick's fully expecting Luke to be found guilty. After hearing all the evidence the jury delivered a not guilty verdict causing dismay amongst the Shadwicks while the Musgroves were delighted that Luke had been found innocent.

Luke's joy was short lived when the judge decided to send him to prison anyway for absconding while on remand.

Jason also had problems to contend with, first with school teacher Miss Farris who tried to seduce him, and later when Katrina took up modeling. At first Jason didn't mind her choice of career but changed his mind when he saw pictures of Katrina wearing a skimpy bikini plastered all over Brookside Parade.

The affair between Greg and Susannah was at first a well kept secret but Lindsey soon realised what was going on between them and her suspicions were confirmed by Susannah when she quizzed her about the time spent away from the restaurant. Although Lindsey promised not to tell anyone, it was not long before someone less obliging discovered their affair.

One afternoon while Greg was at Susannah's, Jessie called round unexpectedly. Susannah tried to warn Greg, but while Jessie was about to leave Greg appeared wearing nothing but a towel. Susannah and Greg tried to convince Jessie their was nothing going on between them but Jessie was not fooled that easily and threatened to tell Margi about the affair unless they stopped seeing each other.

Despite Jessie's threats Greg continued to see Susannah and soon declared his love for her. Greg was shattered when Susannah revealed she didn't feel the same way about him, warning him not to leave Margi for her. Greg and Susannah both decided that they should end the affair, but while at the opening of the Millennium Club Susannah persuaded Greg to have one last fling.

While they were in the shower together a bomb exploded at the club, resulting in Greg being killed and Susannah badly injured. there was more tragedy in store when Jason was also killed while trying to rescue Greg.

The rest of the Shadwick family found it very difficult to cope after the deaths of both Greg and Jason, especially Nikki who discovered the naked bodies of Greg and Susannah together and soon realised what had been going on between them. Nikki began to drink heavily in a effort to help her keep the truth from the family about Greg, but at Greg's funeral she finally told the truth to Katrina.

Greg's funeral Margi was the last to find out about Greg's affair with Susannah, for during an argument with Luke Musgrove, who had by this time been released from prison, he told her all about the affair.

Susannah until this time thought she had managed to keep the affair with Greg a secret from Margi, but was in for a nasty experience now that Margi had found out.

One night while Susannah was upstairs, Margi let herself in to No 7, crept upstairs and confronted a terrified Sussannah. At first Margi remained fairly calm but later in a fit of anger almost strangled Susannah and was only stopped from doing so by Max who arrived just in time.

After all the upset at Brookside Margi decided to leave the close for Brussels and start a new job. Nikki and Emily stayed behind and Jessie moved into the bungalow to keep an eye on them.

Despite Luke being found not guilty of rape, Nikki was convinced he was the one who committed the crime. At one point Harvey abducted Nikki in his car, not he claimed to attack her, but just to talk to her on her own. Nikki managed to escape and Harvey was arrested.

After her ordeal with Harvey her friends and family believed that Harvey may have been the one who had drugged and raped her, but that did not stop Nikki from trying to get Luke to Confess. One night she followed Luke and Katie to a club and decided to drug Lukes drink, but Luke spilt his drink so didn't take the drug. In desperation Nikki ran on to the roof of the club followed by Luke. By threatening to jump off Nikki managed to make Luke confess.

This is what Nikki had wanted, she could now get on with her life, while Luke having told Katie and his family the truth was forced to return to Ireland along with the rest of the Musgroves.

Meanwhile Jessie had formed a strong friendship with Ray a widower who had been calling round at the bungalow to complete the work that Greg had started.

Emily though embarked on a life of crime with Tinhead, first using a credit card in Greg's name and later stealing from Susannah in an act of revenge for her affair with Greg. She continued her vendetta against Susannah by printing out some prostitute calling cards with Susannah's phone number on them. Emily was delighted when Susannah started receiving obscene phone calls.

Tim supported Emily in her quest for revenge against Susannah but when Emily persuaded him to help her burgle a house owned by Cheryl, a client at the hair salon where she worked, he began to have doubts about her motives. Once inside the house Tim was horrified when Emily started to wreck the place for no good reason. When she ignored his plea for her to stop he told her they were finished. Tim later relented though after Emily promised to change her ways.

Nikki was able to resume her relationship with Jerome while Jessie's relationship with Ray changed from friends to lovers as they became very fond of each other. Their relationship was put under strain though when Ray's mother Kitty came to stay and started to reorganise their living arrangements.

Kitty did her best to split up Ray and Jessie by trying to convince Ray that Jessie was only after his money. For a while Ray was influenced by Kitty and began to doubt Jessie's motives for getting married, but before too long he realized Kitty was only being selfish and only wanted him to stay single and look after her.

Meanwhile Emily was in trouble after she accidentally made a video of herself and Tim confessing to crimes against Susannah. They were horrified to discover Susannah had seen the tape, and fearing she had reported them to the police, decided to go on the run.

Before long they were short on money and Emily decided to try and blackmail Brian a gay salesman who that had met on an earlier trip to Blackpool. When they arrived at Brian's house he refused to hand over any money so Emily told Brian's wife he was gay, destroying his family in the process. Tim was so disgusted by Emily's actions he made the decision they should give themselves up to the police.

It was only after Tim had made a full confession, that Emily discovered Susannah hadn't reported them to the police after all. By then it was too late and they were both charged with several offences. Tim couldn't bear the thought of Emily going to prison and so decided to take responsibility for all the crimes himself.

On the night before his court case Tim went out for the night with his mates to try and cheer himself up While in the night club he saw Emily flirting with Carl a photographer and ended up fighting with him. Later Tim stole Carls car to go joyriding with Robbie, Clint and Mike. As Tim drove at high speed through the streets, he crashed into another car. Tim, Robbie and Clint escaped uninjured, but Mike ended up in hospital with back injuries. Emily and Tim were reconciled before he appeared in court, where he claimed he persuaded Emily to help him, and that he was entirely to blame for the crimes they had committed.

Tim was sent to prison while Emily had to do community service for Cheryl, however Emily soon turned this to her advantage when she discovered Cheryl had fiddled her insurance claim. Nikki continued her relationship with Jerome which appeared to be going well , but Jerome was also having a secret relationship with Nisha.

Meanwhile Ray and Jessie had got married, despite Kitty's best efforts to sabotage the occasion. Although the ceremony went well with Jimmy giving a slightly unusual speech, the wedding video taken by Ron Dixon was a disaster. Kitty was unable to stop the wedding going ahead, she still managed to spoil their honeymoon, by making Ray and Jessie return early on the pretence she was ill.

Emily wanted to marry Tim, but realised they would need more money to start off married life together. While Tim was in Prison Carl encouraged Emily to pose topless for some magazine photos. Emily believed this was a way of earning some good money, but later had second thoughts. Once she had explained the situation to Nikki they both called on Carl and he eventually agreed to hand over the negatives, but unknown to them he also had copies of the pictures stored on his computer.

After his disastrous attempt at their wedding video, Ron and Anthea tried to make amends by inviting Ray, Jessie and Kitty to their house for a meal. The evening started well but later their peace was shattered by three robbers who forced their way in. The group were bound and gagged while the house was ransacked, as the robbers searched for money. After they had found Ron's cash they eventually left but not before Ron had suffered a Angina attack. Jessie was left traumatised by the experience while Kitty suffered a stroke. It took some time for Jessie to recover from the ordeal, and for a while even considered leaving the close, but later decided to stay and buy the bungalow from Margi.

Shortly before Tim was due to be released from Prison, he discovered that Emily had posed topless for Carl, and although annoyed at first he soon forgave her, promising to make Carl pay for allowing Emily's pictures to be published. Meanwhile Nikki suspected that Jerome was cheating on her with Nisha, and set out to gather evidence.

After calling on Nisha her suspicions about Jerome were confirmed. Nisha appeared to be out, but when Nikki called Jerome on his mobile, she heard his phone ringing in Nisha's flat.

Nikki was shocked and although she still wanted to stay with Jerome, Nikki wanted him to prove that he was committed to their relationship. Later she surprised Jerome by suggesting they should get married, if he agreed it would prove his commitment. Jerome though had been thinking about finishing with Nikki so he could pursue his relationship with Nisha, so was taken completely by surprise when Nikki proposed. Nikki also gave Jerome an ultimatum by telling him that he either agreed to get married or their relationship was over. Jerome realised that if he didn't want to lose Nikki completely he had no choice.

Later when Nikki held an engagement party at Bev's Bar, Nisha turned up unexpectedly but she agreed to let her stay. However she wasn't too happy when she spotted Jerome following Nisha to the toilets. Her suspicions aroused she listened to their conversation, and was devastated to hear Jerome tell Nisha it's her he really wanted. Nikki reacted by drowning her sorrows with a bottle of vodka. Later when Emily persuaded her to do a karaoke song, Nikki took the opportunity to let everyone know what Jerome had been up to and left Nisha in no doubt how she felt by slapping her across the face.

Jessie was against the idea of Emily and Tim being together, so they arranged the wedding in secret. On the day of the wedding Emily only just made it to the registry office in time after being held up at the hair salon. While Tim wore a traditional suit, Emily opted for something a little different and got married wearing a white boob tube, mini skirt, white fur coat and a cowgirl Stetson.

Jessie found out about the wedding but was too late to prevent them getting married. She argued with Tim outside the registry office, but he ignored her and drove away with Emily in a stretch Limo, to spend their first night in a hotel. The next day they returned to the close, but Jessie refused to allow Tim to stay with Emily in the bungalow. It seemed the newly weds would have nowhere to live until Mick agreed to let them stay at No 5 while he and Yvonne were away on holiday

However Mick soon regretted his generosity, for while he was away Emily persuaded Tim to hold a party and things soon got out of hand after some of Tim's ex-jail mates arrived. Sotto overheard Emily boasting that Tim had set him up for a beating in prison. As an act of revenge he and his mates smashed Mick's expensive wide screen TV.

When Jessie offered the new doctor, Neil a place to stay Nikki soon discovered they had a lot in common. For a while it looked like they could become romantically involved, but Jessie was jealous of their friendship, as she wanted the new doctor to herself. She decided to try and get Nikki and Jerome back together and although at first her plan seemed doomed to failure, they did manage to rekindle their relationship.

Ray though was not so pleased with Jessie, as he soon noticed she was neglecting him in favor of Neil. After confronting Jessie about her infatuation, he arranged for Neil to move out and Jerome to move in instead.

For a while life ran smoothly for Nikki and Jerome, but all that changed when a fire at the bungalow resulted in them both losing all their possessions. Although they believed the insurance money would replace most things, Nikki was distraught as not only had she lost all her clothes, her computer containing all her study notes for university had been destroyed.

Emily was worried about her sister and offered to give her some money that Tim had earned, but Nikki was determined to stick to her principles and rather than accept money from the proceeds of crime, decided to apply for a hardship grant. With this in mind she set off for the University, but when she arrived a demonstration over course fees was under way. When the police intervened the demonstrators became agitated and one of them was arrested. Nikki was furious and tried to help but only succeeded in getting arrested herself.

Jessie and Ray faced further problems when the Insurance Company refused to pay out the full amount of their claim. Nikki's hopes that Jessie would help out with her money problems were dashed when she refused, saying they would need all the money to rebuild the bungalow.
Ray meanwhile was concerned about his mother's health and wanted to visit her, but Jessie argued that they were much too busy. When his mother died a short while afterwards he was devastated and blamed Jessie for not letting him visit her.

After learning the money from the University hardship fund wouldn't be enough to cover her expenses, Nikki was relieved when Jessie finally agreed to help out.

Meanwhile Nikki and Jerome had been living at No 10 with Jimmy Corkhill, and during this time Nikki became very fond of Jimmy, regarding him as a father figure.

Jimmy had became very depressed when Jackie and Lindsey left, and started to behave very strangely after he stopped taking his medication for Manic Depression. Eventually he was arrested when seen walking along the Mersey Tunnel, and sectioned under the Mental Heath Act. When Jimmy recovered and was allowed home Nikki was determined to look after him, despite Jerome being far from keen on the idea.

Her friendship with Jimmy was a constant source of irritation for Jerome, and when she tried to intervene after Jimmy became involved with Helen ( Ray's Daughter), Jerome began to suspect Nikki was becoming too close to Jimmy.

Later Jerome surprised Nikki by not only asking her to accompany him on a holiday abroad, but he also wanted to marry her while they were away. Nikki was shocked by his sudden proposal, and told him she would need time to decide before giving her answer. Emily was dead set against the idea and advised Nikki against marrying Jerome, and when Jimmy heard about it, he realised how much he would miss her.

Despite having a few doubts, Nikki agreed to marry Jerome, providing they waited until after their holiday.
As she and Jerome enjoyed a drink at Bar Brookie before they set off, Nikki worried about not seeing Jimmy before she left and went back to the house to see him. Although Jimmy wasn’t at home, he arrived just in time to see them off and reassure Nikki he would be ok without her.

When they returned , both Jerome and Nikki were keen to get married and set a date for the wedding, although Jerome wasn't too happy about Jimmy giving Nikki away. So at first Jerome was relieved when he realised Jimmy would be away visiting Lindsey on there wedding day, but became annoyed when Nikki announced she would postpone the wedding until Jimmy returned.

While Jimmy was away, Nikki kept in regular contact by e-mail, something Jerome found very suspicious. He resorted to secretly reading her e-mail's, looking for signs of her true feelings for Jimmy. When he found none, Jerome sent Jimmy an e-mail apparently from Nikki, giving the impression she was in love with him. Jerome thought Jimmy would reply, saying he felt the same way about Nikki, but he didn't reply at all. Nikki knew nothing about this, so when Jimmy returned Nikki was puzzled by his strange attitude towards her.

Jerome wasn't the only one who had suspicions about Nikki's relationship with Jimmy, as Lindsey also believed that Nikki may want more than just friendship. So when Lindsey called round , Nikki was left in no doubt about Lindsey's suspicions after a violent confrontation where she demanded some answers.

It wasn't until some time later that Nikki found out about Jeromes bogus e-mail to Jimmy. While Lindsey was visiting, an armed gang burst into the house and held them hostage for a few days. It was during this time that Jerome confessed he had sent the e-mail. It was after this revelation that Nikki decided there was no future for her and Jerome, but she also had more important thing to worry about. As the gang became more agitated by the delay in escaping, one of them turned his attention to Nikki. Emily and Tim tried to protect her, and during the ensuing struggle Emily tried to escape, but fell from an upstairs window.

As a result of her fall Emily sustained a head injury, and ended up in a coma on a life support machine. Margi returned to join Tim and Nikki at her daughters bedside, but when the doctors told them she may not recover, Margi and Tim disagreed about what would be best for Emily.

Despite Emily's serious condition, and the fact it seemed unlikely she would regain consciousness, Tim wanted to make Emily's dream of owning her own business come true, and so decided to buy a shop unit on the Parade and create " Emily's Nail Bar ". This Tim believed would give Emily the incentive to make a full recovery.

Tim was finding life lonely without Emily as he put the finishing touches to Emily's Nail Bar. He wasn't lonely for long though as Kerry was there to offer her support and it was not long before Tim succumbed to temptation and they shared an intimate kiss.

After Margi returned to Brussels, Nikki was finding living at the bungalow very lonely, and found herself having flashbacks to when she was held hostage. Unable to cope Nikki ran to Jimmy's, where he soon managed to calm her down and reassure her it was safe to return to the bungalow. Nikki still didn't feel safe there and wanted to see Jimmy again. He was surprised when she called round , and began to think that maybe she wanted more than a platonic relationship.

Meanwhile Tim was seeing more of Kerry, and one night while Jimmy was out for the evening, he took her back to his house for a night of passion. At the hospital, Emily's condition had deteriorated due to a blood clot, but the hospital were unable to contact Tim and so rang Nikki. Jimmy suspected Tim was at his house, and arrived home unexpectedly, catching Tim and Kerry together.
After hearing about the news from the hospital, Tim set off with Nikki in a taxi, but by the time he arrived Emily had died. Tim and Nikki were devastated, with Tim being particularly distraught that he should have been at her side, when she most needed him.

Emily's funeral service was very emotional and most of her friends were overcome with grief, as Margi gave a reading during which she talked about Emily and how she and the Tim really loved each other.
After the funeral Jimmy comforted Nikki who was very distraught, but when Margi saw them together she accused Jimmy of taking advantage of her daughter. She accused Jimmy of wanting more than just friendship, something he strenuously denied.

Later Jimmy's good intentions were put to the test when Nikki arrived on his doorstep asking if she could stay the night. He soon made her feel at ease and showed her to a spare room. Haunted by bad memories Nikki was unable to sleep, and went to Jimmy's room where she asked him if she could sleep in his bed. Jimmy felt a little uneasy about the situation but agreed to her strange request. Nikki was soon fast asleep, while Jimmy hardly slept at all.
The next day Nikki appeared very unconcerned about spending the night with Jimmy, while he was worried about what the neighbours would say. He tried to explain that although Nikki was welcome to stay as long as she liked, if she intended sleeping in his bed it could prove very awkward for him.

As the day progressed Nikki tried to persuade Jimmy that she wanted to be more than just friends with him, and although he tried to reason with her that it was not a good idea, Nikki was not to be put off. She even asked Tim what he would think if Jimmy found himself a younger woman, without revealing who that woman would be. Tim though was more concerned about Adele who he realised had a serious crush on him.
Nikki's persistence paid off, and eventually she and Jimmy kissed before spending the night together. The next day, Jimmy appeared far from happy about having a relationship with Nikki, but she managed to reassure him that it would be ok.

Jimmy was anxious to keep their relationship to themselves, but when Tim saw Nikki and Jimmy outside kissing in the garden, he was furious and rushed off to confront them. Nikki was quick to defend their relationship, but Tim and Jimmy end up having a heated argument ,which ended when Tim accused Jimmy of taking advantage of Nikki while she was feeling low.
Later Jimmy explained to Nikki, that he just couldn't continue having a relationship with her, but when she started to pack her bags, intending to return to the bungalow, Jimmy persuaded her to stay.
It wasn't too long before Nikki found another love interest, when Sean called round to install a satellite system at Jimmy's house. Nikki dropped hints that she would be interested in going out with him. Although he didn't ask her out at first, Jimmy obviously isn't too happy about Nikki's sudden interest in Sean.

Later he couldn't help but feel jealous, when Sean called round and took Nikki out for the evening. When they returned Jimmy made sure they couldn't sit together, and after Sean left, Jimmy tried to warn Nikki against seeing him, pointing out that that he could have a violent streak. Nikki was clearly annoyed by Jimmy interfering in her social life. She later decided to move back to the bungalow, despite Jimmy pleading with her to stay and promising that he would change his jealous ways.

Puzzled by Jimmy's aggressive attitude towards him, Sean asks Nikki why Jimmy doesn't seem to like him. Nikki has to think quickly, and so rather than tell Sean the truth, explains that Jimmy is just being protective towards her. Sean says he understands, believing that Jimmy regards Nikki like a daughter.

Nikki's relationship with Sean didn't last too long though, as his ex wife Ruth was non too happy about him seeing Nikki either, and did her best to sabotage their relationship. When he had to look after Luke while Ruth was out, he missed Nikki's graduation ceremony, and Jimmy took his place. Margi wasn't happy about Jimmy being there, and after the ceremony she and Jimmy had another heated argument, but surprisingly this cleared the air, and they ended up being friends.

Margi believed that Nikki could do better for herself than having Sean as a boyfriend, and let slip to him that Nikki once slept with Jimmy. When Nikki later saw Sean by his van, she was puzzled by his cool attitude towards her. Sean told her that he knew that she had slept with Jimmy, and was angry that she deceived him about her relationship with him. He drove off in a temper, and it looked as if there relationship was over. Sean eventually accepted the situation, and for a while it looked as if they would continue seeing each other. However when he asked her to move in with him, when she had to sell the bungalow, Nikki realised he wanted too much commitment, and ended their relationship.

After Nikki explained to Jimmy that Margi was coming from Brussels for the trial, but had nowhere to stay, he offered her a room at his house. Later at the airport Margi was surprised to see Jimmy waiting for her with a Stretch Limo. At first the atmosphere was a little frosty between them, but after they ended up being locked in the Limo together, they soon become friends again.

Later when Jimmy and Margi were working in his garden they chatted about their respective lives. It seemed it could be the start of a more intimate relationship as they shared a passionate kiss, before heading for the bedroom.
The next morning Margi was thrilled after her night of passion with Jimmy, but was soon brought back to earth by the realisation that Nikki would be wondering where she was. A phone call to Jimmy from Nikki confirmed her suspicions and Margi had to lie to Nikki about where she spent the night.
While Nikki went off on her own Margi and Jimmy enjoyed spending more time getting to know each other, and resolved to tell Nikki about their relationship before she found out herself. However before they had a chance to tell her, later that day Nikki called round at Jimmy's house unexpectedly and caught them together. Nikki was devastated at first by the thought of Margi and Jimmy having a relationship, but after they explained how much they loved each other, Nikki accepted the situation.

When Margi returned from a shopping trip, having bought herself some new clothes, Nikki reckoned she had bought them to impress Jimmy, particularly the new underwear. Jimmy became the main topic of conversation as Margi told Nikki how much she liked him, and that she had bought him a ticket to Brussels so he could accompany her on a short holiday.

Jimmy's behaviour gave Margi cause for concern when he called to see her, particularly by his lack of enthusiasm when Nikki told him about the holiday to Brussels. Jimmy told Margi that he loved her, but would like to talk to her when they are alone. Margi has noticed Jimmy had been acting strangely lately so Nikki suggested maybe Jimmy was about to propose. Margi was quite excited by this and decided she would accept, but when she voiced her concern that he might be about to dump her instead, they both agreed it would be highly unlikely.

However their optimism was soon shattered when Jimmy calls round to see Margi, and told her that although he loved her, he must end their relationship. When he refused to give a proper explanation and said she would be better off without him, Margi was furious and threw him out. Devastated by Jimmy's decision Margi decided to return to Brussels alone, and refused to accept his apology before she left in a taxi. Nikki was also in an unforgiving mood, and told Jimmy that she hated him for what he has done.

Jimmy later tried again to make Nikki understand why he finished with Margi, but she refused to believe he had a good reason. A phone call interrupted their argument, and when Nikki answered the call she was surprised that it was Jimmy's consultant with news from the hospital. After speaking to the consultant, Jimmy finally told Nikki the truth about his health problems, and how he believed he had lung cancer. The phone call brought both good and bad news, Jimmy learned that although he didn't have cancer, the shadows on his lungs were probably caused by asbestosis, another life threatening illness. Nikki was horrified by the way she had been so nasty to Jimmy as he explained that he still didn't want Margi to know, as his illness could mean he would be a burden on her if it got worse.

Jimmy became involved as the leader of a campaign against the building of an incinerator in the woods behind the close. For a while it looked as if his persistence would pay off, when most of the other residents decided to stay, and not sell their houses to the developer. However when drug dealer Jack Michaelson moved in to the Farnhams old house, they soon changed their minds about staying.

Jimmy realised he has little choice but to give up and move to Newcastle to be near Lindsey, while Nikki has decided to stay with Margi for a while in Brussels.