Family in Focus....The Farnhams

Susannah and Greg

After Max had left, Greg Shadwick often offered to help out with household repairs and they soon became good friends, he was even there to hold Susannah’s hand when she gave birth to her baby. Susannah decided to name her new baby Emma, in memory of Emily who had died about a year earlier.

Susannah having sold “ Grants “ invested in the Millennium Club by opening a new restaurant there. Now that she had two babies to look after Susannah decided to employ Katrina as a nanny so she would have more time to herself.

As Greg Shadwick’s wife Margi spent more time away at work, Greg’s visit’s to Susannah became more frequent. At first he made the excuse that he still had more repairs to do for Susannah but it was soon obvious that he was attracted to her and that the feeling was mutual. Greg and Susannah spent as much time together as they could, but their affair didn’t last long. Greg felt guilty about deceiving Margi and after a few weeks Susannah was far from pleased when Greg suggested that they should remain just good friends.

Susannah found it increasingly difficult trying to run her new restaurant and look after both Harry and Emma, the situation was made worse when Susannah found herself constantly arguing with Katrina who was annoyed that Susannah expected her to work on her days off. Katrina also suspected that Susannah favoured Emma over Harry something Jacqui was also concerned about.

Relief was soon available for Susannah in the shape of Greg, who on discovering Susannah at the end of her tether decided to rekindle their affair by spending more time with her.

Although they were very cautious to prevent Greg's family from finding out about their affair the inevitable happened. 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.

As a result of her injuries Susannah spent several weeks in hospital and had to rely on both Jacqui and Katrina to look after Harry and Emma. At first Susannah seemed to be making a full recovery but on the day of Greg's funeral she developed a blood clot on her lung and for a while Susannah's life hung in the balance.

Meanwhile Katrina had discovered that Susannah had been having an affair with Greg and threatened to dump both Harry and Emma at Susannah's bedside. Jacqui managed to persuade her to continue looking after them until Susannah recovered.

Ron Dixon decided to intervene by getting in touch with Max, even though Jacqui had asked him not to. Max arrived at the hospital just as Susannah recovered consciousness, but she was not pleased to see him.

However when Katrina arrived and dumped the children with Susannah she had no choice but to allow Max to take Harry and Emma home with him.

Once she was discharged from hospital Susannah arrived home with her Sister Lisa and soon gave Max his marching orders but later relented and agreed to let Max help look after the children.

Margi Shadwick had been kept in the dark about Greg's affair but during an argument with Luke Musgrove he let it slip about Greg and Susannah. So just as Susannah thought things could only get better, her worst nightmare was about to begin.

One evening when Susannah was upstairs alone in a house, Margi let herself in using the Greg's keys and confronted Susannah about the affair. At first Margi seemed calm then later became very agitated and attacked Susannah trying to strangle her, and was only prevented from doing so by the arrival of Max. After this Susannah agreed that Max could stay in the house, to help look after the kids while Susannah worked at the restaurant. Later Max even managed to persuade Susannah to let him help her at the restaurant, and although Susannah agreed she made it clear that he was only an employee and not her partner.

Max still loved Susannah and was very keen that they should get back together although Susannah was very cautious, and wanted to make sure that he would remain faithful. To do this she enlisted the help of her friend Deborah who volunteered to test Max to see if he would remain faithful to Susannah. When Deborah met Max at the restaurant and tried to seduce him he rejected her advances much to her annoyance. Deborah was so annoyed at being rejected by Max she told Susannah the opposite happened, and the Max couldn't keep his hands off her.

Susannah and Mick

To get back at Max Susannah embarked on an affair with Mick Johnson who she had recently employed as a chef at her restaurant. Max retaliated by pretending to have a relationship with Deborah which succeeded in making Susannah jealous. Eventually Max and Susannah decided to give their relationship another try, but this was very short lived after Max discovered Susannah had set him up with Deborah as a test.

Susannah continued her relationship with Mick while Max decided to move out of Susannah's house. Mick and Susannah thought they had seen the last of Max but a short time later he rented a flat on Brookside Parade so he could still be near his children. Max was determined to see both Harry and Emma regularly but Susannah was equally determined to stop him and they both resorted to consulting solicitors. Before things got out of hand though, Jacqui intervened by having a word with Max and told him how worried she was about the children's welfare if they continued with the custody battle.

Max managed to convince Susannah that the children would suffer if they continued to fight over custody, and so she decided to allow Max reasonable access to both Emma and Harry.

While Susannah tried to forget about her fling with Greg, Emily became obsessed with getting revenge on Susannah who she held responsible for the deaths of both Greg and Jason. First Emily stole her credit card and ordered a load of manure to be dumped on her garden, then she continued her vendetta by creating some pornographic pictures with Susannah's face on them and posting them through her letter box. Not content with this Emily printed some call girl cards with Susannah's phone number on, then distributed them around the parade. As a final act of revenge Emily persuaded Tim to first steal her car and then set it alight. Although Susannah suspected Emily was behind the hate campaign she couldn't prove it.

Susannah became very fond of Mick but still found herself attracted to Darren which resulted in a brief affair. Mick though had no doubts about his feelings for Susannah and so decided to propose. At first Susannah was unsure about marrying Mick but after asking Jacqui for advice she decided to accept.

Meanwhile Max had a new love interest of his own, Katrina who he fast became infatuated with. It all started when Katrina asked Max to accompany her on a modelling assignment to take part as a couple in an advertisement for sausages. The producers thought they made a perfect couple for the advert which boosted Max's ego. Max had a rival for Katrina's affections, Steve who was much nearer her age. In order to impress Katrina Max challenged Steve to a boxing match but ended up being knocked out. He tried again by challenging Steve to a race, this time Max won but Steve got all the sympathy from Katrina after he hurt his ankle during the race. Max was further dismayed when Katrina invited Steve along on a camping trip, Max 's only consolation was that she would be using a sleeping bag that he lent her.

After Katrina returned Max finally managed to be alone with her and tell her how he believed they would make an ideal couple. Max was humiliated when Katrina laughed and said he was too old for her. Later after talking to Katrina Max realized she was right and encouraged her to see Steve.

Susannah and Darren

While Susannah was happy enough to be marrying Mick she still continued her affair with Darren and even told Jacqui Dixon she was seeing someone else. As the wedding drew near Jacqui became increasingly concerned about Harry's future, believing that Susannah was more concerned with her affair than the welfare of her children. Jacqui decided to confront Susannah, but she was furious at her implication that she was an unfit mother and told Jacqui she would never see Harry again.

Susannah discovered proof that Emily had been behind the hate campaign when she watched a a video of Emily confessing to her crimes. Emily had accidentally recorded herself while on the camping holiday and Mick had picked the tape up thinking it was the comedy " Carry On Camping "

When Emily and Tim realized Susannah had seen the tape, they run away for a while before giving themselves up at the police station. It was only after they had confessed they discovered that Susannah hadn't reported them to the police. By then it was too late and they were charged with the offences, although Tim agreed to take the blame.

Darren decided to get back with Victoria, but Susannah had other idea's and did her best to split them up. At Susannah's hen night Victoria was only too happy to join her, but her joy turned to despair after she learnt that Darren had slept with her. Later Darren had a visit from Susannah at his surgery where she tried to seduce him. When he pushed her away and out of the surgery Susannah decided to get her revenge by reporting him for attacking her.

Susannah's Death

On the evening before her wedding to Mick, Susannah had visits from several of her neighbours , all those she had made enemies of. Jacqui called round to try and buy Harry by giving Susannah back the money she had been paid for the Surrogacy. Susannah refused to give up Harry and then Darren arrived which confirmed Jacqui's suspicion that they were having an affair. In a fit of temper Jacqui attacked Susannah, scratching her face. Darren pulled her away from Susannah before making sure she left.

Susannah tried to persuade Darren that they could still have a future together, but Darren finally convinced her that he was not interested and that she should go ahead with the wedding. At this point Mick called round and was surprised to find Darren there but Susannah explained that Darren was only there to tend to the scratch inflicted by Jacqui. After Darren left Susannah reassured Mick that everything was ok, but Mick was annoyed by Jacqui's attack on Susannah and decided to cancel the arrangements made with Mike to video their wedding.

Jacqui was also at the Dixon's when Mick arrived and told him Darren had called on Susannah before the attack and they had virtually confessed to having an affair. Mick confronted Susannah about having an affair with Darren and although at first she denied it, Susannah later confessed it was true. Devastated by this shocking revelation, Mick told Susannah the wedding was off, returned home and destroyed the wedding cake in a fit of anger.

After Mick had left Susannah decided to relax by watching a video, but her peace was soon interrupted by Emily who had sneaked in undetected by the back door. It is not long before she too was arguing with Susannah, blaming her for causing the deaths of Greg and Jason. Emily was drunk by this time and as the argument became heated, she attacked Susannah with a bottle. Susannah was saved from the attack by Max who arrived just in time, and after talking to both Max and Susannah Emily realised Susannah had also suffered with the deaths of her children Matthew and Emily.

Max and Emily both left but Max returned later to try and convince Susannah that they should try and get back together. Susannah poured scorn on Max when he told her how he still had feelings for her which resulted in a harsh exchange of words. Susannah was standing at the top of the stairs, and as they argued Max grabbed Susannah by her arms. Max let go of Susannah, but as he did so she lost her balance and fell down the stairs. Max thought he had killed her, panicked and fled the scene.

The next day Susannah was missed, but after hearing that Mick had called off the wedding, everyone except Max assumed she had gone away for a few days. Max was consumed with guilt but couldn't face going back to the house and so sent his friend Lance there to collect some clothes for the children. However when Lance returned from Susannah's house, he reported that there was no sign of Susannah.

Max was very puzzled by this and decided to have a look for himself, and although Susannah was not at the foot of the stairs, Max found her body lying on the kitchen floor. Overcome with guilt and grief at the thought that he might have been able to save her had he not run off, he kept vigil at the side of her body. Max considered burying her body in the woods but before he could do that Diane Murray called round and discovered Susannah in the kitchen. The police were called and after an investigation, decided Susannah had died as a result of falling down the stairs, and that no one else was to blame.

Max became very depressed after Susannah's death and decided to bring Susannah's body home in a coffin until her burial. Once Susannah was home, Max was reluctant to allow her burial to take place and thought the back garden would make an ideal spot for her final resting place. Eventually Jacqui managed to persuade Max to let Susannah have a normal burial, although he managed to disrupt the service by accusing others for making her last days miserable.

Later Max was further enraged by the inscription on Susannah's headstone which Lisa had arranged. Max believed Susannah's surname should have been inscribed as Farnham and not Morrisey.

Continued........