Wobble. That’s the operative word at the moment in Brookside. Everyone seems to be at it - wobbling, I mean. For example, awhile back, Di Murray ‘wobbled’ in her role as supermum when she found out that her stepdaughter could get pregnant after one attempt and she couldn’t. So she reverted into her secret identity as the wicked stepmother. Marty ‘wobbled’ after being driven to distraction by his mother-in-law’s attitude and told her a few home truths. The Plank ‘wobbled’ in his love for Katrina (and ‘wobbling’ wood can be fatal in construction!)
Of course, there have been more recent wobblings - Vonnie wobbled in her love for Mick (which started the whole dilemma facing Jacqui and Max), Anthea wobbled in her support for Ron, and now Ron’s wobbling in his support for Tim. There’s been the more subtle ‘wobbling’ of Jessie, into relenting and letting Do-A-Little lodge with them, with the result probably being that Do-A-Little will do more than an little damage to the Hilton Shadwicks. And this episode reminded us of previous wobbles as well - namely the classic circumstances surrounding Jerome’s illicit wobble. But I digress ...
The next morning finds Ron at work in the garden, whilst having a conversation with his grandson, Harry Farnham, as Jacqui stands nearby, holding Emma. Ron is having one of those conversations granddads have with very small grandsons - bragging about how he’s like Alan Titchmarsh in the garden. (Who says that Brookside doesn’t mention the BBC?).
Anthea appears at the front door to tell Ron that there’s toast for him on the table and asks Jacqui if she’d like a cup of tea. Jacqui declines, saying she has to get the children to nursery or else they’d be late, and she walks off with Harry and Emma. After she leaves, Anthea asks Ron if everything was O.K. with Jacqui. Ron gives an affirmative reply and wonders why Anthea asked, but Anthea only says a cryptic ‘no reason’.
Meanwhile, it’s another working day for the staff of Great Grannies. Jessie Hilton and Brigid are tackling the job of cleaning Bev’s Bar. The place, quite honestly, is worse than a tip. Jessie, making a face, is attempting to clear away some of the detritus from the previous night, emptying ash trays and wiping muck from the tables. Brigid enters, having inspected the loos. Jessie asks the rhetorical question regarding cleanliness and hygiene: ‘What is it about people and drink that turns them into pigs?’
Brigid informs her that she should cop a sight of the loos. They were in a disgusting state, with filth and sick all over the place. They shouldn’t be expected to have to endure that in this job. In fact, Brigid declares she’s going to speak to Ron about this place and what they were expected to do. Jessie wishes her good luck. She tells her that she tried to speak to Ron last night about a slip-up in her wages and he was very short with her on the phone. She suggests Brigid speak to Anthea. Anthea? Why, Brigid saw her just the other day, and Anthea seemed to be in another world entirely. Anthea was a dead loss at the moment.
At that moment, Madam appears on the scene, amazed at the lack of progress and the length of time the cleaning of the premises was taking. Leanne reckons that the two women have been having a goss. She snarls that she doesn’t pay them to stand around and gossip. They should have been nearly finished by now. Brigid retorts that they normally would have been, but it would have helped them if SOMEONE had bothered to do the things normally done at close of business in a bar - like empty the ashtrays and remove the empty bottles and glasses. That was the responsibility of the bar staff, not the cleaners. And, she reiterates, the toilets were in a disgusting state. They shouldn’t be expected to clean sick off toilets.
Leanne gives them short shrift with the threat of the sack and stomps away from them. Brigid repeats her threat about talking to Ron, while Jessie shakes her head in wonder. This bar is a tip, she says. Things have really gone downhill since Bev left. Fancy Bev leaving someone like ‘that Leanne one’ in charge of a place like this. In Jessie’s opinion, Leanne’s management, or lack of it, is down, in part to her association with that Christy Murray. He’s brought the tone of this place right down.
She suddenly stops, realising that Brigid is Christy’s brother’s mother-in-law. Jessie is embarrassed and apologises. Oh, don’t, says Brigid. She admits that she’s never liked Marty and certainly isn’t on speaking terms with him at the moment; but once she’d met Christy, it was easy for her to admit that Marty, for all his faults, was the better brother. In Brigid’s opinion, Christy and Leanne were born for each other.
Ron sits at the table in the Dixon house, talking to Mike. Ron tells Mike he’s made an appointment to see his solicitor today, about the gun. Mike wants to know why Ron’s done that, and Ron informs him that this was Jimmy Corkhill’s idea. Corkhill’s got involved now that Tim is lodging at his, so Jim’s taken an interest in Tim’s involvement, reckons he’s some sort of ‘special advisor’.
Ron says Corkhill’s afraid that Ron won’t keep up his story about getting the gun from an unknown person; Jimmy wants him to beef it up and make it sound a bit more believeable. Well, Mike admits, you have to give Jimmy credit - after all, Jim’s been through the legal process many times, himself. He should know what he’s talking about. Ron is exasperated at Mike’s remark. Give him a bit of credit, he protests. Ron maintains that he’s not about to sell a lad like Tim down the river, after all Tim had done for the family.
Brigid and Jessie are still tackling the cleaning of the Bar, when Nikki and Rachel arrive for their shift. It’s Nikki’s first day back at work and as the girls enter the premises, she’s disgusted at the state of the place. It’s simply worse than pigs’ mess. Rachel agrees and tells Nikki and the two grannies that all that mess is down to the fact that Leanne and Christy keep having ‘stay-behinds’ after hours. (For those of us ‘unfortunate’ enough to live in the Southeast, this is what is commonly known on Eastenders as an after-hours ‘lock-up’). That confirms the women’s vile opinion of Christy.
Rachel goes off to begin her shift, while Nikki hangs around her grandmother. Jessie tells Brigid that after this exercise this morning, she’ll be too tired to go out with Ray. She explains that he’s found two more potential nursing homes for Kitty and wants them to visit today. Brigid wants to know what the state of these homes were. Jessie admits that she thought the one they visited yesterday was fine, but Ray was being terribly fussy. Brigid says that one hears terrible things about these homes, and that you can’t be too careful.
Jessie reluctantly agrees, saying that she’s certain Ray’s being unduly fussy because Kitty was his mum, and he wants to see that she’s looked after properly. Jessie jokes to Nikki that she certainly hopes she takes as much care in seeking out a home for Jess when her time comes. Nikki hugs her grandmother and tells her that she would never put either her or Margi away in a home.
At that moment, Leanne appears around the corner from the office, chomping indelicately on what appears to be a bacon roll. From behind the bar, Rachel is horrified and tells her that Bev would have a fit if she saw Leanne eating bacon in her bar. Leanne tells Rachel that Bev’s out of the picture now and Rachel wants to watch her mouth if she wants to continue working here. Leanne was under the impression that Rachel was skint and needed the work. Then, catching sight of Nikki fraternising with Jessie and Brigid, Leanne shouts to the girl that she didn’t change her mind about sacking her for her to come into work and waste time with the cleaners.
The rehabilitation of Emily Shadwick continues. Obviously, Brookside hope that, as the actress seems to extend her character into her real-life situation, maybe she might be miraculously transformed into a responsible and caring young woman. I’ve read the last but one Inside Soap, since returning, and I see they’ve already got another wild child lined up.
Anyway, at Hotel Corkhill, Em’s just finished ironing Tim’s new uniform. She thinks it’s really cute, but Tim hates it. It makes him look like a ponce. Jimmy attempts to gee him up by saying that at least he doesn’t have to wear it on the bus, only put it on when he arrives. Tim hates the uniform; in fact, he hates the whole job. Emily asks what time he’ll finish today; and Tim tells her morosely that he finishes at 8PM tonight, unless the manager decides to keep him back, scrubbing floors until all hours.
Emily then tells him that Nikki’s back and wants Emily to go for a drink with her tonight. She wants to go, but doesn’t have the funds. Tim pulls a note from his pocket and tells her that’s the last of his dosh until payday on Friday. He wants Em to go out with her sister and have a good time. Emily pockets the money gratefully and leaves for work.
When she’s gone, Tim takes the new uniform, angrily screws it up and tosses it on the counter. Jimmy reprimands him, telling him Emily worked hard to make that look nice. Tim doesn’t care. He hates the job and he loathes his manager. In fact, he’s close to smacking him one. Jimmy hastily tells Tim not to even think about doing that. Jimmy says that if he’d done a better job at Better Burgers, maybe he wouldn’t have ended up on the school roof. But Tim’s already fed up with working for crap wages because he’s got a prison record. Anyway, what difference would taking a pop at that nonce of a manager make, when Tim was headed back for prison anyway?
Jimmy reminds Tim that his return to prison isn’t a foregone conclusion. They have to trust Ron Dikko, but Tim is cognizant of the fact that Jimmy said Ron was wavering. Jimmy tells Tim that they have to give Ron a chance - after all, he’s seeing his brief today.
Rachel and Nikki are talking behind the bar. Rachel’s glad Nikki’s back at work. It certainly makes a change having her to natter with, instead of Lance. Nikki protests that Lance is all right, but Rachel is disgusted by the way Lance fails to see what a tyrant Leanne is and how she’s scummed the bar down. In fact, he won’t brook any sort of criticism of Leanne.
Jessie and Brigid are still slaving and nattering away as well. Jessie is telling Brigid about her lodger, praising the new doctor, Do-A-Little, to the skies. He’s such a lovely young man, so polite. And such an interesting conversationalist. Brigid wonders that Jess doesn’t find the bungalow a bit crowded now that Nikki’s come back from Belgium. In fact, Brigid advises, lowering her voice a bit, Jessie should keep a close eye on Nikki, living cheek by jowl with an attractive young doctor like that. Jessie scoffs at the thought. Why, Do-A-Little wouldn’t take any notice of Nikki.
‘Don’t be daft,’ she tells Brigid. ‘He’s far too old for the girl.’ (Jacqui and Max, Jessie. Jacqui and Max. And yet another UNsubtle hint from the Brookside production crew that we can expect a torrid relationship soon between Nikki and Do-A-Little).
Speaking of Jacqui and Max, the couple are closeted at The Shelf, discussing the current situation with Mick, who’s seen lurking in the background. Max asks Jacqui if she thinks Mick has made good his threat and told Ron. Jacqui doesn’t think so, but she isn’t sure. She stopped by her dad’s place with the kids this morning, and Ron seemed O.K.
Mick appears on the scene, in his chef’s disguise. Jacqui, first of all, sincerely apologises for her outburst the previous day, but Mick summarily tells her to keep her apologies to herself. He wants none of it. Jacqui ignores his remark and asks him nicely not to consider telling her father about her relationship with Max. She doesn’t want him to know at the moment, with everything with which he’s having to cope; and it was important to keep it quiet.
Mick tells her shortly that it’s too late for all that. He’s already told Anthea about her relationship with Max. Max and Jacqui are beside themselves. Jacqui tells Mick in no uncertain terms that he’s a ‘lousy get’ and asks what exactly she and Max have ever done to Mick to merit such treatment. Max is more articulate in his condemnation, telling Mick that his action was childish, malicious and served no purpose but to cause further hurt.
Mick looks genuinely remorseful, as if realising the implications of his actions too late. He admits he was all wound up by the knowledge that Max and Jacqui were a couple, but Jacqui is so upset that she can’t face Mick and she dashes off (Flouncing 101 alumna?).
Ron is sitting at the bar, looking immensely worried, when he’s approached by Brigid. She wants him to know about the state of the bar’s toilets and the mess she and Jessie have been encountering cleaning this premises daily. The place has been in an awful state since Bev’s departure. Ron would just have to do something - perhaps have a word with Bev?
Ron reminds Brigid that he doesn’t even know where Bev is at the moment. How about Leanne, suggests Brigid. Leanne? You can forget about having a word with that one, says Ron. Anyway, he continues (for he’s obviously got bigger fish on his mind), if Brigid were all that concerned, she should have a word with Anthea, who was calling in later.
Anthea? Scoffs Brigid. Anthea had enough on her plate at the moment without being bothered by this. (And Ron doesn’t?) Anthea has enough on her plate? Repeats Ron in disbelief. What about him? Ah, but Anthea needs looking after, advises Brigid, knowingly. She’s not been herself lately. Ron begins to ramble a bit incoherently about Anthea’s mood changes of late - is this another bit of unfinished thread about her menopause?- He doesn’t know how to deal with her. In fact, he confides to Brigid, that he feels as though he’s ruined Anthea’s life.
Ron apologises to Brigid, saying he’s not in the mood for business that day; but he promises to try to have a word with Bev about the state of the place, once he finds out where she is. Brigid points out that Ron doesn’t look at all well. Ron tells her he has a lot on his mind (as if she should need reminding), as he has to see his solicitor later in the day.
Jacqui, in the meantime, has made a beeline for the Dixon house, in order to talk to Anthea about Mick’s revelations. Jacqui is attempting to explain to Anthea about her relationship with Max. She asks Anthea if she’s told Ron. Anthea admits that she hasn’t told Ron about this matter ... yet. Jacqui begs her not to do so. She promises her stepmother that she and Max will tell Ron in their own time; they just wanted a few private months together first, in order that their relationship might develop and grow stronger.
Anthea asks Jacqui if she’s ashamed of her relationship with Max? She suggests to the girl that perhaps she is entering into this relationship as a means of getting Harry back. She admits her concern to Jacqui - Max, after all, was a man with two failed marriages to his credit (four, actually, Anth - he married both Patricia and Susannah twice), as well as numerous extramarital affairs. (Eh? Only Fay, as I recall). Besides, Max was old enough to be Jacqui’s father.
Anthea continues by telling Jacqui that she thinks Jacqui’s only taken up with Max as a reaction to being on the rebound from her disastrous relationship with Robbie Moffatt. Jacqui reiterates plaintively that she really loves Max Farnham, and that she wanted to wait a few months before going public with her relationship until she felt they were ready to face the reaction of their families and neighbours. Anthea is sceptical. She reckons the reason behind the secrecy is because Jacqui thought that if the relationship came to nowt, no one would be any the wiser of what had happened, and Jacqui would be sparing herself humiliation. (It’s nice to know that Anthea thinks so little of Jacqui in comparison with the fluffy and easily manipulated Rachel. Anthea would have thought little about keeping a secret from Ron for Rachel’s sake. Yet she’s chomping at the bit to drop Jacqui in it and pass judgment).
Anthea repeats her opinion that the Jacqui-Max relationship occurred for all the wrong reasons; however, she promises not to tell Ron for the time being ... But, she adds, only because he has a lot on his plate at the moment ... As well as thinking, herself, that Jacqui’s relationship with Max patently won’t last. (Go, Jacqui! Prove the bitch wrong. I hope you and Max marry and have even MORE children and be the one couple on this programme to really live happily ever after!)
Tim enters Hotel Corkhill to find Jimmy on his own. Tentatively, he asks if Emily is home. Jimmy responds that she’s gone to spend the afternoon visiting Kitty in hospital. (What? Eh? Run that by me again? This reincarnation of the caring, sharing, responsible Emily is too much to take and makes the various reincarnations of Lindsey look plausible. It won’t work, Brookie!)
Tim announces to Jimmy that he’s quit his job. Jimmy is horrified that his ‘special project’ has fallen at the first hurdle, but Tim maintains that he couldn’t stick the job any longer. The manager had got on his nerves so much, that Tim grabbed the bloke’s hat and tossed it in the deep fat fryer, telling the manager that he could ‘stick’ his job there too.
Jimmy admits that he’s worried about Tim. Tim should have stayed with the job. Five years until the conviction is spent is no time and certainly the least of Tim’s worries. Tim asks what the point of keeping his nose clean at work was, especially if he were returning to jail anyway.
Again, Jimmy tries to encourage Tim, telling him that the lad has to keep hoping that Ron Dikko holds his nerve. But, Tim points out, what if his brief puts pressure on him? What if the solicitor tears Ron’s story to shreds?
Speaking of Dikko, he’s just about to leave for his solicitor’s appointment, dressed in his best suit. As he leaves the Close, he’s stopped by Mick. Thinking that Anthea has surely told Ron about Jacqui and Max’s secret and ignorant of the fact that Jacqui’s spoken to Anthea, Mick apologises to Ron for having said the things he said to Anthea the previous day. Ron is puzzled. What was Mick talking about, he wanted to know. Suddenly finding his foot planted firmly in his proverbial mouth, Mick hastily makes his departure, advising Ron to ‘ask Anthea’.
It must be the middle of the day and yet, Bev’s Bar is strangely quiet. Only two young women are seated at a table in the middle of the establishment, and Lance is serving them. Rachel and Nikki stand idly behind the bar. Above their heads hangs a crudely handwritten sign, saying: ‘Cash only - No cheques or plastic.’
Nikki is amazed at the lack of business. She remarks to Rachel that she’s never known the place to be so quiet. Rachel agrees, saying that the till has only registered £15 in takings all day. Just at that moment, the two women being served by Lance rise suddenly from their seats and leave. Lance apologises as they leave, explaining ‘company policy’. Rachel comments to Nikki that there go two more customers lost. It’s this ‘cash only’ policy that Leanne had instigated, Rachel explains. No credit cards or cheques accepted, only cash.
Rachel can’t understand Leanne’s policy. The bar can’t be short of cash; in fact, Rachel’s seen Leanne with wads of cash; but she reckoned that money was ill-gotten gains from all those ‘stay-behinds’ that Leanne and Christy had organised.
Lance returns to the bar, disgruntled at losing two more punters. Nikki’s not surprised. She remarks that no one pays cash for their drinks or meals these days - they only pay with cheques and plastic. (Eh? In Liverpool maybe.) Lance agrees that it’s this cash-only policy that’s driving customers away. But it’s not Leanne’s fault, he quickly adds, even though there was no talking to her on this occasion.
No, Lance continues, this is all the fault of Christy Murray. Why, RLeanne’s
under his wicked spell. She’s sold her very soul to the
devil, she
has. Lance sighs, wishing aloud that he knew where Bev was. (Well, maybe, Face-ache,
if you hadn’t taken such advantage of Bev’s good nature, you might
know where she is). He trudges off disconsolately, as Rachel remarks to Nikki
that she thought he was on their side for a moment.
Suddenly, Nikki spies a familiar sight skulking around the door of the Bar. It’s Jerome, looking miserable, shifty, uncomfortable and guilty - in other words, it’s Jerome, looking the way he usually looks around Nikki. He tries to slink unobtrusively into the bar, but Nikki disappears at the sight of him.
Jimmy and Tim, meanwhile, are still discussing Tim’s predicament. Tim asks Jimmy exactly why Jimmy wants to help him. Well, Jimmy begins, Tim reminds Jimmy of himself at that age. And Tim also reminds him of Little Jimmy. (So just as Janine in Eastenders is Terry’s second chance to do right by Tiff’s memory, so Tim is Jimmy’s second chance to redeem himself with regard to the late, lamented Little Jimmy of the Bullet Head). Tim rightly remembers that Little Jimmy is dead.
Not just dead, corrects Jimmy, but murdered ... Murdered by the very people who got him involved with drugs. But, Tim points out, he wants nothing to do with drugs.
Jimmy asks Tim to tell him what it is exactly that Tim wants in life. Tim explains that he wants enough money to look after Emily properly, to be able to pay his bills, get a small place of their own, and have a couple of kids. Jimmy reveals that he wanted exactly that as well, only he wanted it too late in life to be able to realistically achieve it. You see, Jimmy explains, he was too busy thieving in his youthful days to realise his dream.
Jimmy tells Tim that ‘five years’ might be tough at first (and now it seems that the cryptic ‘five years’ just might refer to the prison sentence Tim will receive if he’s convicted for possession of an illegal weapon), but it was nothing really.
Tim admits that if he has to return to prison, his biggest fear is that Emily won’t stand by him. (Is Tim implying, then, that he doesn’t trust his pneumatic wife?) Tim can’t stand the thought of having to go back to prison, especially if it means losing Emily.
Back at Bev’s, Jerome sheepishly approaches the bar. Nikki tries to beat a hasty retreat, asking Lance if he would serve Jerome; but Jerome insists that Nikki serve him. He tentatively begins by telling her he’d heard she’d returned. Now he wants to talk. Nikki replies shortly that she’s working. Jerome is willing to wait until she’s finished her shift. Nikki reluctantly agrees that he can wait for her, but she points to a corner of the bar, telling him to wait over there, and not to keep staring at her. As Jerome picks up his pint and skulks to the corner like a recalcitrant schoolboy, Leanne shouts out to Nikki that she should make Jerome sweat.
Emily has returned to Hotel Corkhill from her mission of mercy to see Kitty. Jimmy asks after Kitty. Emily reports that Kitty was in a terrible state. She couldn’t talk or move (she was probably pretending to be that way in order not to face the ordeal of Emily visiting). Jimmy asks Emily if she fancies a cup of tea, while Emily begins to iron a belt, sorry, a skirt that she plans to wear that evening when she goes out with Nikki.
Suddenly, she forgets that she’s ironing the skirt, as she notices Tim’s new uniform crumpled and lying on the counter. Once she’s picked it up, she remembers the iron lying flat on the skirt - but not in time to prevent the garment from being burned. As Tim enters, he finds Emily crying. She’s burned her skirt. Tim offers to buy her a new one, but Emily says that they can’t afford it. She begins to cry even more fiercely, saying she can’t afford to buy food or clothes because they have so little money.
Tim looks uncomfortable and confesses to Emily that things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. He’s quit his job. He quit because he was tired of the poncey manager treating him like a mug because he was an ex-con. Expecting a tantrum from Emily, he’s surprised to see her continue to cry quietly, whilst she demurely admits that she always thought Tim was too good for that job. He asks her to repeat what she said, as he’s unsure he heard her correctly. (Er, just out of curiosity, does anyone remember that Tim has a hearing impediment?)
Emily reiterates that she always thought Tim was too good for that job, but she never said so, as she felt it would demean him. She was just so proud that he got a job in the first place. The lack of money or clothing now doesn’t matter to the new, spiritually-motivated Emily Shadwick. Skirts don’t matter at all. Nothing matters as long as Tim’s with her. She couldn’t bear the thought of Tim having to go back to prison. Tim looks even more worried.
Ron has returned from the solicitor’s office to find Mike alone in the house. Anthea, he tells him, has gone to the shops. Mike asks how things went with the solicitor. Ron admits that the visit was a nightmare. The brief roasted him about that damned gun. Apparently, Ron reports, the barrister reckons that Ron’s inability to name the person who sold him the gun will seriously undermine the case. And the solicitor thinks that Ron’s not being able to provide a name for the culprit will sway the jury in the prosecution’s favour.
Well, Mike surmises, the way he sees it, Ron only has one choice. He has to sacrifice Tim. Ron is appalled. He can’t offer up the lad to them on a platter. After all, Ron reminds Mike, Tim has helped the family in their dealing with the Moffatts. True enough, says Mike, but Ron has to do anything possible that might alleviate his sentence.
Mike points out that Ron didn’t actively ask Tim for the gun. Tim gave Ron the gun off his own whack, thinking he was doing Ron a favour. If Ron doesn’t come clean about who sold him the gun, then the court will come down hard on Ron. Mike reminds Ron that Ron has children and grandchildren. He wanted Ron to be around to watch Beth grow up. Anyway, it’s not as if Tim’s never been to prison before, he says. Tim was young and tough. He was more than capable of handling himself in an prison environment, something of which Ron wasn’t capable. Remember his heart condition? Mike points out that Ron could actually die in prison. Did he want that?
Ron is genuinely reluctant to grass on Tim. He’s grateful to the lad for helping his family and doesn’t want to see him go back to prison. Mike won’t be swayed, however. If it means Ron gets a minimum sentence, then Tim must be sacrificed.
Nikki’s finished her shift and she sits down with Jerome at his table. Jerome has another pint, and Nikki’s drinking orange juice. Now, Nikki begins, what’s so important that Jerome just had to talk to her?
Jerome begins by telling Nikki that he loves her. Loves her? Nikki’s not impressed. He’s told her that many times, even when he was seeing Nisha behind her back. In fact, is he still seeing Nisha? Jerome gives a negative answer, which raises Nikki’s eyebrows. Oh? Not seeing her? What happened? Did she knock him back? Jerome can’t answer.
Nikki wants to know why exactly Jerome slept with Nisha, but Jerome ignores this question to plead with Nikki to give him another chance. He’ll do anything to get Nikki back. Nikki looks at him sharply. Would he get down on his knees and tell her he loves her? Anything, reiterates Jerome. Right here and now? Nikki asks.
Jerome hesitates. Does she mean ‘in the bar’? ‘You said you’d do anything,’ Nikki reminds him. Oh yes, and apologise too. Jerome has to get on his knees in the middle of the bar, tell Nikki he loves her, and apologise to her for what he did with Nisha.
Jerome drops to his knees beside the table. As he does so, Nikki rises to her feet, towering over him. In the background, the speakers blare out Gloria Gaynor singing ‘I Will Survive’, coincidentally the song Nikki sang in karaoke the night she confronted Jerome about his affair with Nisha. Kneeling, Jerome humbly tells Nikki he loves her and apologises for his behaviour.
Without a word, Nikki pours his pint over his head and marches off to the strains of the theme song for any survivor or a relationship.
Anthea returns from the shops to find Ron alone. She asks what happened at the solicitor’s, but Ron is suitably evasive. He’s worried about the repercussions for Tim, so he tells Anthea that they discussed routine things - his statement etc. Suddenly, Ron remembers something.
As he was leaving for the solicitor’s office, he ran into Mick Johnson. Mick was wittering about something he’d said to Anthea the day before, something he’d told her. What was it, Ron enquires. Anthea avoids answering, trying to say she honestly couldn’t remember; but Ron susses that she’s keeping something from him and demands that she tell him. Anthea again demurs, telling him that the whole matter was nothing. Ron insists. He reminds Anthea how narked she gets when Ron attempts to withold some piece of information from her.
Against her better judgment, Anthea sighs and relents, warning Ron that he’s not going to like what he’s about to hear. Thinking Mick’s done something, Ron asks what he’s done. It’s nothing to do with Mick, Anthea tells him. It’s Jacqui. What about Jacqui, Ron wants to know.
Anthea takes a breath and tells him that Jacqui’s going out with Max Farnham. Ron listens, but the meaning of Anthea’s sentence doesn’t register with him. Anthea repeats that Jacqui is GOING OUT with Max Farnham. Ron repeats the phrase in disbelief before the truth dawns on him. He’s absolutely gob-smacked.
TIMILY are conjoined on the Corkhill sofa, when Mike rings the bell and is admitted by Jimmy. Mike looks terribly ashamed of himself. Emily greets him and then leaves, announcing that she’s going to her Nan’s. Mike tells Jimmy and Tim that Ron’s been to see his solicitor and it’s not good news. The solicitor is after Ron naming the person who provided the gun for him. He’s being pressured to name Tim. In fact, it could be really bad for Ron if he doesn’t tell. Speaking for Ron (as I was under the impression that Ron was still wrestling with his conscience), Mike announces to Tim that Ron must, therefore, confess that Tim had provided him with the gun.
Tim attempts to lunge at Mike, calling him a ‘bleurt’ and reminding Mike that Tim had protected the Dixons from the Moffatts; but Jimmy stops him. Tim says he thought Mike was supposed to be his friend. Mike maintains that he still is his friend, but Tim dismisses this statement as crap. He begins to sob, saying over and over that Mike had destroyed his life.
As the episode ends, we see Tim’s chin begin to ... wobble.
Summary © 2001 Marion Watts
Brookside and all related materials are © Mersey Television 1982-2001