Episode 2141 (12th December 1996)

==Plot==
Dave tells Kathy that Alice isn't eating her breakfast and she thinks she's poorly. Tina gloats to Kim about not being able to stop Dave and Kathy getting married, but Kim retorts by saying that Tina's not so different from her given how she's managed to get in with Frank. Vic sees Viv come out of the Woolpack and asks how the dinner went. He tells her that Kelly stormed upstairs and Donna relayed to him what had happened between them. Kathy decides to keep Alice off school just to be on the safe side. The Dingles pack the van ready to host their grotto. Butch comes out of the house dressed as a pirate, complete with Nellie's scarf and one of Mandy's kitchen knives. He grips the blade really hard, but before Mandy can tell him to be careful, he faints from blood loss. At the Sugdens, Sarah expresses her displeasure at the state of the new farm. Jack says he'll go into Leeds to collect Andy so he can stay over for the Christmas period, but Sarah is unsure as Andy has been behaving badly at his foster mother's and feels he would be better off in a home over the season. Alice collects her backpack and teddy and walks out behind Kathy and Betty's backs. In the village hall, the grotto is underway and lots of children and parents have gathered. Butch, now clad in an elf costume, has his arm in a sling after a trip to hospital. Marlon is annoyed to see Zak give away the items for free, insisting that they're profits, but Zak tells him that he was moved by the story a child told him. Zak expresses his frustrations and having to be Santa all day and storms off to the Woolpack, where Biff and Linda ask Dave if he's all right with Frank and Kim coming to their wedding. Dave tells them that Alice has been messing him about and Linda suggests she can be their bridesmaid. The Dingles arrive at the pub and Marlon tries to persuade Zak to come back to the grotto with the promise of beer. Kim returns home with a wooden horse for James that he can use before he can start riding properly in a couple of years. Kathy tells Eric that she's planning on buying Annie's cottage and needs the cash for it and proposes that he buys a half-share of the business. He tells her he'll think about it. Dave arrives and tells Kathy about Biff and Linda wanting Alice to be bridesmaid. They start to panic when she realises that Alice is not upstairs nor has been with Dave. Seth finds Alice out in the village on her own and enquires where she's off to. She tells him that she's going off to stay with Nick. Tina tells Frank about Steve’s plans to screw him and reveals that Evest Investments, the company that Frank asked Steve to investigate, is owned by Steve himself. Grateful that Tina’s passed him such valuable information, he tells her that she’s proved how trustworthy she can be to him. Viv calls in at the post office and says to a moody Vic that she’s entitled to continue working there as she still has a stake. Vic vehemently refuses, but Viv suggests that it purely be a working relationship. He accepts, but with the stipulation that she remains only in the post office. With working arrangements sorted out, Viv then drops the bombshell that she wants a divorce. A shocked Vic admits that, despite her indiscretion, he doesn’t want the marriage to end. Alice tells Seth that she’s going to stay with Nick because he loves her, but Seth says that Kathy loves her too, hence why Nick left her with Kathy. Alice expresses her worries that Dave and Kathy won’t take her to their new house, but Seth reassures her that they will, where they’ll be together. At the Woolpack, Viv tells Terry that she’s got her job at the post office back. Terry says that he’ll hardly see her, but she reassures him that she’ll work the bar with him in the evenings. Dave returns from searching for Alice, with no luck. Kathy says she’ll have to ring the police, but Dave spots Seth and Alice coming down the road. Kathy takes Alice inside, while Seth advises Dave that he and Kathy spare some time to talk to her. At the grotto, Marlon begins worrying when he sees people leaving without spending while Zak gets into the spirit of being Santa. Frustrated, he suggests Butch takes over. Jack returns home with Andy. Frank meets with Steve, who tells him that Evest have been very clever and thorough, with off-shore shell companies, leaving behind quite a trail, and he advises Frank to do the deal. Frank informs him that he’s decided that he no longer needs the Sugdens’ farm, leaving Steve uncomfortable. Andy tells the Sugdens what happened at the foster home, telling them that he was being teased because he hadn’t got a family. At the Woolpack, Marlon proposes a new plan – two Santas. Dave and Kathy tell Alice that they’ll be moving into Annie’s old cottage after Christmas, and Dave suggests to Alice if she’d like to be Linda and Biff’s bridesmaid. Viv tells Terry that they need to think about the future.
==Cast==
===Regular cast===
*Kathy Glover - Malandra Burrows
*Betty Eagleton - Paula Tilbrook
*Eric Pollard - Christopher Chittell
*David Glover - Ian Kelsey
*Kim Tate - Claire King
*Frank Tate - Norman Bowler
*Tina Dingle - Jacqueline Pirie
*Vic Windsor - Alun Lewis
*Viv Windsor - Deena Payne
*Alice Bates - Rachel Tolboys
*Zak Dingle - Steve Halliwell
*Marlon Dingle - Mark Charnock
*Mandy Dingle - Lisa Riley
*Butch Dingle - Paul Loughran
*Sarah Sugden - Alyson Spiro
*Jack Sugden - Clive Hornby
*Ned Glover - Johnny Leeze
*Biff Fowler - Stuart Wade
*Linda Glover - Tonicha Jeronimo
*Terry Woods - Billy Hartman
*Christopher Tate - Peter Amory
*Seth Armstrong - Stan Richards
*Andy Hopwood - Kelvin Fletcher
*Robert Sugden - Christopher Smith
*Victoria Sugden - Jessica Heywood (uncredited)
*Steve Marchant - Paul Opacic
===Guest cast===
None.
==Locations==
*Church Lane
*Home Farm - Grounds and office
*Main Street
*The Woolpack - Beer garden and public bar
*The Old School Tea Rooms/Pollard's - Upstairs flat (living room/kitchen) and main area
*Woodside Farm - Exterior
*Emmerdale Village Hall - Main hall
*Windsor's Village Store & Post Office - Shop floor
*Playground
*Emmerdale Farm - Yard and farmhouse (kitchen)
Category:1996 episodes
Category:Emmerdale episodes