Episode 10197/8 (18th December 2020)

## Plot

**Part One:** The residents read the story in the *Gazette* about a search for a body in Beacon Woods. Todd receives an email from the Survivors' Support helpline inviting him in for a chat. Paul offers to accompany him. Faye hands out flyers for the window cleaning round. Debbie offers her a better job, but Faye assures Abi that she'd never take up her offer. Nina threatens to bar Simon if he causes trouble in the cafe again. Ajay Dewan shows Todd the helpline centre office. While Paul dons the headphones to take calls, Todd sends a surreptitious text. Shona sees Ray drop his bistro keys by accident and pockets them. Paul takes a call from a very distressed kid called Will who is frightened of his stepdad and will only speak to him. Will begs Paul for his personal phone number. Paul eventually caves in and Todd clocks their exchange. Shona persuades Simon to join her for free drinks in the bistro. Daisy turns up at the Rovers and meets David who is waiting alone in the public. Brian prompts Bernie to tell the police about the watch she found in the woods.

**Part Two:** Shona mixes cocktails for herself and Simon as they swap their respective woes. Nick isn't sleeping well. He and Leanne wish Toyah luck as she sets off to find out if her and Imran's fostering application has been approved. Daisy flirts with David. Todd quizzes Paul about Will. He admits he's getting in deep. Gary is shaken when he hears about the search for the body on the radio. A tipsy Shona realises she has lost the keys and they are locked in. Billy and Paul man a charity stall on Victoria Street. Paul receives an urgent text from Will. He rushes back to the flat and rings him. Under pressure, he agrees to meet up with him. Shona rings David for help. Paul tells Billy he feels as though he's getting in too deep at the helpline, but Billy assures him that he's doing fine. Bernie calls at the police station.

**Part Three:** Nick rings Sam, saying he'd love to see him. Unable to gain entry to the bistro, David rings Shona and tells her to do a proper search for the keys. She overhears Daisy in the background and demands to know who it is. Toyah and Imran are approved. Leanne offers her sincere congratulations and assures Nick she's fine with him seeing Sam. Paul meets up with Will and explains to the scared lad that he can't get personally involved as he'd lose his job. Will turns on his heel and heads off, leaving Paul feeling wretched. Shona finds the keys in the fridge and they leave. She isn't pleased to find David with Daisy outside. Bernie tells DS Willets about the watch, its inscription, how Gary was desperate to get his hands on it and how some people think he is responsible for the attack on Adam.

**Part Four:** Miles Ingham tells Debbie that Ray is skint and selling his hotels to raise cash for the development. Ray's partners are furious at her interference. Gary confronts Sarah and accuses her of shopping him to the police. She denies it and he threatens to tell the police that she knew about it, and about the murder of Callum Logan. Debbie begs for Kevin's forgiveness, but he refuses. David admits to Gail that he's tired of dealing with Shona's unpredictable behaviour, but he's also sick of her interference. Debbie assures Ray that she's back on board and the more properties they can demolish, the better. Ray spots that someone has been in the bistro helping themselves and decides to check the CCTV. Todd meets up with Will who is known to him. The lad is pleased with his convincing acting performance. Todd admits he's trying to split Paul and Billy up and his contribution is only the start of things.

## Cast

### Regular cast

* Sarah Barlow - Tina O'Brien
* Paul Foreman - Peter Ash
* Todd Grimshaw - Gareth Pierce
* Billy Mayhew - Daniel Brocklebank
* Abi Franklin - Sally Carman
* Faye Windass - Ellie Leach *(10197 only)*
* Gary Windass - Mikey North
* Debbie Webster - Sue Devaney
* Simon Barlow - Alex Bain
* Nina Lucas - Mollie Gallagher *(10197 only)*
* David Platt - Jack P. Shepherd
* Shona Platt - Julia Goulding
* Ray Crosby - Mark Frost
* Brian Packham - Peter Gunn *(10197 only)*
* Bernie Winter - Jane Hazlegrove
* Daisy Midgeley - Charlotte Jordan
* Jenny Connor - Sally Ann Matthews *(10197 only)*
* Leanne Battersby - Jane Danson
* Toyah Battersby - Georgia Taylor
* Nick Tilsley - Ben Price
* Gail Rodwell - Helen Worth
* Kevin Webster - Michael Le Vell *(10198 only)*

### Guest cast

* Ajay Dewan - Harki Bhambra *(10197 only)*
* Will - Ben Hackett *(10198 only)*
* DS Willets - James Quinn *(10198 only)*
* Miles Ingham - Peter F. Gardiner *(10198 only)*

## Notes

* This was a one-hour episode made up of two production codes and transmitted at 7.30pm to enable a two-hour episode of *Midsomer Murders* to be shown afterwards. Both parts were written by Simon Crowther.
* Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this episode made with social distancing rules being observed by both cast and production crew, even when they were playing family members or people who shared residences.
* The radio newsreader is uncredited.
* *TV Times* synopsis: Paul struggles with the demands of a needy caller to the helpline; Shona and Simon have a lock-in at the bistro; and the net closes in on Gary.
* Viewing Figures: First UK broadcast: 6,708,824 viewers (4th place).