Mick approaches Sylvie slowly and explains that he is her son. Mick attempts to call Babe but only gets her voicemail. Sylvie’s clearly confused, but recognises Shirley and snaps at her for staring. Mick leads Sylvie to the car to find Babe. Shirley is wary and asks what he thinks Stan’s reaction will be. On their way home they get stuck behind a van. As Mick and Shirley are distracted, Sylvie slips out of the car and runs away. Mick and Shirley search the market for Sylvie.
They spot Babe and tell her what has happened. Horrified, Babe informs them that Sylvie has Alzheimer’s and she has been looking after her for two years. She is shocked to hear that she recognised Shirley. Meanwhile, Sylvie is disorientated in the busy market and makes her way into the café asking for a sandwich. Jane notices that Sylvie’s in her slippers and hears her getting worked up when she realises she has no money. Jane buys her a sandwich and sits down with her. Shirley enters the café and thanks Jane for helping. Shirley sits with her mum asking if she knows who she is. Sylvie is cruel and describes Shirley as a child. She asks how the baby is, referring to Tina. Shirley tries to persuade her that Mick is her son. Shirley starts to feel sorry for her due to her mental state but Sylvie slams her fist on the table and threatens to hit her.
Babe and Mick enter; Sylvie’s taken with Mick and convinced he’s her date. Babe takes her home and Mick wants to visit her tomorrow. Babe asks why they were at her house in the first place and Shirley tells her that Tosh thought that the watch was Sonia’s. Babe is adamant that she told her that it wasn’t. Shirley warns Babe that she is watching her. Mick gets Sylvie into Babe’s car. When she’s still confused about him, Mick tells her that he’s her son. Sylvie tells a stunned Mick that she never had a son.
At Dot’s house, Ian is worried about Dot and threatens Nick. Nick laughs him off and points out that if he rings the police the only person he will be hurting is Dot. Yvonne tries to get him to leave but he refuses until he sees Dot. Nick teases Ian about his father, Pete. Dot’s shocked to see Ian; she asks Nick to leave them alone for a bit and tries to explain about Nick’s faked death. Ian offers to go to the police for her but she can’t allow it. Dot pleads she’d do anything for her child, and knows Ian feels the same. Dot asks Ian to pretend he never saw Nick – Ian agrees, for Dot’s sake. Affected by their talk, Ian approaches Peter on his market stall and apologises profusely. He tells him that he needs him and always will.
Cindy’s delighted when Peter arrives home with his bags - when they are going to decorate the tree? When Jane and Bobby come home, Ian tells Peter to hide and adopts a stern façade, ordering Bobby to do his homework. A fed up Jane’s berating Ian when Peter surprises them. Jane is shocked to see him and thrilled that he’s back. Bobby picks the first tree decoration, which belonged to Lucy. Ian decides it should be the first to go on the tree. Later, Ian heads out to get mince pies for Bobby and thanks Jane for keeping on at him about Peter - now they can look forward to Christmas. As Ian walks away, he spots Nick at Dot’s upstairs window. Meanwhile, at Phil’s house, Sharon’s dressed up for Phil in a sexy festive outfit Phil; as the two are getting intimate there is a bang at the door. Ian bursts in looking for Sharon – Nick Cotton isn’t dead...
Aleks spots Charlie in the market and asks him to help him see Roxy. Charlie tells her that Aleks wants to see her in the market office but Aleks receives a phone call from Ineta’s school and isn’t in the office when Roxy arrives. Later, Aleks apologises that Ineta’s being bullied at school and was in a fight after a boy called her a gypsy. He explains why he lied to Roxy about Marta and tells her that she is all he wants. Aleks knows that he needs to be a dad to Ineta now Marta’s left and he can’t be around Roxy if he can’t be with her – he’s leaving Walford. Show less