Carol wants to attend her hospital appointment alone but Sonia insists on accompanying her. On the Square, Carol clocks a spat between Buster and Shirley. Buster wishes Carol luck, ordering her to put herself first today. After a physical examination, the surgeon says there’s no sign of cancer reoccurrence and enquires about breast reconstruction. Carol hesitates but Sonia firmly says no, to her irritation. Back home, Tina’s made soup for lunch. Whitney and Liam present Carol with a shawl from the market. Cindy remarks her Nan has one like it. Carol smiles tightly, then feigns a headache, and seeks solace at Patrick’s with Buster.
Listening to records and sipping wine, Carol scoffs she doesn’t want to celebrate being cancer free with soup and scarves. Buster recalls sneaking in to see The Clash with Shirley when they were young. Carol muses she put her dreams on hold when her children were born and wonders what she’s done with her life. Buster insists she’s more than a cancer victim. Tipsy now, Carol and Buster discuss relationships; Carol wishes she’d taken more risks. Buster buoys her up, insisting any man in his right mind would be mad not to go for her. Carol’s touched.
Denise clocks her as she stumbles back home, where Sonia’s indignant that she’s been gone ages and Tina’s soup’s gone cold. Meanwhile at Patrick’s, Shirley discovers a bra down the back of the sofa; it clearly doesn’t belong to anyone in the house and she turns to awkward Denise... At the Butchers’, Carol berates Sonia for speaking for her at the hospital - she’s not ready to be put out to pasture. Fed up, Carol flings underwear from the laundry into the bin, insisting she’d better get rid of anything feminine. Suddenly Shirley storms in, brandishing a bra - lost something? When Sonia laughs at the idea of Carol and Buster having a fling, Carol defiantly claims she slept with Buster.
Shirley and Buster row when Buster won’t cancel their appointment with the social worker. In Blades, grumpy Shirley spends all morning on the phone and frightens off customers. Suspicious Dean hits redial and is put through to Walford Social Services. He finds Shirley sat on the War Memorial; she reveals Buster’s plan to see Jade but explains she’s been trying to cancel their appointment, terrified she’ll fail. Dean agrees he’s called Shirley a rubbish mum in the past but believes she can do it. Shirley’s pleasantly surprised when Shabnam agrees to support them and heads home to find Buster but he’s out…
When Stacey calls round to apologise, Shabnam happily informs her Kush knows about her pregnancy. Kush appears with a baby scan photo and Stacey fronts she’s happy for them. Shabnam assembles Masood, Tamwar and Carmel for an announcement; Masood’s hopeful Shabnam’s changed her mind about seeing Jade. On the market, Martin invites Stacey for a drink. Stacey awkwardly claims she doesn’t want to complicate things between them. Martin’s gutted.
At the Masoods’, Kush announces Shabnam’s pregnant. Stunned, Masood can’t help make a dig about Jade, wondering how this baby will be any different. Kush looks to Carmel for support but she’s concerned that it’s not what he really wants – if he has doubts, now is the time to say. Rocked, Kush flees, to Shabnam’s dismay. Masood stops her following and the two talk; vulnerable Shabnam knows she can never make things right with Jade but explains this baby is her second chance. Masood soothes her fears and promises she’s nothing to be ashamed of. Shabnam’s grateful and asks Masood to go with her to report the attack to the police.
Meanwhile, Stacey meets Kush in the park, who’s shell-shocked by Carmel’s question and confused. Angry, Stacey insists his behaviour isn’t fair on her or Shabnam. Kush hurries back to the Masoods’ where he takes Shabnam’s hand and vows the baby is wanted by both of them. At No. 3, rejected Stacey advances on Martin, telling him she’s changed her mind but he stops her - he wants more. He’s delighted when Stacey agrees to be together properly. As Shabnam and Masood return from the police station, Shabnam spots Shirley and agrees to give her support if they want a relationship with Jade. Show less