Tina’s struggling to look after Sylvie without Sonia. Gutted about Buster’s departure and worried about Phil, Shirley refuses to help her sister. Shirley takes the last of Buster’s belongings over to the Vic. When Babe intimates that it was Shirley’s fault Buster left, Lee’s keen to tell Shirley about Buster’s affair but Mick stops him –why cause Shirley heartbreak? With no work to go to, Lee’s been lazing around but Mick sends him off to get washed. Tina’s distracted at the café and makes mistakes. A resigned Marie agrees to cover the rest of the shift when Tina realises she’s forgotten to pick up Sylvie’s meds. Shirley’s desperate to visit Phil but Sharon kindly suggests Shirley leaves Phil to her – maybe she needs her own family around her now Buster’s gone?
When Johnny leaves Sylvie on her own, Sylvie puts a saucepan of water on to boil then gets distracted and wanders off. By the time Tina comes home the pot has boiled dry. When Shirley appears on the doorstep clutching a bottle of vodka, Tina crumbles, defeated. She explains she can’t cope with Sylvie alone or pay for the house. Tina’s thrilled when Shirley suggests that she and Sylvie move in with her – Tina can bunk in with Shirley and Sylvie can have the spare room. After talking to Stacey about the lease, Tina brings home fish and chips. She tells Shirley what Buster did was mean and assures her sister she’s there for her.
Stacey makes plans for Kyle’s birthday on Friday. Bex is stressed by the amount of time Kyle’s spending in the bathroom and is offended when Sonia offers her a sausage bap – she’s just decided to go vegan. When Stacey asks Martin to take out the rubbish he’s not sure where to put it, the bins are full. Stacey’s adamant they need to find a bigger place to live. Tina overhears Stacey on the phone trying and failing to negotiate with the estate agents over the price of Masood’s house. Later on, Tina tells Stacey she’s moving out of No.31 and there’s six months left on the lease. Stacey’s thrilled at the thought of having a proper family home and is delighted when Martin agrees that they should go for it.
Phil’s in intensive care and has Hepatic Encephalopathy. Louise’s angry that it was only her and Shirley that realised Phil was ill and not drunk. Ben’s taken off his sling, keen to get back to proper work. He refuses to visit Phil and later lies to Billy about it. When Sharon visits the Arches to tell Ben that Phil’s out of intensive care, Ben admits he feels guilty for turning his back on his dad. He visits Phil after Sharon reminds him he’s still Phil’s best chance of getting back to full health. Louise and Sharon are thrilled when Ben tells them Phil’s been talking. The three of them make plans to visit him together later that evening and Louise is apologetic for being angry earlier. Dennis comes home with a bloody nose. Learning William’s shaken up too, Sharon worries that the boys are being bullied.
When a penalty charge notice arrives addressed to Vincent, Kim tries to hide it but eventually admits to Vincent that she illegally parked in a bus lane to go shopping. Kim’s eyes light up when she discovers Donna has a blue badge parking permit but Donna dismisses Kim’s suggestion they go shopping together and is outraged when Kim asks to borrow the permit – disabled people need those spaces. Undeterred, Kim then invites herself round to Claudette’s – claiming she wants Claudette’s opinion on some clothes she’s bought – and steals Donna’s blue badge whilst Claudette’s distracted.
Donna’s happy to gossip about Buster’s departure but gets annoyed when people speculate about the Cokers selling up. Kathy pointedly remarks to Donna that market gossip isn’t very nice, is it? Show less