Helen may be navigating into choppy domestic waters; Kenton may have been a little premature.

Radio Times: Jill is escaping, and Kenton is putting his plans into action.

Characters: Helen, Jill, Jolene, Kenton, Shula, Tina

• Jill has left Justin Elliott’s architect to his own devices at Brookfield and seeks temporary sanctuary with Shula at The Stables. She makes it quite clear that she can’t agree to turfing Dan out of his own bedroom when she moves in. She will be perfectly happy in the small room at the end of the landing. Shula is horrified, especially as Dan has already agreed to the new arrangements.
• At The Bull, Jolene is suffering from post-Christmas blues, especially as Kenton is more interested in chatting to Elizabeth than getting on with the more mundane task of servicing the condenser in the bar. He vows to do it as soon as he gets back and with that… he promptly vanishes!
• Helen is meeting with Tina at the shop. Helen is surprised at just how bad things are, despite Tina’s excuses regarding temporary staff and the weather. Her lack of judgment in ordering and the resulting need to sell stock at a loss comes as a complete shock to Helen.
• At The Stables, Jill prepares to leave for a shopping trip to Borchester, with the intention of getting Jenny something for her birthday. She tells Shula that she was surprised that Carol was not invited to the party. She announces that she has decided to let Phil’s piano go rather than attempt to move it into the house. Despite Shula’s protests that it is no trouble, Jill’s mind is made up.
• Returning to The Bull as promised, Kenton produces tickets to Australia with a stopover in New Zealand. What’s more, they are business class. Jolene is absolutely over the moon. Cover for the pub has been arranged with Fallon and the cost of the flights has been put on his credit card, to be paid for when the Brookfield windfall comes through, nothing can go wrong. So that’s OK then!
• Tina vows that she is on top of everything now. Helen makes it quite clear that she wants to be kept in the loop in future and that if Tina has any concerns, she is to get back to her. As she leaves, she meets Jill who comments that it is good to see her back in the shop. Helen admits that she may possibly need to be a little more hands on in future.