Perhaps Pat may be able to support Helen after all. Bridge Farm without pigs? Surely not!

Radio Times: Tom calls a family meeting, and Helen has questions that need answering.

Characters: Anna, Helen, Johnny, Pat, Tom, Tony

• Helen discusses her move to the mother and baby unit with Anna. Helen’s concerned about every last detail. Anna tries to put her at ease. Yes, there will be bars at her window but no, she won’t be locked in at night. She will meet her midwife prior to her admission to hospital, and no, she won’t be shackled during the birth. Helen’s in a turmoil. What would she be doing with Henry on a Sunday afternoon under normal circumstances? Just how did she end up in this terrible situation?
• Pat has discovered an organisation which provides birth partners for women in prison. She still can’t understand why she can’t take that role. Tony tries to explain again why not but is interrupted by Tom who wants to call a family meeting in ten minutes. He’s had some ideas concerning the farm.
• Helen reflects on the past. How she keeps seeing Henry as a frail, vulnerable newborn, every time she closes her eyes. In response to Anna’s gentle questioning, she admits that Henry loved Rob. How he sent him a father’s day card in his best handwriting, saying that he was the best Dad in the world. All she wished now was that she could see her little boy. Anna expressed her sorrow that Helen had ended up like this.
• Henry is occupied with drawing and Tom starts the meeting. It’s about the farm shop. With the reduction in income due to closure, the loss of food and Rob’s sick pay, it wouldn’t take much to knock the whole farm into dire straits. There’s a general uproar; the shop must continue for Helen’s sake. But Tom has other thoughts. He’s wondering about the future of the pigs!
• Anna tells Helen that she’ll be thinking of her during her transfer tomorrow. Helen rather oddly, asks why? When asked if she was looking forward to meeting the new baby, Helen says “no, not really”. Henry was different; he was planned. This time, well … she wanted to wait; she wanted to let the dust settle after the wedding, but Rob disagreed. Anna carefully asks how Rob felt about the baby. Helen fails to answer, wanting to know who will be at the birth. When she hears that she can have up to two birth partners, she predictably bursts into floods of tears, begging for one of them to be her mother … please! Oh dear.
• Johnny quizzes Tom about letting the pigs go. His father started them many years ago and he hates the idea of losing them. Tom is quite firm, they just aren’t worth the effort, he’s running a business. The pigs have to go, “end of!” Meanwhile, Tony is on the phone to Anna. It’s inhuman that Pat can’t support Helen at the birth. Anna can do nothing, but it’s just possible that Pat could. It’s a long shot, but it may be worth a try.