Alistair has reservations.

Radio Times: Alistair has reservations.

Characters: Alistair, David, Jill, Larry, Phil, Shula

• Shula and Alistair are wandering on Lakey Hill taking in a clear autumnal evening and discussing the fate of the cricket club and the ins and outs of village life. She mentions that she and Susan have cleared the air, he’s glad about that and mentions that maybe her outburst was a good thing, that maybe it gave everyone a jolt. In a very roundabout way he takes this as a segue into giving her a small present – an engagement ring. She claims not to be worth it and for him to take the ring back, but he seems quite determined.
• Larry pops round to tell Jill that he’s opted not to cast her in the panto, for which she’s fairly relieved as life at Brookfield is still more than a little overshadowed.
• Phil’s cogitating about that life and is remembering back to not just the TB outbreak four years ago but to the time in the 50s when a foot and mouth outbreak meant the destruction of their whole stock. He’s wondering what life would have entailed had Dan decided to sell up and quit farming and whether, in 40 years time, there’ll be much of a farm to pass on to the next generations or whether Home Farm and Borchester Land are their futures.

Summarised by: Chris Harrison