Freddie is heading for a showdown.

Radio Times: Freddie finds a new vocation

Characters: Adam, Anisha, David, Elizabeth, Freddie, Rex

• Elizabeth is annoyed to find Freddie still at home and not where he should be, at college. He claims to have missed the bus and it’s a waste of time going in. He wants to live a life, see the world, get a job and be a “free spirit”. Elizabeth tries to explain the rules regarding earning a living but he’s in no mood to listen. She takes decisive action; no college, no allowance. How free can a spirit be with no income? Has Freddie met his match?
• Rex phones Anisha at the surgery to confirm their date for the evening and sort out food choices. Talk turns to Peggy’s new cat, Hilda Ogden. Anisha reckons that there are few in the village who haven’t been at the working end of its claws. Jennifer has apparently suggested permanent sedation but Peggy won’t hear of it.
• Freddie bumps into Adam, having walked from Lower Loxley. Freddie is down in the dumps but his mood lightens as Adam asks about his Festival experiences. He mentions Bonnie (aah!) and her philosophy of epicureanism, a sort of upmarket hedonism. He’d love to give it a go but doesn’t quite know how. Adam mentions that he’s a picker short due to illness. Paid work? Freddie’s in there like a shot.
• David drops in on Lizzie. She sounded morose on the phone to Ruth about Freddie. Lizzie is at her wit’s end. She regrets letting him go to the festival, life’s not just about dancing and freedom. She feels that she’s not been tough enough with him. David praises her parenting skills, bringing up both children without Nigel’s help. She asks him to have a word with Freddie, as a male authority figure. He agrees but adds that as a brilliant mother, it would come much better from her.
• Anisha has finished her work at Brookfield. David goes off to find Josh as Rex appears on the scene. It’s bad news. He has an urgent and profitable taxi job tonight which he can’t really afford to turn down. Despite his honesty, Anisha accepts the cancellation with ill-concealed bad grace. They’ll sort another date out at nets on Thursday.
• At Lower Loxley Freddie is basking in the knowledge that Adam will offer him holiday work, as long as his mother agrees. And, of course, she doesn’t. She wants him back at college and has made an appointment with his Head of Year to get him back on track with his maths and A2’s. She is offering him no choice in the matter. She makes it quite clear that this is his final chance.