Joe’s judging goes wrong; Bert wins and wins. Kathy’s told to given Kenton a chance.

Radio Times: Joe’s big day has come, and Clarrie keeps Emma’s secret.

Characters: Bert, Clarrie, Jim, Joe, Kathy, Nic, Nigel, William

• Clarrie is trying to finish icing Joe’s birthday cake, 89 today, and be an empathetic ear to Kathy’s gripes about Kenton when William arrives to hurry her to the pub, ostensibly because Joe is judging but really to keep an eye on Nic. Clarrie does try to tell Kathy there is another side to every story.
• Joe, having finished judging the vegetables, “helps” an allegedly dithering Ian by sampling cake and Nigel by quaffing wine. He’s chuckling to himself as Jim and Bert go to see the results and tells Nic he has just been fastidious and applied the rules as Bert would have done.
• Will tells Nic he’s late arriving because the kids have been playing up. [Is he implying they need more of their mother’s hand?] He snidely remarks that Ed and Emma won’t be here yet, but they are, outside. Emma needed fresh air, she is feeling peaky. Clarrie covers by saying it is something Emma ate and tells Will how the punters love having Nic behind the bar.
• Nigel collars Kathy a couple of times at the show, pushing Kenton’s cause. Kenton is terribly upset, particularly about Jamie, he means the world to him, and was drowning his sorrows before last Thursday’s brush with the law. Give him another chance.
• Jim is outraged. Joe has disqualified his onions for not meeting schedule. Bert, whose onions got first place, explains tying them with twine was a mistake. Bert later thanks Joe for being fair minded; it is his best show in years. He won onions, carrots, leeks, and tomatoes! Jim berates Joe later and it slips out that Joe saw Bert Fry buying twine in the shop; he also agrees that if Jim’s onions hadn’t been tied they may have risen to the top of the crop. Beset by bad news Joe decides he is not judging next year, he gets blamed for everything.