Like father, but not like son: William collars Eddie poaching.

Radio Times: Wassail, wassail all over the town.

Characters: Clarrie, Eddie, Elizabeth, Jolene, Lynda, Nigel, Sid, Siobhán, William

• At wassailing night Eddie is obviously fishing for information about William’s work pattern that night … but William is going straight to bed, or so he says. Clarrie is pleased that Eddie and William seem to be getting on better at last, but she too is very tired, making the point that nothing will wake her tonight.
• Lynda’s raucous singing – she can’t stick to a note! is worrying Sid and Jolene … they don’t want the punters put off. Sid persuades her to take around her wassail bowl (Jolene has covered a tasteful bucket with wrapping paper but that’s not deemed suitable by Lynda).
• Preparations are also under way for the Carols by Candlelight evening at Lower Loxley. Lizzie is as tetchy as always, and Nigel is at his soppily reassuring best.
• Back at the pub, Eddie and William are sharing the joke of customers being willing to pay Lynda to stop singing. Eddie is being sickeningly paternal and Clarrie is starting to be suspicious.
• The sound of a shotgun in the woods, and a father being collared by his son; it’s hard to know who is more surprised. William is furious and Eddie truculent. Williams is further angered by Eddie’s glib statements that ‘they’ – the estate – owe him. If this happens again he will go straight to Greg Turner and he means it.