Phil entertains at home; Matt entertains away; Lilian seethes.

Radio Times: Lilian fears her Tiger is on the prowl.

Characters: Annabelle, David, Elizabeth, Jill, Matt, Nigel, Phil, Ruth

• It ought to be a nice family occasion, in which Phil shares with his children all the recipes he has picked up in Hong Kong, but he is really stressed about it. Jill has been scouring the town for the ingredients but all Phil can do is bemoan the substitution of pork with turkey – of which there is something of a glut in the household just now.
• Matt has a problem with some tenants and once again Annabelle has the answer. She approves of the invitation of an influential councillor to the shoot on Thursday. Matt is keen to update her on skylarks so they arrange to meet for a drink later – any old excuse!
• Meanwhile the dinner party is running late, allowing those who are not helping in the kitchen to discuss Alistair’s father and Kathy’s ‘illness’, though David cannot get any more information than ‘just a bug’. Jill has some kind private words for Ruth about her tests tomorrow, in advance of her operation next week.
• Matt refuses to be interrupted by his phone as he explains his triumph with Pip, though Annabelle thinks he will have to more than conquer one schoolgirl; Matt has more PR up his sleeve but Annabelle must wait and see. Since it is so late, they move on to dinner.
• Phil is clearly not impressed with his own cookery, in fact he is a real pain about it, complaining bitterly about not having the right ingredients and being very scathing about Jill’s suggested substitute.
• Matt finally returns home and finds Lilian still awake; she had been worried. Business, business, business kept him away and he is very evasive about the details, although she does wrestle from him the admission that Annabelle was “around briefly”.