Pip and Matthew have had their first row.

Radio Times: Pip is feeling flat and ‘the Bank of Peggy’ might be doing business today.

Characters: Jill, Pat, Peggy, Pip, Ruth

• Curtain production is in progress at Brookfield; Peggy has come to help and is finding working with Jill a more enjoyable experience than working with Christine. The post has brought copies of the catalogue for the herd sale – a special sale at Borchester Market. Only Pip seems not to be interested. When Pat calls to take Peggy to lunch, she has little news of Helen; the family have not seen much of her.
• On the way to Bridge Farm, Peggy tells Pat that Bert’s bungalow is nearly ready; first he has to negotiate his first Valentine’s Day without Freda. These milestones are difficult. Peggy won’t be able to stay after lunch: Kate has asked for meeting. Peggy suspects a request for a handout but she will give Kate a fair hearing and will help if her case is well-founded.
• When Ruth looks in on Pip, she discovers why her daughter was too preoccupied to look at the catalogue: she and Matthew had their first row last night and they didn’t make up. Pip doesn’t know how it started but it escalated; today there have just been some cautious messages. Mum advises that every relationship has its ups and downs.
• Fashionable they may be, but black pudding scotch eggs seem a thoroughly resistable proposition for Peggy. Pat had no idea that Helen had not been eating properly and thinks she had just taken on too much. The baby has got to be Helen’s priority now. Rob is absolutely right (a proposition with which he would be the first to agree – I so nearly got through the episode without a mention of that man).