Rob overrules Helen’s choice. Carol assures Jill her choice is right.

Radio Times: Carol and Jill feel emotional, and Helen looks forward to New Year’s Eve.

Characters: Carol, Helen, Jill, Rob

• Helen and Rob indulge in a pampering day out without Henry. Oozing flattery, Rob claims he is glad that Blithe Spirit is over so he can have his beautiful fiancée all to himself. When Helen tells him she has suggested that Kate might join them at the New Year’s Eve ball, Rob is not happy.
• Carol and Jill sample Jill’s baking before setting off to see a film. Carol is delighted that Jill has decided to stay, and although the family are quiet about it, Jill knows she has made the right decision. Most importantly, she will be staying near to Phil. Carol says that is why she came back to Ambridge; as you get older you need the familiar near to you.
• After a very expensive lunch, Rob helps Helen to choose a dress. He rejects everything she suggests, but manages to turn every rejection into a flattering remark about Helen’s beauty, and an unwillingness for her to be ogled by drunken louts. Finally he chooses a mauve dress, not a colour Helen really likes, but Rob says it brings out the colour of her eyes. So Helen decides on the mauve dress…
• Carol and Jill enjoy a weepy film followed by hot chocolate. Carol assures Jill she will move out of Glebe, but Jill has made her mind up; she will divide her time between Shula and Elizabeth.
• Helen’s final treat is a visit to the hairdressers, but Rob, of course, still wearyingly full of flattery, does not like the style Helen has chosen. He prefers something less trendy. Frumpy is Helen’s description. But Rob’s beautiful fiancée will be the belle of the ball. Of course. As long as the belle does as Rob tells her.