The end of an era for Grey Gables: chef Jean-Paul is not coming back.

Radio Times: A bombshell for Caroline.

Characters: Alan, Caroline, Clarrie, Jack, Joe, Shula, William

• Alan calls on Shula at The Stables. He wants her to put up a poster about the sleep-out, to which she is agreeable, although she would take issue with his reasoning that those who can afford to keep horses really need to appreciate the problems of the poor. Anyway she hopes to take part herself. Alan is cross to hear of the rumours that he is about to open a drug safe-house in the village.
• With a bit of help from William, Joe takes delivery of friend Ernie’s cattle into his doomed barn. Is he deluding himself by thinking this is a step towards getting the Grundys back into proper farming?
• Shula and Caroline are enjoying a lunch from Ian’s new menu, somewhat lighter than Jean-Paul’s; there’s vegetarian too, which J-P only did under sufferance. Caroline is able to report that she and Oliver have passed the police check, so the fostering course is next; she is terrified.
• Clarrie is pleased that the hunt have given Ed a part-time job even though the crisis is past. William is predictably ambivalent. Also he is not too happy about Greg’s mood this week which was not improved by finding motor-cycle tyre tracks in the woods; this earned Jazzer a talking to when they caught up with him.
• Caroline’s uncertainty about when Jean-Paul will return is resolved by his phone call but it gives her a problem. He is not coming back at all. He must stay and look after his mother; there is no-one else to do it. Also it feels right being back in France. It seems like the end of an era to Jack and Caroline; he has been at Grey Gables for twenty years. Now what will they do: Ian is only filling in.