Tony struggles to understand his children’s relationships – Tom with Kirsty(!) and Helen with Greg.

Radio Times: A right Royal family day out.

Characters: Bert, David, Helen, Kirsty, Ruth, Tom, Tony

• Bert has risen early so as to be at the Royal in time to help David prepare their ‘beauty queen’, Britney.
• Tom and Kirsty return home, having had a great time. Has she any plans for the week? They could go out on Wednesday, although they ought to go to the GM meeting first. Tom might even pop into The Bull tonight but not to see Fallon if he can help it; she is the loser, as a lingering parting kiss demonstrates.
• Back at Bridge Farm, Tom is happy to confirm his father’s assessment that Ed was not much use but says nothing about how the weekend actually turned out, except that he does not want to see a frying pan for a while. Tony is a bit concerned about Helen and persuades her to come for a drink with him this evening.
• To Pip’s great disappointment, Britney wins nothing – maybe next year! When Bert takes the children to see the shire horses, Ruth is able to break the news that a neighbouring farm has a TB reactor and DEFRA wants Brookfield to do some tests. It’s just a precaution.
• As promised, Tom does pop into The Bull but declines to join his father and sister; he has come for a word with Kirsty. More than a word, as a puzzled Tony observes, but Helen cannot shed any light on her brother’s behaviour. Helen has her own worries and explains that her problem is the same old one with Michelle and the girls. She sees no evidence of email contacts but she has had to field several phone calls on Greg’s behalf. He is still caught up with it all emotionally; Michelle still has a hold over him.