By 
In the middle of the men vs women darts tournament, Ben steps up and kisses Paul in front of everybody! Including his dad Phil! I guess this was Ben’s way of coming out publicly. Unfortunately, it didn’t go too well, Phil storms out of The Vic in disgust. After a talking to from Jay, Phil comes around to the idea of Ben finally being out and returns to the pub.
However, Ben faces resistance elsewhere, as Paul’s Grandmother, Pam Coker, is not keen on giving Ben a chance at all! Ben can’t stand the pressure from Pam and decides to end things with Paul, which causes Pam to feel all kinds of guilty. After a little family talk, Pam decides to give Ben a chance and offers him an olive branch. Looks like all is back on for the new gay power couple of the square, for now…
Linzi confronts Jay, trying to win him back. He calls her a silly little girl; he tells her that he cannot be in a relationship with her as she’s only 14! A heartbroken Linzi turns to her mum for support. Thelma (Linzi’s mum) bursts into the pub, disrupting the darts match and confronts Jay, calling him a pedophile! Back at the Mitchell house, Louise comes clean about who Linzi really is. Phil is disgusted with Jay and asks if anything has ever happened with Louise, who is also 14. Jay tries to explain that Louise tried to kiss him once, she has a schoolgirl crush. But Phil is way too angry and heads for a drink. The police turn up, thanks to Thelma calling them, and Jay is taken away! Oh no! After being questioned by police, Jay decides the best thing he can do is to plead guilty at the hearing, that way he gets to walk free right away, instead of being held in prison. He pleads guilty and everyone sees this as him admitting he slept with her, when in reality it’s not his fault. He faces backlash from the residents of the square, mainly Phil. Later on after walking through an alley way, a group of thugs attack Jay and beat him up.
Denise gets a surprise visit from her daughter Libby… But what’s even more surprising, is that Libby announces she’s pregnant! A delighted Denise spins out of control with happiness, unfortunately she has no plans to keep the baby and wants an abortion. Kim tries to talk Denise round and asks that she supports Libby, but instead, it just makes her even more upset. She heads to The Albert, to continue drinking, already in a tipsy state. After a lot of drinks, Denise and Phil end up being the last two left in the bar. After stumbling home, Phil invites her into his house. Things get passionate as they share a kiss, and one thing leads to another… The next morning and Denise regrets everything! Phil however, can’t remember who he slept with. After taking a hard look at her life, Denise decides to do the right thing and support Libby and goes to the abortion clinic with her.
Ian organizes the ‘Pride of Walford’ awards. However, he has a secret he’s trying to hide, that he’s selling his restaurant to Cost-Mart, a supermarket chain whose presence would damage the trade for all the market stall traders. Kyle’s friend Soph offers to help out by waitressing the event and we learn that she was once in a relationship with Kylie, before he transitioned into a man. It appears as though she still has feelings for him. After Sonia gives Tina’s ticket to Bex instead, she decides to also volunteer as a waitress for the event, so she can be there to see Sonia win her award. After both feeling rejected, Tina and Soph both get a little too drunk while working.
Tina ends up getting up on stage and ruining Sonia’s big award moment! Sonia storms off and argues with Tina, but this just ends up pushing her into Soph’s arms and they end up getting together! After sleeping with Soph, Tina tries to deal with the guilt of being a cheat. She confides in Mick and the rest of the Carters, who all offer up some advice. She decides to come clean and heads over to Sonia’s house, however just before she reveals the big news. Sonia blind-sides her that she’s found a lump! However, it doesn’t end there, the next day, as Tina arrives home, she walks into the living room to find Soph, sitting with Sonia, I guess the secrets out! Meanwhile back at the Pride awards, Claudette shows up lurking in the shadows as Vincent and Donna accept an award on her behalf, she goes unnoticed and slips back into the shadows. Ian finally comes clean about his secret cost-mart deal, the square is angry and organizes a group meeting to discuss how to stop it going ahead.
Elsewhere the tension continues to grow between Kyle and Andy, the builder next door. After Kyle notices he’s been trying to flirt and get close with Stacey, he becomes protective. Stacey notices that Andy is lying about going home and instead, he’s homeless and living in the building site next door! Kyle doesn’t take too kindly to his flirting and lashes out at him, almost knocking him off the ladder. Masood tries out internet dating and ends up going for a drink with a younger woman.
Comments