'Unchained Melody'

Archie tries to get Melody onside when he disagrees with a new inhaler Michelle wants them to start using. Melody doesn’t want to get involved. When Julia phones Melody to find out who she thinks is right out of the pair, Melody tells her she doesn’t want to be involved and that they should both just grow up. Meanwhile Karen has started the cabbage soup diet.

Smithy involves Ruth in playing a prank on Trudy. They are in the greenhouse at Beeches house and they call Trudy in to see something. She opens a box and a jack-in-a-box snake pops out giving her a huge fright. Smithy and Ruth fall about laughing. They celebrate with a kiss which quickly turns frantic. Ruth pulls away much to Smithy’s surprise.

Ruth tells Smithy about Davey but he can’t deal with serious issues and tries to make light of the situation. He wins a smile and a kiss from Ruth. They end up in bed together but Trudy catches them leaving Ruth feeling sordid and confused.

Meanwhile, Politics lecturer Dr Ben Flynn (40s) is in his office in Letherbridge University having a heated conversation with someone called Mike about a woman called Annie. As he leaves he collides with Jo McKenna (19) who’s been waiting outside. He’s quite rude to her and she fights back tears as he leaves. Ben is still on the phone as he arrives at the Campus surgery.

Melody is finishing her call to Archie when Ben enters; he nearly trips on some of Karen’s plastic bags, sending cabbages across the floor. He then turns and collides with Melody knocking coffee all over them both. Ben demands an apology from an incredulous Melody who refuses. Both are shocked to realise he is Melody’s next patient, and when she asks for an apology he refuses and leaves.

Melody gets the results of some blood tests that show Ben’s Hodgkin’s Lymphoma has returned. She tries to call him but he’s left his bag and mobile in reception. She goes to the university to see him and finds Jo leaving an essay in his office. He isn’t there but she sees a photo on his desk of a woman. Melody catches up with him in the canteen; she watches him laughing with his students and leaves unnoticed.

Ben catches her in his office when she is returning his bag. He doesn’t want to talk about his test results; he knows his cancer has returned but doesn’t want to deal with it. He insults Melody but she stands up to him. She says she’s ready to treat him when he’s ready but she wants an apology. Meanwhile Ben gets another text from Mike about Annie. He sees Jo’s essay and notices the photo has been moved.

Ben complains to Julia about Melody so Julia turns up at the Campus. She helps Melody see she must swallow her pride and back down over needing an apology from Ben before she helps him.

Ben marks Jo’s essay and puts angry red lines through it. Melody calls him and surprises him by apologising. She says she has one more patient to see and then a free appointment for him. Jo is Melody’s next patient; she starts to cry as she tells Melody how she is struggling on her course and that she is having trouble with her tutor Dr Ben Flynn.

Ben arrives as Melody is showing Jo out. He lets Melody examine him, and reveals he’s married to Annie and they’re having problems. He admits he’s been on the verge of bullying Jo as she seems to have been unwittingly caught in the crossfire. He hasn’t told his wife about the cancer being back and she left after he started a fight. Ben finally apologises to Melody. Jo later comes to see Melody to tell her she survived a tutorial with Ben and to pass on a message from him that he has spoken to his wife.