S03E14: 'Standing Up'

Fenner emerges from one of Virginia’s brothels. Once in the safety of his car he takes out a big pile of cash and splits it into two, placing both lots of cash into separate envelopes. The following morning, he gives Virginia a bank deposit slip for her half of the cash. Virginia complains about having to share a cell with Barbara. Fenner realises that he’s being blackmailed and goes to speak to Karen about it. He persuades her to move Virginia into a single cell. Virginia is delighted when Fenner informs her that her request has been granted. When he leaves her cell, she tries to reach a bag which is lying on top of her locker and when she can’t, she stands up and walks over to retrieve it!

Now that he knows she’s pregnant, Mark is trying desperately to persuade Gina to forgive him for having sex with Di but even when he buys her flowers, she refuses to listen to his excuses and informs him that she plans to get an abortion. Di is also intent on getting Gina’s forgiveness and tries to blame her behaviour on alcohol and family pressures. Gina, unsurprisingly, tells her to get lost.

Helen is walking down the corridor with Thomas when she spots Fenner involved in what looks like an intense conversation with Maxi. She jumps to the obvious conclusion and accuses Fenner of breaking the rules. Fenner is all innocence, he knows that Helen can’t prove anything, especially as he knows that Thomas was a few steps behind Helen and couldn’t have seen a thing. Even though he faces upsetting Helen, Thomas is forced to admit that he didn’t see anything untoward. Fenner uses Helen’s accusation as another way of discrediting her in Karen’s eyes. Karen is now convinced that Helen is victimising Fenner.

Al continues her campaign of intimidation against Shaz and starts the day by forcing her to hand over her breakfast. Shaz returns to her cell and smashes it up in frustration. Shaz is escorted to Helen’s office and asked to explain her behaviour. Helen is concerned because Shaz is showing every sign that she’s being bullied. She places a comforting hand on Shaz’s shoulder and, when Shaz cries out in pain, realises just how grave Shaz’s predicament is. In the hospital wing, Helen and Thomas try to find out the name of the bully but Shaz refuses to tell them. Thomas comes up with another solution and introduces Shaz to Dionne, a kick boxer whose injury he is treating. Dionne offers to teach Shaz how to defend herself.

Thomas is upset and angry when Helen shows him a report she has written which describes Fenner’s assault on her. He offers his wholehearted support when Helen reveals her plans to get Fenner out of Larkhall for good. Helen’s big break comes in the form of Yvonne who is suspicious of the number of times she has seen Fenner and Virginia together. Yvonne contacts Lauren for information and finds great significance in the fact that the man now running Virginia’s brothels is called John Farmer. Now convinced that John Farmer and Jim Fenner are the same man, Yvonne reveals her suspicions to Helen. She provides Helen with a list of the names and addresses of Virginia’s brothels. Helen recruits Thomas to help her stake out the brothels in the hope that they will be able to catch Fenner at it.

Josh speaks to Gina and advises her not to let Di ruin her relationship with Mark. When she hears that Di was almost responsible for the break up of Josh’s current relationship, Gina decides to forgive Mark. The following morning during the officer’s meeting, Gina and Mark announce their engagement and the fact that Gina is pregnant. Di is clearly upset and is later discovered sobbing by Barbara. Di tells Barbara that she was having an affair with Mark that he ended when he found out that Gina was pregnant. Di maliciously informs Barbara that Gina is faking the pregnancy.

Having noticed that Di is down in the dumps, the Julies manage to extract “the truth” from Barbara. They can’t resist having a go at Gina about it. Gina hits the roof when she hears that Di has been telling everyone that she’s lying about her pregnancy just to get back at Mark and storms off to the locker room to confront her. Mark manages to pull Gina off Di before she can do any real damage. In the struggle, Mark overbalances and comes crashing down on top of Gina who lands on her stomach. Di looks on in horror as Gina is carried away to a waiting ambulance.

Thomas takes Helen to watch the greyhound races at the local dog-track. They go back to his flat after the races are over and sit together on the sofa. Logs flicker in an open fire and candles burn in the background as they begin to kiss.