S01E04: 'A Funny Old Game'

Tanya Turner’s cocaine habit gets increasingly out of hand when she turns to the drug to keep her nightmares about Frank at bay.

Ian tries to calm Donna down, telling her that his night with the lap-dancers meant nothing to him; in fact, he was so drunk he can’t even remember most of it. Donna is livid, not only because Ian has cheated on her but because he’s probably ruined any chance they had of getting custody of Daniel. Ian tells Donna that it was her preoccupation with Daniel that forced him into the arms of other women, she responds by throwing him out of the family home, and vows to fight for custody of Daniel alone. But she soon finds out its going to be virtually impossible without the Sparks’ lawyers on her side. After thinking things over, she goes to see Nola and tells her that she’ll drop the custody case in exchange for regular visits with Daniel.

Chardonnay is still suffering from depression and spends most of her time sitting in front of the television in a daze. Kyle is concerned and treats Chardonnay with kid gloves, even though he can’t understand what the big deal is. Jackie, however, is less reticent and tells Chardonnay to pull herself together. Chardonnay responds by going to a salon and coming back with shorter and dark-brown hair. Kyle is upset by this new haircut but tries not to show it…he just wants to know what happened to the Chardonnay he fell in love with.

Ian’s troubles continue when he is called in to see Stefan Hauser. A furious Stefan tears a strip off Ian for his behaviour and warns him that his career with the Sparks could be on the line if recent events also begin to affect his performance on the pitch. When Ian expresses his regret, Stefan relents and organises for him to move into a hotel. Later, Ian finds that he is staying in the same hotel as his Italian team-mate Sal Biagi and the two start to become friends.

At the training ground, Tanya catches Jason and Marie having a liaison in his car, she freaks out and so does Ian when he arrives on the scene and discovers what his sister-in-law has been up to. Jason calms Tanya down by swearing to her that he’ll never see Marie again, of course, he has no intention of doing anything of the sort and continues to see Marie in secret. When Tanya intercepts one of Marie’s phone calls she hits the roof but this just tips Jason over the edge and in a fit of anger, he tells her that their marriage is over. However, Tanya has other ideas and blackmails him into staying by threatening to go to the police and reveal the truth about Frank.

Jason goes to a nightclub to release some of his tension, whilst there; he winds Sal up and receives a head-butt for his trouble. The following day, Stefan decides to punish Jason by leaving him on the bench in favour of Sal.

Holly and Daniel are missing Ian, and much as she hates to admit it to herself, Donna misses him too. Over dinner, and yet more apologies from Ian, they reconcile their differences and Donna finally agrees to allow him to come home.

So that she can keep tabs on Frank, Tanya perseveres in her attempt to befriend his intensive care nurse, Janette Dunkley, even going so far as inviting her around for dinner…much to Jason’s disgust. Tanya pumps Janette for information about Frank’s chances of recovery, explaining her interest by claiming that they were having an affair. Janette, however, has very dubious motives of her own, as Tanya learns when she catches her red-handed – kissing Frank whilst putting his hand up her skirt!