S02E02: 'The Ties That Bind'

There’s a happy reunion for the Walmsleys when Ian arrives home with Holly. Overjoyed to have his daughter back, Ian informs Stefan that he intends to miss a week of training in order to spend some time with her. Donna’s happiness is short-lived; she’s dreading the prospect of having to burst Ian’s bubble by telling him that she plans to leave him for Sal, taking Holly with her.

Frank is becoming increasingly obsessed with proving that he and Tanya did have an affair and decides to hire a private detective to help him track down sinister intensive care nurse, Janette Dunkley. Realising that Frank is a man on the edge; Tanya is getting jumpier with every passing second. Frank’s threat to tell Jason about the time they did sleep together hasn’t done anything to help her nerves either.

The body in the Pascoes’ pool has been identified as Sheena – whose obsession with Kyle reached stalkerish proportions in the last series. Kyle seems to be as shocked as everyone else by her death, but the police aren’t convinced – they’ve discovered Sheena’s diary and are very interesting in the entries that claim that she was a lot more to him than just another fan. After watching her husband being taken away for questioning, even Chardonnay is beginning to have her doubts about his innocence.

Tanya is fuming when she is stood up by Jason at a glitzy charity do, but at least she has Hazel for company. After the party, the two return to the Turner residence and get blitzed on cocaine and vodka. When Tanya wakes up, she finds that she’s got a lot more than a hangover to contend with – she’s naked in bed with Hazel and Jason has just arrived home! Luckily for Tanya, Jason is too preoccupied to notice that his wife has been playing away. He’s besotted by baby Paddy and is crushed by Jackie’s refusal to allow him to leave Tanya for her. To ease the hurt, Jason begs Tanya to start a family with him.

Kyle signs up with Hazel and in return, she comes up with evidence to prove that Sheena had a long history of stalking men. Even the police can’t fail to be convinced by the dossier that she has collected. Now in the clear, Kyle arrives home bursting with his good news only to find his wife and his mother at each other’s throats – Jackie has been breast-feeding Paddy in secret and Chardonnay has just caught her in the act! Kyle is livid and throws Jackie out of the house.

Stefan and Frank have finally lost patience with Ian and decide that it’s time to put him on the transfer list. Although Ian is dismissive when Stefan arrives to give him the bad news, Donna is frantic – how can she leave Ian now that he’s lost his job? When Ian leaves to take Holly and Daniel for a burger, Donna phones Sal and begs him to come over to the house. But Ian has forgotten his wallet, and when he returns home to collect it, he walks in on Sal and Donna having sex on the sofa.