Sunday Comments March 20

Eva caught up with Marta with Billy's help. If a vicar can't keep you safe, who can? At least Marta is inclined to trust him. Her story comes out. The O'Driscolls brought her to the UK to work for them but they keep her locked up, witholding her passport and threatening her family's safety if she causes trouble. Turns out Eva and Aidan are going to the O'Driscoll's for a meal so Eva is going to try to get Marta's passport back for her. You all know it won't be as easy as all that, right?

Billy's trying to help and letting Marta stay at the rectory. It's nice to see him get a proper storyline. Eva's walking a fine line, gambling the factory's revenue on a potential white slavery rescue. Eva talked her way into a house tour but when she sneaked into the O'Driscoll office to look for the passport, she got caught by Aidan first then the O'Driscolls who made out that they fired Marta for stealing. If they did, then why doesn't she have her own passport?

The O'Driscolls were understandably enraged and they're all on tenterhooks in case Richie pulls the contracts. I'm not sure he could legally but perhaps under the circumstances, a solicitor could make a good case for breaking the contracts. Eva's most definitely in the doghouse. The thing is, Marta stole money and a phone from Billy and that makes it seem like the O'D's accusations might be right, doesn't it? Richie is not pulling the contract but insists that Eva be sacked. Oh no! Aidan volunteered to be the one that breaks the news and he's not happy about the whole situation because Eva kept him in the dark about the whole thing. He sacked her and he dumped her and isn't about to take her back as an employee because he can't risk the factory's business. He can't take her back as a girlfriend because he doesn't trust her.

But Billy has an idea. Maybe they can find Marta by using a tracker app on his phone. Aidan thinks it's a bad idea but Eva feels like she's been made a mug. Eva and Billy end up corralling Aidan to go look for Marta, using the tracking app for Billy's phone. Eva wants answers and Billy just wants to help her. Aidan whinges. They do find her and talk her into going back to the O'Driscolls with them to fetch her passport. Billy is the one that takes her to the door as they don't know him but instead, Julie manages to get a scared Marta in the door and she's out of friendly hands.

Carla tells Johnny she took the money as a personal loan, seeing as it's her company mainly. Of course he's worried she's gambling again but she's not, at least not in that way. Johnny pretends to Aidan that it's an advance loan even though he doesn't really know what it was for.

Tracy has presented Robert with the cash and lied about it. Oh how I wish Carla would go to Robert and tell him what's going on. When they handed over the extra 10K, there wasn't a lot Nick could do. The 50/50 split would have been a good idea but Carla pushed it as a purely financial decision. Poor Leanne. She probably thought her future was going down the toilet but Robert assured her she would keep her job, much to Tracy's displeasure. But with Tracy sticking her oar in, the whole staff might mutiny.

It didn't take Tracy long to start acting like the owner, pondering menu changes and sacking Leanne like it's any of her business. Well Leanne can play that game. Robert didn't know that Tracy tried to sack Leanne and Leanne decided to let him sweat and then busted her in front of Robert who gave her a very satisfactory and very public dressing down in front of the staff. Yay! I don't always like Robert but I sure cheered him in that scene.

Bethany is very good at interception so Sarah had no idea that she was bunking off school and now Sarah is is worried sick. Bethany went walkabout, probably knew she'd been busted by her teacher. Giving her a lecture isn't really going to make much of a dent with her, same as any kid. She's going to take her to school every day! (and man, didn't Sarah all of a sudden pop out that bump? I suppose it's because she's so short that she would realistically show a lot) Bethany isn't too pleased with school but I do notice she's not plastering makeup on like she did when she first arrived from Italy.

Gail's throwing a baby shower for Sarah which is nice. She wouldn't have anything for the baby since it's been so long since Bethany was tiny. Sarah thinks Bethany is upset about the baby. She's had another scan and finds out it's a boy and her last baby boy, the one that died, is looming large in her thoughts. Kylie and David had to tell Max that the baby isn't just his cousin, it's his half-brother!

But Bethany has other things on her mind and we find out what they are. Bullies. Though why she's being bullied now, a whole year after she first arrived, I don't know but there you go. They harassed her at school and she went home stressed and upset and she blasted Sarah as a hypocrite and threw the cake against the wall. Nice to see that Todd steps up to help. I know he still feels fatherly towards her and she trusts him. She told him about being vile to Sarah but Jason came home before she admitted she was being bullied. Poor kid. I also wonder how they got her phone number. Surely she wouldn't have given it to them. I don't get the feeling she's got any friends but if she has, I suppose one of them might have been persuaded to give it out.

Bethany continues to skip school and this time, Kylie caught her. She finally admitted to someone about the bullying but Kylie's advice was that if she couldn't rise above it or ignore it, to fight back. Bethany doesn't seem so inclined. She said if they would just hit her, they'd probably get tired of it but it's more psychological, isn't it? What will it take for her to shed the bullies?

Mary really looked fabulous, didn't she? All sparkly with curly hair tendrils. She nearly sunk into self pity but the other two pulled her out again. Lovely scene with the three of them quoting Barry White to a background of Al Green's Let's Get Together. In the end, the man Mary thought was checking her out was actually checking out Erica but Erica, according to Mary, fancies Dev and it could be mutual. Could it?

It was the hangover from hell for Mary but she did remember that she believes that Dev fancies Erica like mad. I'm not sure he does, not in the way Mary goes on about but there is admiration there and probably some attraction. Love? Perhaps not, but Erica seems to be taking Mary's words on board and even Liz thinks Dev likes her. Except, Dev has a date, someone very snobby that poshes up her own name, "Kareeeeeen". I wonder if her last name is Bu-ckay? Mind you, Dev does like to put on sophisticated airs, man about town and all that.

Erica decided to take matters into her own hands and Mary jumped in to give the snob a push out the door. She made out that Dev was a real womanizer, a revolving door on his bedroom, that sort of thing. No, actually, she described it as a turnstile! It worked. She was out the turnstile and a very glam Erica was in. I still don't think it's Love but there are definitely sparks. Dev is very cool and awkward to Erica the morning after those sparks were lit. Regrets? Perhaps. Seems maybe he thinks he'd be leading her on and he isn't really looking for a major relationship. Eileen's advice is to be honest and it's very good advice. In the end, they agree they'll just be friends but it seems like there will be benefits!

Gary came up with the goods for Izzy who was nearly breathless with pain. Gary promises to be around more, to help with Jake. It's Jenny's birthday and Rita made a very fancy cake.

Sally's looking forward to a public debate about the Frescho construction. I wonder if we'll get to see it? Tim's biscuit selection is leaving a bit to be desired. Good thing Eileen is well practiced in the art of guilt. And in the course of Tim buying chocolates, he mentions he was arrested during a protest for the Poll Tax many years ago. I bet that's going to come back and bit Sally's campaign in the backside. Sally decides she's going to run on family values and insists to Tim she doesn't have any skeletons that could come back to haunt her. Well I could think of a few! Sean takes a dim view of any politician that interrupts his quiet nights in on the sofa with a line of rubbish. He calls them human spam. I guess we'll see soon enough. Part of me would love to see Sally win but then I certainly wouldn't want Norris to. Perhaps it will be better if neither of them does. Time will tell.

The candidates' debate day arrives. Sally is stoked for it as is Norris though he does seem to exhibit a few butterflies in private. Also, he's got his name in the newspaper taking full credit for the restoration of Maddie's mural which Sally takes great umbrage with. He did out and out lie and exaggerate. The thing that really made me snicker is that the debate was in the cafe. It was really stupid. There was Sally, Norris and a non-speaking extra who was probably a third candidate who never said a word. Everyone else was crowded in the cafe. Isn't this the sort of thing they usually use community centres for? Why did they bother building one RIGHT NEXT DOOR??? Why didn't Yasmeen make a case for having it there. Instead, she was sitting at the debate like it was the most normal thing in the world. I don't get it.

Anyway, as you would expect, there were insults and embarassments and points scored by both Sally and Norris. But the big mistake Sally made was going after Jenny who then piped up and questioned her about Tim's night in the cells after the poll tax riot all those years ago. Uh oh....

Andy wants to take Steph on holiday but he's not got any money. So, Blackpool? Meanwhile, Michael sure doesn't seem to like Phelan sniffing around Eileen, does he? Andy's got a few hours work helping out the builders this week but he seemed to realize that Michael wouldn't take it well and he was right. Phelan's making breakfast for Eileen and co. If that isn't a major suck up, I don't know what is, and Michael isn't very happy about it, feeling his place in Eileen's life is being trod on. And it is. It makes for a grumpy Michael and a very smug Phelan. He's making Michael look petty in Eileen's eyes and himself a bit of a hero, all as intended.

Phelan finds an old set of chisels that Jason had inherited from Charlie Stubbs. Andy later overhears him apparently about to sell them to a mate and tells Michael but Michael, already thinking Phelan is the devil incarnate, ends up with chest pains and a header down the stairs in the builders' yard when he confronts Phelan who's very, very good at intimidation and making Michael look and feel like a jealous, despearate and weak man.





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