91Èȱ¬

Phil prevents Shirley from drowning Ben. She’s adamant she’s going to Marsden but Phil asks her to wait until they’ve talked. Alone with Ben, Phil tells him he’s determined to do whatever it takes, he owes Ben a better life, nothing bad is going to happen. Downstairs, Phil tries to talk Shirley round and she quickly realises he knew what Ben had done. Phil admits that Jay saw everything. Phil becomes angry insisting he’ll stop Shirley if he has to, then pinning her against the wall. Calming himself, Phil suggests Ben could make amends and grow up to be a good man but Shirley thinks Heather deserves justice. Shirley accuses Phil of never having loved her; she saw his face when Sharon walked in. She can’t live with the lies, knowing Phil will always be wondering whether she’s going to crack and talk. When Sharon arrives, Phil’s cold to her, sending her away. Returning to Shirley, Phil insists Sharon means nothing to him. Eventually, Phil persuades Shirley to talk to Ben, she can then do whatever she wants. But Ben’s not upstairs; Phil and Shirley rush outside but he’s gone.

Sharon takes Ian back to the Beales’. Lucy’s hostile but agrees to talk to Sharon alone. Sharon persuades Lucy to hear what Ian has to say: he’s broken, people do strange things under pressure. Sharon leaves Ian and Lucy to talk. Lucy reminds Ian about everything he did before he left. Ian apologises and tries to explain; he thought marrying Mandy would make everything alright, something snapped in his head and he ran – not from Lucy, from himself. All Ian asks is Lucy’s forgiveness, the chance to be a better father and to come home. He agrees to Lucy’s sole condition – that he signs the house and businesses over to her.