Why Stefan can blackmail Rob

As Friday The Thirteenths go, Friday 13 January 2017 was a corker for Rob. As he arrived home, tired and irritable after Justin asked him to work late, Stefan emerged and was keen to talk.

After Ambridge was devastated by floods in early 2015, Stefan – an employee at Berrow Farm – contacted Jennifer saying he had something important to share. In a furtive meeting in non-descript Borchester café, Stefan revealed to Jennifer and David that he had seen on the night of the floods what looked like Rob filling a culvert on Berrow Farm with black plastic and corrugated sheeting. It had been getting dark and was raining so the visibility wasn’t great but Stefan was pretty certain it was Rob that he saw.

At the time, Rob was the herd manager at Berrow Farm’s mega-dairy and to Stefan it was obvious what Rob was doing – he wanted to divert the water so there was no chance of the Berrow Farm’s cattle sheds being affected. According to Stefan, Ambridge wouldn’t have been so badly flooded if it wasn’t for Rob’s actions. Once Stefan had shared what he knew he didn’t want any further involvement and he also made Jennifer and David promise they wouldn’t mention his name to anyone.

David let the then-estates manager, Charlie Thomas, know about what he and Jennifer had learned but didn’t mention any names. Charlie was shocked at David’s information and interviewed staff at Berrow Farm but no one seemed to know anything. One person he didn’t manage to talk to was Stefan, he'd been granted leave by Rob to spend time with his family.

We’ve learned that Rob in fact paid Stefan to leave the country. Now, Stefan is back on the scene and is blackmailing Rob for more money.