23/02/2016

Stacey comes out from her shower and gazes at Arthur’s cot, ready for his arrival. Martin looks out of the window onto the Square, his world crumbling around him. He takes Lily to Sonia’s before taking Arthur to the MBU. Sonia can tell something isn’t right and asks if he’s okay to drive – he assures her that he is. On the Square, Martin’s face darkens when Sharon coos that Arthur’s beginning to look like him. Stacey tells Anya that she’s excited about leaving – Anya reassures her that it’s normal for her to be feeling on edge too. Martin and Arthur arrive at the MBU and it’s immediately obvious that Martin’s nerves are shredded. As Martin watches Stacey and Arthur together, Martin bolts from the room.

Stacey follows Martin out and questions what’s wrong, whilst reassuring him that she and Arthur both need him. Stacey’s shell-shocked when Martin pulls out Stacey’s open later – he knows the truth about Arthur. Stacey tries to justify things – she and Kush were lonely - but Martin doesn’t want to hear it. Stacey sobs that she just wanted to have a normal life for once, but it’s the final straw when Stacey admits that Kush and Shabnam both knew the truth too and Martin claims that he has to go. As Martin drives, he sees Kush and is fuelled with anger. When Kush questions how Stacey and Arthur are, Martin boils over and the situation worsens when Kyle hands Martin a tin from Brian’s safety deposit box. Martin turns on Kyle and blames him for Stacey’s breakdown. Back at the flat, Martin makes a phone call, before asking Sonia if she’ll look after Lily for the afternoon and whether he can borrow her car. Martin tells Bex and Lily that he loves them before he heads out. Back at the MBU, Stacey panics that she doesn’t know Arthur well enough. Martin clambers into Sonia’s car and clocks his passport with determination...

It’s early morning and Kim is in the Square Gardens setting up the bouncy castle for Pearl’s first Birthday party. Back at the house Claudette is preparing the food and Kim is looking for space for the face painter to set up and limits Claudette to the dining table. Kim goes into the kitchen cupboard and finds her candelabras in there. As Claudette despairs over Pearl and Kim’s matching outfits, Kim puts a downer on Claudette’s buffet by placing the candelabras on the table. Pearl’s party’s in full swing – Claudette’s overjoyed at the sight of Linford. Kim’s thwarted when Linford announces that he and Vincent have nominated Claudette for a pride of Walford award – and she’s a finalist. Kim tries to distract from the situation by jumping and shrieking on the bouncy castle. Claudette grabs the carving knife from the food table and punctures the bouncy castle – Denise clocks this. Kim is fuming when Denise fills her in on what she witnessed, branding Claudette a psycho.

Ben comes downstairs to the kitchen asking after his ‘poppy’, referring to the baby which is the size of a poppy seed. Jay asks after Sharon and Ben wonders what happens now that she and Phil are filing for divorce. Abi is only working until lunchtime and offers to come home and talk about things with Ben but he claims they have a job on the estate and might be home late. Later, Ben coyly asks Jay whether he’s ever had an STD, as he’s worried – Jay’s shocked and tells Ben that if he wants to be a proper dad, he needs to tell Abi about this today. Ben returns home to find that Abi’s made an effort – she’s excited for them to spend the afternoon together. Abi clocks that’s Ben’s being frosty and when she questions why, he admits that he thinks he may have caught something.

Sharon finds Vincent on the market who tells her that getting hold of cash to buy her out is going to take time. As Sharon heads home, Gavin appears, who claims that having to wait for his money isn’t ideal. Sharon stands firm – she’ll get him the money and then he’s gone. Gavin watches over Pearl’s party with interest and as Kush passes, he asks about whose party it is. Gavin takes out his phone and makes a call – telling the person on the other end that they need to have a chat. Claudette arrives at the allotments to meet Gavin, who claims he’s after money in return for keeping her secret.