11/12/2025

Josh and Lily attempt to eat plain rice as their first meal after their illness, now confirmed as norovirus. They do not feel up to tidying the house ahead of Shula’s inspection. Instead of looking forward to Australia, Lily admits that she’s rethinking her trip plans. She’d still like to see her university friend in Perth, but doesn’t want to travel for a year. She wonders if her plans had been motivated by feelings of rejection at Lower Loxley. She is also not sure about her co-traveller Mason as she doesn’t know him very well. Josh’s girlfriend Nina is due to visit but as the day wears on it’s evident that she’s not coming.

Zainab chats to a distracted Azra and suggests a family trip to Deck the Hall at Lower Loxley. Azra confides that her difficult week has included the partners suggesting extended patient hours. Lottie calls from the surgery to say that the locum has called in ill. They are an hour behind schedule when Lawrence Harrington comes for his appointment with Dr Laing. He refuses to see his replacement, Dr Malik, and is rudely offensive to Lottie. His anger rising, Lawrence struggles to breathe and collapses. Azra performs emergency care, despite Lawrence’s protests. She reports later to Zainab that Lawrence has been taken to intensive care. Realising he was the same person who’d been racist to the Malik children, Azra was not sure he’d be grateful for her medical help today. She wonders if Akram was right - would the family be better off in Pakistan?