He explains to his mother that he is concerned that Jack will “pick holes” in all the changes he has made at Emmerdale. “From the beef herd to whatever. He won’t see this as a business. And he’s got to from now on because me and Kate are trying for a baby of our own.”
Annie is delighted at the prospect, but Joe tells her it’s early days yet and there’ll be no room for a baby with Jack and Robert coming back.
"That's as may be. But he
is family. He's had a bad time. We've got to make him welcome in his own home"
Joe says no more, but he is clearly very unhappy.
Alan calls on Caroline. Alice is resting and they are alone together. “Do we have to be like this?” Alan asks.
“Like what?” asks Caroline in return.
“So stiff and formal.”
“Sorry. It’s the way I feel today,” says Caroline, coldly.
In Alan and Caroline’s old office at Home Farm, Rachel and David are settling down to a meal of hot pot. It’s a little on the dry side. “Don’t they teach you to put extra water in hot pot in the army, Dad?” Rachel teases.
“Hey, I’ve told you - I’m out the Army now - that’s all in the past!” says David.
Rachel asks him if he’s glad he’s out - “I should’ve left years ago!” says David.
“What, then you and Mum might not’ve split up?” asks Rachel.
Rachel doesn’t understand why he didn’t leave when Kate needed him to. David explains that he was “signed up” for twenty years - “Everything depended on it. My pension for one thing. And maybe I was a bit scared. Scared of what it’d be like. You don’t have to make your own hotpot in the Army! You don’t have to sign on the dole or look for jobs either. It’s all taken care of. I just got my timing a bit wrong though, didn’t I? She married Joe Sugden. I didn’t count on that.”
Rachel is startled: “Were you thinking of getting back with Mum?”
“Well, yeah!” says David. “It was so damned quick. I don’t know how Sugden managed it.”
Rachel thinks she now sees all: “Is that why you’re in Beckindale then?”
“Don’t be daft! I’m here because I want to be near you and Mark! Tell me what you've been up to, eh? It's a real treat for me having you here.”
Rachel smiles but is not convinced.
Kathy goes to see Archie Brooks in his makeshift home and finds him packing to leave. Kathy is surprised, and finds a statement daubed on the wall: “Archie Brooks wishes to inform all his friends of a change of address…”
The new address is 25, Belgrave Square.
“Are you moving to London?” asks Kathy.
“No,” says Archie: “I’m going to stay with my mother and her new boyfriend in Hotten. You’ve no idea how cold it is up here at night.”
The notice is a ruse - designed to put off official bodies trying to trace Archie - the Government, DHSS, Inland Revenue: 25 Belgrave Square is the address of the Norwegian Embassy. “I’d like to see the look on the Ambassador’s face when he gets my Poll Tax form!”
Archie doesn’t envisage being away that long - he’s already upset his mother’s new boyfriend: “I put all his records on a train to Penzance. There’s only so much Barry Manilow a man can take!”
Back at Caroline’s, Alan Turner tells her he knows he’s let her down: “Will you accept my very, very sincere apology?”
Caroline accepts.
“I’d hate us to part as enemies,” says Alan.
“Me too,” Caroline agrees.
The frosty atmosphere thaws and the couple smile and briefly hold hands.
They talk about their doubts - Alan says he’s always functioned better alone, Caroline tells him he hasn’t really let her down - she too was never really certain that they were doing the right thing.
“You will pop into Beckindale from time to time?” asks Alan.
Caroline says she doesn’t know if she’ll be able to with her mother as she is, but he’ll always be welcome in Scarborough.
Alan gives her a document he was studying earlier and asks her to sign it: “It’s undated - it's just a formality. When the house is sold it will terminate your tenancy here.”
The atmosphere turns frosty again. “You’ll never change will you, Alan? Never,” says Caroline. She rips the document in two and goes to check on her mother who is still resting upstairs.
At Home Farm, Rachel tells her father that her problems at school are “nothing serious”.
David tells her that he just wants her and Mark to do well - “I don’t want you ending up like me!”
David asks if it’s true that she’s got herself involved with “some bloke”. Rachel initially denies it. But David is not to be put off - demanding to know who the bloke is. Rachel becomes overwrought as her father wears her down. “I just can’t tell you!”
“Well why can’t you tell me?”
“Because he’s married!”
At the Woolpack, Amos and Henry drink tea.
Amos asks if Henry has tried phoning Marian. Henry asks what can he say if he did? “I can’t tell her to leave her husband - even if that’s what I really want.”
“I were looking forward to young Nicolo running around,” says Amos.
“Not half as much as I was, Amos - not half as much,” sighs Henry.
Back at Home Farm, Rachel runs from her father’s questions into the kitchen. David pursues her and the atmosphere becomes charged with emotion. David insists that Rachel must tell him the identity of the man she is involved with so that he can be warned off if he comes bothering her again.
Rachel finally caves in: “Pete Whiteley!”
Rachel says she’s loves him. David is furious, telling her that Pete has used her, that he belongs to someone else, that he’s married.
“So’s my mother!” Rachel cries, and runs out of the back door, leaving a wide eyed David staring after her.
Caroline and Alice are ready to leave the house. They go out to the car, accompanied by Kathy and Alan.
Caroline is in tears as she embraces her daughter.
“Good luck, Caroline,” says Alan, rather awkwardly. He moves to kiss her, but Caroline, tears streaming down her face, moves away.
“And you, Alan.”
It’s woefully inadequate, but Alan says: “I’m sorry.”
Mrs Bates nods, turns from him and makes her way to the car, wiping away the tears. Final goodbyes, and the car moves away. Alan puts up his arm as if to wave, but then drops it.
“Bye, Alan,” mutters Kathy and walks away.
“Bye, Kathy,” murmurs Alan. He stands alone on the pavement for a moment, before slowly making his way back into the house.
The end of an era!
At this time the end credits scrolled upwards and disappeared into the silhouette of the farmhouse and tree.
EMMERDALE FARM, EPISODE 1402.
Cast:
Annie Sugden - Sheila Mercier
Matt Skilbeck - Frederick Pyne
Amos - Ronald Magill
Mr Wilks - Arthur Pentelow
Joe Sugden - Frazer Hines
Alan Turner - Richard Thorp
Mrs Bates - Diana Davies
Kathy Merrick - Malandra Burrows
Kate Sugden - Sally Knyvette
Rachel Hughes - Glenda McKay
Jack Sugden - Clive Hornby
Archie - Tony Pitts
Pete Whiteley - Jim Millea
David Hughes - Martyn Whitby
Alice - Olivia Jardith
Robert Sugden - Christopher Smith
Written by Barry Woodward
Producer: Stuart Doughty
Director: Terence Daw