Seasons & episodes

Mandy tells Beth she knows she is having a relationship with Chris. After Eddie refuses to give him a lift, Carl goes with Sarah to check out their chances of getting a council house. Barry is unsuccessful in his efforts to dislodge the cult, sustaining injuries while trying to tear down the boards from his windows. But he finds a way of leaving Kenny Maguire in no doubt that he and Max are not going to pay him protection money.

Kenny repays £2,000 to Barry, and is charged a further £100 for the concrete poured into his car - but then goes round to convince Mandy to combine all her other debts into a regular single payment to him. When David refuses to eat the meal Jean has made for him, she throws it into his lap. Beth tries to explain to her mother that she likes women, and it is not just a phase that she is going through. Sinbad visits Jimmy in prison, and encourages him to send Jackie a visiting order.

Although Mo warns Carl that she will break his legs if he breaks Sarah's heart, he arranges a date with one of his neighbours. Max tries to persuade Barry to re-think his planned methods for regaining access to his house. Simon has an invitation for Katie, giving her the opportunity to do something with her knee that she has wanted to do for a while. Mandy chooses an unfortunate time to confront Chris about Beth - during an examination one is invigilating and the other is sitting.

Bev is desperate to intercept the mail before Ron sees the letter revealing the test results, and accidentally discovers a dark secret that Ron would rather remained covered up. Rosie tries to persuade Carl that his marriage is worth saving - but he believes Sarah would be able to find a much better husband. Beth comes home, but won’t unpack until she can be sure she wants to stay.

Jacqui is on the warpath, but then turns down Carl’s offer to stay out of her life, forgives him and indicates that a knock on her door would not be unwelcome. Beth is disappointed that Chris is not as keen for her to move in as she hoped. Sarah is impressed by a council flat that has become available, but Rosie has seen better kennels. Bev opens the envelope which will reveal the identity of Josh's father.

Max is confident of evicting Simon and his cult from the Close, but Barry has some alternative plans in reserve in case he fails. Sinbad is confident that Beth will come back home in a few weeks, and wonders if Mandy would like to go on a short holiday with him. Sarah agrees to turn down the council flat on offer, but Carl doesn’t want to live anywhere with her any more. After discovering who Josh's real father is, Bev asks Jackie for advice, then rushes off to slip into something tempting.

Bev plans some serious seduction, attempting to sleep with Ron at every opportunity so that she can have his baby. Sarah is not convinced as Eddie that she and Carl can get back together. Barry takes the law into his own hands, but his attempt to dislodge the cult with the help of his gun goes disastrously wrong as he is disarmed, tied up and held prisoner behind the barricades.

Mandy visits Chris and tells her that she will report her to her bosses if she doesn't break up with Beth. Carl tries to break up with Sarah, but she insists that they keep trying, or he won't see Rebecca. Ron is finding it difficult to cope with Bev's demands in the bedroom, and dozes off at the "Trading Post" counter. Barry is suspected of having gone broke and done a runner - but he is a prisoner of Simon's cult.

Bev wants some advice about aphrodisiacs from Jackie. Chris tells Beth their relationship is over. As rumours spread that he has gone to Spain, Barry's ordeal continues, he is getting nowhere by appealing for sympathy from his old friend Terry, and there seems to be no escape for him as Simon intends to relax and take his time over his "conversion".

A tired Ron is still attempting to evade an amorous Bev, who reveals that she has stopped taking the Pill and may be pregnant already. Barry attempts to escape by tricking Caroline into untying him, but he stumbles on the stairs and falls. A desperate Max agrees to Penny forging Barry's signature on a cheque, and Beth comes back home, but Sinbad advises Mandy not to reveal her role in Chris’s decision.

Barry is conscious again, and suffering from a sore head. Simon banishes Caroline to her room to pray, and prepares to exorcise Barry's soul. Beth skips the Banks' party to go and find out why Chris ended their relationship. When she returns, she tells Mandy that she is leaving home for good. Rachel also takes time out from the party, and sneaks Lee and a bottle of cider into the garden. Sarah warns Jacqui to keep away from her husband, and David's plans for a quiet evening go up in flames.

Simon is determined to break Barry's will and force him to sign over ownership of the house. Penny and Max continue to search for clues, but can’t understand why nothing is missing except Barry and his gun. However, Sinbad has a helpful suggestion to make. Ron attends a family celebration. After spending the night with Carl, Sarah learns some home truths and decides that he is no longer to be part of her and Rebecca‘s lives.

There is still no sign or word from Beth, and Mandy, fearing the worst, starts to ring the local hospitals. Max and David, two worried men, try to get their houses in order with Bev's help before their wives return. DD agrees that Bev can attend Mike's graduation, and Simon decides that the rest of the cult must move on, leaving him to deal with Barry alone.......

David is pleased to see the cult members leaving, but then finds out that Simon and Terry are staying. Max visits Jimmy in prison to try to find out where Barry might be, but Bev reveals to Patricia that he has disappeared. Carl is surprised to discover Sarah working at the pizza parlour, and that she doesn't want him in her life any more. Jean does her best to spoil David's card school.

Terry shaves off his beard and prepares to start a new life. Patricia wants Max to go to the police, but he is concerned that they will find out about Penny's forgery. It is Mike's graduation day, and both Bev and DD have chosen the same hat. Rachel is interrupted while entertaining Lee in her bedroom, and Barry discovers that Simon plans to make a powerful political statement by blowing the house up.

Bev wants to talk to Ron about marriage, but he is not committing himself. The residents of the Close are cordoned off as the emergency services move in and remove three unconscious bodies from the bombed house.

Carl receives a letter from Sarah's solicitor, but Eddie isn't convinced that they should divorce. Max tells Barry he wants out of their deal, but Barry promises to keep him away from the more unsavoury aspects. Jimmy meets a new cell-mate, and Sinbad goes up to replace Mandy's bedroom window, but getting down is much more of a problem.

Barry visits Terry in hospital after his condition improves. Mandy calls a doctor to look at Sinbad's back. Mick won't let Rachel try out for the soccer team. Eddie invites Carl and Sarah to join him and Rosie for dinner.

Marianne is irritated that Garry is staying at Mick's. Penny wonders where she and Barry are heading, Katie is invited on holiday, Jacqui is invited on another date by Carl, and Sinbad visits Jimmy in jail.

DD believes that Ron and Bev are being hypocritical in having Josh christened. Rosie invites Jackie and Bev for drinks, darts and aerobics. Carl borrows Eddie's car to drive Jacqui to Formby. Barry wants to go on holiday with Penny, but she has to get Max and Patricia's permission.

When Jacqui returns, DD understands what she has done, but is concerned that Carl will treat her the same way as Sarah. Eddie is more concerned about the sand in his car. Lee's trickery forces Mick to give Rachel a trial. Barry assures Max that he is serious about making the restaurant business work.

Rosie asks Mandy if she can repair Carl's trousers. Carl offers to fill in for Sinbad on his window round. Bev disagrees with Ron's choice of godparents for Josh. Patricia is on edge, Jimmy is tempted by Don, and Mick goes with Sinbad to bring Terry home from hospital - but he wants to stay with Simon.

Terry agrees to move into Barry's, Carl thinks Jacqui is moving too fast, and, after seeing Lee's trainers, Leo wants some new ones. Rosie needs to find a replacement darts player, Sinbad trains Carl to clean windows, someone dies during the night, and Bev has to console Jean.

Mandy thinks Beth is working too hard. Jackie receives a visiting order from Jimmy, and wonders what he's after. Sinbad finds Terry reading the Bible to Simon at the hospital. Rachel wants some new clothes. It's Mick's team's first match of the season. Carl finds that there are fringe benefits on the window round, although Mike isn't impressed.