Pip and Rex try, unconvincingly, to reassure Phoebe ahead of her pitch to the BL board. In the meeting, Justin reports that they’ve had no progress with their development project plans, but that he’s still confident he can persuade the council to grant them permission. When the time comes for the rewilding pitch, Brian excuses himself from the proceedings. Phoebe’s confidence is knocked when she realises Brian can’t cast a vote or be present for her pitch.
While the board seem receptive to Phoebe’s ideas, Martyn Gibson is less positive. Justin then catches Phoebe off-guard by asking her in-depth questions that she wasn’t prepared for. The board agree to come to their decision by the end of the week. After the meeting, Martyn tells Justin that he thinks the rewilding scheme is a non-starter. Justin thinks they should keep a close eye on the rewilders as they may prove useful.
Pip and Phoebe are concerned that they will have to give up on the BL land. Rex thinks they need a back-up plan: to target Justin Elliott.

Freddie is aghast to discover that Bella has dumped Johnny. They head to The Bull, where Freddie pushes Johnny to talk about how he’s feeling. Johnny snaps and admits that it was Josh who Bella was seen kissing. Exasperated, he walks out.
David brings Rosie home from nursery with a special card she’s made. It’s a picture of Pip with the cows. David and Ruth sit Pip down for a chat: they’ve decided to lease Oakey Bank to the rewilders. It’s only twelve acres, but they should see it as an olive branch.
Kirsty, Helen, Henry and Jack squeeze their way through a crammed Underwoods, looking for Santa’s grotto. They discuss Eddie’s hunt to find a Santa for the Grundy World of Christmas. Suddenly, Helen notices that Henry has disappeared. Panicking, they search everywhere, only for Henry to reappear with Lee in tow. Kirsty takes the boys to find Father Christmas and leaves Helen and Lee awkwardly making conversation. Kirsty’s frustrated to discover that Helen didn’t make the most of their conversation, what if it was meant to be? Helen writes it off as a coincidence and lets it go.

It’s stir-up Sunday and Leonard practises his moving proposal speech to Pip, who thinks it’s perfect. She leaves Leonard and Jill alone in the kitchen together to make the pudding. They chat as Leonard stirs the pudding, but suddenly he stops and tells Jill he’s got something to say. Before he can launch into his speech, Jill stops him. She loves Leonard very much, but she doesn’t want to marry him. Relieved, they return to making the pudding. Leonard does have one more proposal though…
Jill breaks the news to David that she and Leonard will be spending Christmas at a restaurant with Leonard’s son, Simon. David assures her they’ll miss her, but will be thinking of both of them.
Lily and Phoebe hover outside The Bull, as Lily’s not sure she can face seeing Bella. Johnny arrives and insists on apologising to Lily for his outburst. They consider the fight forgotten. Back at Bridge Farm, Johnny makes Bella a special lunch to prove his love for her. Bella asks him to stop pretending that everything’s alright – it’s over between them. Johnny is so different from the person he was when they first got together. She assures him the kiss with Josh had nothing to do with it. Shocked and angry to discover he cheated with her friend, Johnny smashes a glass and tells her to get out.

Leonard is thrilled when David tells him they support his decision to propose to Jill. Jill returns from the doctors with her arm free from its sling, full of praise for how helpful Leonard has been. There’s an awkward moment between them when David tries to congratulate her for accepting Leonard’s proposal. Jill is totally confused, Leonard hasn’t proposed and she doesn’t know why he might think that’s what she wanted.
Phoebe is disappointed to discover that Lilian’s not spoken to Justin about getting the rewilders an audience with BL. Lilian might be their last chance. Lilian finally explains the rewilders' plans to Justin, and to her surprise he asks her to tell him more. Justin heads over to Willow Farm to speak to Phoebe. She explains the ecological benefits they expect to see as a result of their rewilding. Justin suggests they take it to the board at their meeting next Tuesday. He thinks it may have advantages for both parties.

Neil’s had a hard day at work. Hannah undermined him in front of Justin, and now they’ve been given the green light to change the pig’s rations straight away, despite Neil’s better judgment. Emma lends a sympathetic ear, but has to rush off to a dinner show at Grey Gables; Tracy’s date bailed on her, so Emma is going in his place.
Clarrie and Eddie have a great time at the dinner show, as do Emma and Tracy. One of the actors caught Tracy’s eye, so Emma persuades her to go and talk to him. He introduces himself as Roman, and is full of flattery for Tracy. The two hit it off, so Emma pointedly leaves them to it.
Clarrie’s in such high spirits when she gets home, and is taken aback to find the kitchen table covered in beautiful wreaths made by Jake, Mia, Will and Ed. She persuades a reluctant Eddie to help out with The Grundy World of Christmas; it is a family effort after all.

Joy’s annoyed when a flyer’s put through her letterbox. It shows a graphic image of the Bridge Farm cow injured by a sky lantern. She confronts Tony, who’d posted it. He argues people need to understand the dangers, but then worries that he’s upset Joy. Kirsty reassures him. Rochelle is visiting on Wednesday, so Joy’s bound to forget everything else.
Jim mentions to Will that it was nice to see Jake and Mia at Joe’s funeral. Will admits that he barely saw them. Jim advises Will not to give up on cultivating a close relationship with his children. Jim regrets it’s taken decades for him and Alistair. Later, Will takes Jim’s advice. The Grundy family’s planning a belated bonfire night party, and Will invites Jake and Mia. Will apologises for letting things get so bad between them. He’s glad that Mia’s happy with her Dad. Mia misses Will too, and enthusiastically accepts an invitation to spend more time at Grange Farm.
As Alf and Eddie prepare the fireworks they reminisce about Joe. Alf points out that Eddie’s head of the family now, but stops short of admitting he’s jealous of everything Eddie has. Eddie was always the favourite though. Eddie sheds a few private tears, and Alf hugs him. Alf reckons he can say three little words that might help – “drinks on me”! They laugh, and the Grundys whoop and gasp at the fireworks display in Joe’s honour.

Russ finds Elizabeth up working early. She’s defying her anxiety by refusing to mooch in bed. She’s really fired up about Jim’s Christmas performance. David gives Elizabeth a fright by showing up in the attic while she’s sorting props for the ghost stories. He feels alone in having doubts about Leonard’s plans to propose to Jill. Elizabeth hopes that if she meets someone else one day, she’ll have the support of her family; why shouldn’t Jill have the same?
Elizabeth is left reeling after her meeting with Jim. As soon as she mentioned trying to drum up some attention in the media, Jim closed off and refused to get involved with any publicity. She asks Russ if he’ll lend his creative skills and direct the show. The last thing she needs is for the Ghost Stories to be a disaster.
Ed and Will are exasperated to discover that Alf has legged it. They speculate as to whether he might have pinched any valuables before he left, but Eddie is quick to defend him. When out collecting mistletoe, Will and Ed discuss how quiet Christmas will be this year. They agree that if they had some extra money, they could make Christmas extra special. This gives Ed some inspiration: they should resurrect The Grundy World of Christmas. Eddie shuts them down; if it weren’t for the turkeys he’d be happy to forget Christmas altogether. He wants no part in it.

In the dairy, Clarrie fills Pat in on her anniversary plans: they’ve treated themselves to tickets to a cabaret dinner show at Grey Gables. Clarrie’s plans inspire Pat to give Tony a special anniversary present, if only she knew what to get him.
Justin returns from a productive meeting with Jolene and Kenton about revamping The Bull. He’s recommended a business consultant to give them some free advice. Justin is furious to discover that the protesters against the Farndale development have commissioned an ecological survey.
Lily visits Pat at the shop to find out how Johnny is doing. Pat thinks he seems fine – he and Bella had dinner together last night and seemed happy. Russ persuades a despondent Lily to open up to him: she explains that Johnny called her a homewrecker. Lily feels like a hypocrite; she destroyed a marriage while Bella simply kissed someone else. Russ assures her that he’s never felt guilty for falling in love with her. The divorce is underway, so it’s time they stopped with the recriminations and got on with their lives. From now on, it’s just the two of them.

Russ shows off the latest Gallery exhibit to Robert. He isn’t happy when Robert describes the subversive Christmas card collages as “a clever way to recycle”. Russ admits to Elizabeth he’s been feeling lonely. He doesn’t regret leaving his wife, but filling out divorce paperwork has reminded him of everything he’s had to sacrifice to start a new life with Lily. Elizabeth is still struggling to settle on a Christmas production. Robert suggests she speaks to Jim about ghost stories. He hasn’t forgotten the story Jim told in the hide. Elizabeth enthusiastically calls Jim, who agrees to do some research.
Jill trips on one of Rosie’s toys and drops a casserole dish. David doesn’t like the way her wrist is swelling, and offers to drive her to hospital. But Jill is only persuaded when Leonard offers to take her himself. They’re relieved to discover it’s just a sprain. They share stories of trips to A and E with their own children, and think about how long it’s been since they lost their spouses. Jill thanks Leonard for being there for her. It’s nice not to be alone. Back at Brookfield David is wrong-footed when Jill invites Leonard to stay the night. He can have Ben or Josh’s room, and surely David can lend him a pair of pyjamas?

Writer, Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti
Director, Kim Greengrass
Editor, Jeremy Howe

Ruth Archer ….. Felicity Finch
Pip Archer ….. Daisy Badger
Josh Archer ….. Angus Imrie
Pat Archer ….. Patricia Gallimore
Helen Archer ….. Louiza Patikas
Tom Archer ….. William Troughton
Brian Aldridge ….. Charles Collingwood
Phoebe Aldridge ….. Lucy Morris
Rex Fairbrother ….. Nick Barber
Toby Fairbrother ….. Rhys Bevan
Clarrie Grundy ….. Heather Bell
Eddie Grundy ….. Trevor Harrison
Will Grundy ….. Philip Molloy
Mia Grundy ….. Molly Pipe
Jim Lloyd ….. John Rowe
Kirsty Miller ….. Annabelle Dowler
Elizabeth Pargetter ….. Alison Dowling
Freddie Pargetter ….. Toby Laurence
Johnny Phillips ….. Tom Gibbons
Lynda Snell ….. Carole Boyd
Robert Snell ….. Graham Blockey
Andrew ….. Tim Dutton

Clarrie and Eddie reflect on how quiet their Christmas will be, now that Will’s spending it at Andrew’s. But Joe won’t want them moping, and Eddie resolves to make Grundy World of Christmas the best yet. Harrison needs to up his game as Santa though. As Clarrie ponders making the mince pies, she sadly remembers how she used to do it with Emma to start Christmas properly.

Ruth admits that Josh’s new tractor purchase was a good one, now he’s polished it up. As Josh looks forward to his trip to South East Asia, Ruth apologises for overreacting about him and Bella. Josh promises to be around on Saturday for the Christmas lights switch-on.
Kirsty finds Jim reciting ghost stories to himself and is politely vague about coming to the show. She’s more concerned about the terrible state of the playground. Jim assures Kirsty he’ll raise the issue at the next parish council meeting.

Kirsty tells Helen about Philip’s ridiculous Christmas jumpers and music playlist. Helen’s excited about her date with Lee tomorrow. She’s even getting her hair done, although she doesn’t want to appear to have made a big effort. Kirsty knows that Helen and Lee are right together. Helen agrees, and just hopes that Lee feels the same way.

Toby’s left to rearrange his date with someone he’s met online after Rex rejects his plea to babysit.

Robert and Lynda reminisce about previous Christmas productions. He encourages her to use her theatrical knowledge to support Elizabeth, who’s clearly out of her depth. Lynda can see it’s her duty to guide Elizabeth, and calls her straight away. Lynda offers her services with costumes and props, but she won’t be directing. Instead, she’s thought of the perfect person to tame Jim: Robert, of course. If he has any questions, Lynda will be more than happy to lend a hand from behind the scenes.

Phoebe’s tetchy ahead of the contract meeting with BL. Pip’s anxious too, she still doesn’t trust Justin at all and knows there’s no way her parents will be on board with the idea of her working with him. Toby does his best to reassure her – she can’t spend her life worrying about what Ruth and David think. Pip tells Rex and Phoebe that despite her reservations about Justin, she trusts the two of them completely and wants to sign the deal. Phoebe agrees that they should sign it as soon as possible. Rewilding is finally coming to Ambridge.

In the Village Shop, Lynda’s busy telling Will about Tracy’s new-found romance with Roman. Overhearing Jim reciting his lines for the Ghost Stories, Lynda quizzes him about the upcoming production. She’s not convinced by his ability to perform without a director, now Russ has stepped down.

Elizabeth presses Jim to decide on the titles so that she can get the programmes printed. Later, she visits Lynda and implores her to come out of theatrical retirement to direct the Ghost Stories. Though flattered, Lynda refuses to be seen as fickle. Her answer is still no.

Justin has told Brian about his plans for the share farming agreement between BL and the rewilders.
Risking his position on the board, Brian shares his discovery with Phoebe: BL don’t care about rewilding, they’re just trying to offset bulldozing some woodland. There are alarming clauses in the agreement too. It’s a greenwash and she mustn’t agree to it.

Will catches up with Andrew at the children’s bereavement event. Andrew forgives Will for the way he treated Mia. He recognises that Will was grieving too. To his surprise, Will was really helped by the grief workshop. Andrew invites Will and Poppy to spend Christmas lunch with them. Touched, Will says he’d love to.

Tom’s impressed with Johnny’s plans for moving the mobile milking parlour to give the Montys a better view. Pat’s putting together home-made Christmas e-cards. Tony finds her the perfect festive photo of Henry and Jack. Pat wishes Johnny had told her about Josh and Bella, rather than finding out from Susan. Hurt Johnny makes a hasty exit. Tom attempts to comfort Johnny; things will get better. Despite his own past he feels happier than he’s ever been with Natasha. Later he reassures anxious Pat that Johnny will be fine.
Pat comments it’s long time since she experienced the follies of young love. She’d like to do something special for her and Tony’s upcoming wedding anniversary. Maybe she’ll get Tony a memorable gift. Pat tries to apologise to Johnny, and she and Tom reflect on how Johnny really is his late father’s son.
Kirsty and Helen look forward to the Christmas lights switch-on. Philip is ‘Christmas mad’ but she’s persuaded him to tone things down at home. Helen admits she’s been thinking about Lee since bumping into him last week – but she messed things up so badly all those months ago. She’s still attracted to him. Kirsty persuades dithering Helen to text Lee. To Helen’s amazement he replies, suggesting they meet up on Friday. Helen feels like she’s been given an second chance, and this time she won’t mess it up.

Jill won’t be making Christmas dinner, but Ruth assures her they’ll cope. Pip seems a million miles away but says she’s fine – she hopes Leonard spoils Jill rotten when he takes her away over Christmas.

Rex thinks he did a good job schmoozing Justin at the golf range, but he’s frustrated by Justin’s impossible offer for the rewilding project. Phoebe understands though – he’s a ruthless businessman. Pip’s not as confident as Phoebe that Peggy will be impressed by their pitch. Suspicious of Justin and the offer on the table, Pip wants more time to think things through, and Rex supports her, but Phoebe wants to press on in order to secure some cash and see if rewilding is viable. They need the money by Christmas, and although BL are tricky, her grandad Brian is on the board – is he not to be trusted either? Rex is won round, but Pip wants time to decide.

Freddie pops to Brookfield to borrow speakers from Ben for his upcoming birthday party. He tells Ruth he’s enjoying working at Grey Gables, but is frosty at the mention of Josh. Ruth’s mortified at the sight of Josh’s new tractor purchase, which he wants to do up for a profit. Freddie confronts Josh over Bella – he doesn’t want Josh at his party. Josh admits what happened to horrified Ruth, who’s disgusted by Josh’s disregard for Johnny.

Dimitrios's leaving party is getting off to a rowdy start at Tim's Taverna, and Lynda's mime game goes down a storm. Tracy admits to Oliver that she never got round to organising plaster crockery for the plate smashing. The memo clearly hasn’t reached Lynda, who wishes Dimitrios a 'smashing' future as she throws one of the restaurant’s plates to the floor. Freddie follows suit and Lynda encourages everyone to join in. After an altercation with the manager, Lynda bundles the team into a minibus – all except for Tracy, who’s gone home with Roman.
Rex arranges to 'coincidentally' bump into Justin at the driving range. Justin is impressed by Rex’s golfing skills, and the two bond over their experiences of boarding school. Later, Justin meets Rex and Phoebe at The Bull to reveal the board’s decision: they've decided to loan them two hundred and seventy acres. Justin explains, however, that the agreement is subject to terms. It will be a share farming arrangement. Instead of charging rent, BL want seventy five percent of any profit generated.

Eddie’s been inundated with applicants to audition for the role of Father Christmas at The Grundy World of Christmas, so Clarrie persuades him to host auditions at the village hall that evening.
Russ is on the lookout for props for the ghost stories – Leonard tells him to check at the Village Hall, it’s where old tat from the pantos gets stored. Russ assures Leonard he isn’t looking for tat, he wants to create an atmosphere. Russ gets his wires crossed with Clarrie when he arrives at the Village Hall on the hunt for props, and ends up being added to the Santa audition list.
Leonard and Harrison swap notes on their previous performances as Father Christmas. Eddie isn’t convinced by Leonard’s performance, and is very critical during Harrison’s audition. Eddie explains that it was a close call between Russ and Kenton, but in the end Harrison got the role by a whisker. Harrison agrees to accept the role, but only if he’s not subjected to such a constant barrage of criticism.

Tracy fills Lynda in on her plan for a Greek-themed leaving do for Dimitrios. Lynda hopes they can find a way to weave in some historical and mythological themes into the evening. After doing her research, Lynda suggests their activities include plate smashing and a game of Which God am I?
Jim arrives late at Lower Loxley for his first ghost stories rehearsal – Webster escaped at Greenacres and he had to stay in his room until the coast was clear. Elizabeth wants to introduce Jim to his new director. It’s Russ. He’s hoping to bring some objectivity and perspective to the performance, and hands Jim a detailed rehearsal schedule. Jim proclaims that he’s much better off working alone. Russ attempts emotional blackmail and tells Jim what a shame it would be if Elizabeth were to suffer a setback in her depression recovery. Jim relents, but Russ’s artistic demands become increasingly outlandish, with physical theatre and props. They each complain about the other to Elizabeth, who silences them. From now on, Russ will work on set design, and Jim will work on his performance. If they can’t make decisions in future, she will have the final word.

Pip and Rex try, unconvincingly, to reassure Phoebe ahead of her pitch to the BL board. In the meeting, Justin reports that they’ve had no progress with their development project plans, but that he’s still confident he can persuade the council to grant them permission. When the time comes for the rewilding pitch, Brian excuses himself from the proceedings. Phoebe’s confidence is knocked when she realises Brian can’t cast a vote or be present for her pitch.
While the board seem receptive to Phoebe’s ideas, Martyn Gibson is less positive. Justin then catches Phoebe off-guard by asking her in-depth questions that she wasn’t prepared for. The board agree to come to their decision by the end of the week. After the meeting, Martyn tells Justin that he thinks the rewilding scheme is a non-starter. Justin thinks they should keep a close eye on the rewilders as they may prove useful.
Pip and Phoebe are concerned that they will have to give up on the BL land. Rex thinks they need a back-up plan: to target Justin Elliott.

Freddie is aghast to discover that Bella has dumped Johnny. They head to The Bull, where Freddie pushes Johnny to talk about how he’s feeling. Johnny snaps and admits that it was Josh who Bella was seen kissing. Exasperated, he walks out.
David brings Rosie home from nursery with a special card she’s made. It’s a picture of Pip with the cows. David and Ruth sit Pip down for a chat: they’ve decided to lease Oakey Bank to the rewilders. It’s only twelve acres, but they should see it as an olive branch.
Kirsty, Helen, Henry and Jack squeeze their way through a crammed Underwoods, looking for Santa’s grotto. They discuss Eddie’s hunt to find a Santa for the Grundy World of Christmas. Suddenly, Helen notices that Henry has disappeared. Panicking, they search everywhere, only for Henry to reappear with Lee in tow. Kirsty takes the boys to find Father Christmas and leaves Helen and Lee awkwardly making conversation. Kirsty’s frustrated to discover that Helen didn’t make the most of their conversation, what if it was meant to be? Helen writes it off as a coincidence and lets it go.

It’s stir-up Sunday and Leonard practises his moving proposal speech to Pip, who thinks it’s perfect. She leaves Leonard and Jill alone in the kitchen together to make the pudding. They chat as Leonard stirs the pudding, but suddenly he stops and tells Jill he’s got something to say. Before he can launch into his speech, Jill stops him. She loves Leonard very much, but she doesn’t want to marry him. Relieved, they return to making the pudding. Leonard does have one more proposal though…
Jill breaks the news to David that she and Leonard will be spending Christmas at a restaurant with Leonard’s son, Simon. David assures her they’ll miss her, but will be thinking of both of them.
Lily and Phoebe hover outside The Bull, as Lily’s not sure she can face seeing Bella. Johnny arrives and insists on apologising to Lily for his outburst. They consider the fight forgotten. Back at Bridge Farm, Johnny makes Bella a special lunch to prove his love for her. Bella asks him to stop pretending that everything’s alright – it’s over between them. Johnny is so different from the person he was when they first got together. She assures him the kiss with Josh had nothing to do with it. Shocked and angry to discover he cheated with her friend, Johnny smashes a glass and tells her to get out.

Leonard is thrilled when David tells him they support his decision to propose to Jill. Jill returns from the doctors with her arm free from its sling, full of praise for how helpful Leonard has been. There’s an awkward moment between them when David tries to congratulate her for accepting Leonard’s proposal. Jill is totally confused, Leonard hasn’t proposed and she doesn’t know why he might think that’s what she wanted.
Phoebe is disappointed to discover that Lilian’s not spoken to Justin about getting the rewilders an audience with BL. Lilian might be their last chance. Lilian finally explains the rewilders' plans to Justin, and to her surprise he asks her to tell him more. Justin heads over to Willow Farm to speak to Phoebe. She explains the ecological benefits they expect to see as a result of their rewilding. Justin suggests they take it to the board at their meeting next Tuesday. He thinks it may have advantages for both parties.

Neil’s had a hard day at work. Hannah undermined him in front of Justin, and now they’ve been given the green light to change the pig’s rations straight away, despite Neil’s better judgment. Emma lends a sympathetic ear, but has to rush off to a dinner show at Grey Gables; Tracy’s date bailed on her, so Emma is going in his place.
Clarrie and Eddie have a great time at the dinner show, as do Emma and Tracy. One of the actors caught Tracy’s eye, so Emma persuades her to go and talk to him. He introduces himself as Roman, and is full of flattery for Tracy. The two hit it off, so Emma pointedly leaves them to it.
Clarrie’s in such high spirits when she gets home, and is taken aback to find the kitchen table covered in beautiful wreaths made by Jake, Mia, Will and Ed. She persuades a reluctant Eddie to help out with The Grundy World of Christmas; it is a family effort after all.

In the dairy, Clarrie fills Pat in on her anniversary plans: they’ve treated themselves to tickets to a cabaret dinner show at Grey Gables. Clarrie’s plans inspire Pat to give Tony a special anniversary present, if only she knew what to get him.
Justin returns from a productive meeting with Jolene and Kenton about revamping The Bull. He’s recommended a business consultant to give them some free advice. Justin is furious to discover that the protesters against the Farndale development have commissioned an ecological survey.
Lily visits Pat at the shop to find out how Johnny is doing. Pat thinks he seems fine – he and Bella had dinner together last night and seemed happy. Russ persuades a despondent Lily to open up to him: she explains that Johnny called her a homewrecker. Lily feels like a hypocrite; she destroyed a marriage while Bella simply kissed someone else. Russ assures her that he’s never felt guilty for falling in love with her. The divorce is underway, so it’s time they stopped with the recriminations and got on with their lives. From now on, it’s just the two of them.

Russ finds Elizabeth up working early. She’s defying her anxiety by refusing to mooch in bed. She’s really fired up about Jim’s Christmas performance. David gives Elizabeth a fright by showing up in the attic while she’s sorting props for the ghost stories. He feels alone in having doubts about Leonard’s plans to propose to Jill. Elizabeth hopes that if she meets someone else one day, she’ll have the support of her family; why shouldn’t Jill have the same?
Elizabeth is left reeling after her meeting with Jim. As soon as she mentioned trying to drum up some attention in the media, Jim closed off and refused to get involved with any publicity. She asks Russ if he’ll lend his creative skills and direct the show. The last thing she needs is for the Ghost Stories to be a disaster.
Ed and Will are exasperated to discover that Alf has legged it. They speculate as to whether he might have pinched any valuables before he left, but Eddie is quick to defend him. When out collecting mistletoe, Will and Ed discuss how quiet Christmas will be this year. They agree that if they had some extra money, they could make Christmas extra special. This gives Ed some inspiration: they should resurrect The Grundy World of Christmas. Eddie shuts them down; if it weren’t for the turkeys he’d be happy to forget Christmas altogether. He wants no part in it.

Joy brings some jam over to Bridge Farm, as a thank you to Tony for fixing her engine. She apologises to Pat for taking up so much of her husband’s time, but is interrupted when they notice Pat’s goats have broken into the garden. Pat and Joy bond over herding the goats back into the paddock. Warming to Joy, Pat invites her in for a coffee, she can tell her what it’s really like to be a farmer.
Phoebe is left disappointed when Brian tells her it would be inappropriate for him to arrange her a hearing with the BL board. Phoebe explains the situation to Lilian, who thinks this is typical behaviour of Brian. She says she’ll choose her moment and speak to Justin on Phoebe’s behalf.
Eddie and Alf prepare to sell Joe’s rusted collection of metalwork for scrap. Afterwards, they celebrate their gains by sampling some of their homemade cider. They realise it was from the batch pressed on the day Joe died, the last Grange Farm cider with Joe’s name on it. Later, Eddie asks Alf if he’d like to spend Christmas with the family, but he declines. Alf doesn’t want to outstay his welcome. He leaves his share from the scrap sale for the family to treat themselves. After agreeing that they’ll share the last of Joe’s cider together one day, Alf leaves.

Leonard arrives at Brookfield wanting a word with David. He explains that Jill has been talking a lot about weddings recently. While explaining that he has no intention of taking Phil’s place, Leonard steps in cow muck and has to go inside to clean up. Eventually, Leonard makes David listen to what he has to say: he thinks Jill wants him to propose. David doesn’t know what to think and asks for some time to mull it over.
While Johnny’s cleaning the milking parlour, he’s interrupted by Lily who wants to speak to him urgently. She knows how much Johnny loves Bella, and while it pains her to do it, she shows him the photo of Bella kissing someone else. Johnny is sure there must be a reasonable explanation. He doesn’t want Lily’s support; she’s already destroyed one relationship, he doesn’t want her to ruin his too.
At the rewilding meeting, Phoebe hatches a plan to acquire the land they need to secure funding from the Trust. Instead of trying to find land from here, there, and everywhere, they could try to claim some of the three-hundred odd acres belonging to Borchester Land adjacent to their forty acres from Home Farm. Phoebe’s already decided how to get a meeting with the BL board: she’ll persuade Brian to pull some strings. It’s BL or bust.

Jill and Leonard admire Hilda’s kittens. Peggy remarks that Johnny’s girlfriend Bella is delightful. As Leonard fusses over Jill, Tony arrives. It’s a busy afternoon for Peggy. Joy came over earlier to view the kittens, and the Echo journalist is coming later. Tony stops her – the journalist was up to no good, and there is no article. He explains Peggy may be a target for scammers who are after her perceived wealth. Peggy’s shocked. Tony leaves a curt message for the ‘journalist’ saying the police have been informed, and assures Peggy she’s safe. She has Kate, and all of them are watching out for her.
Tony comes across Joy in her broken down MG Midget, Madge. He helps her, explaining that he has a similar model. He offers to tow her back to the farm where he can take a closer look.
Mia goes for one last time to Greenwood Cottage. She and Will reminisce. He apologises for his weakness and for losing the house. Mia tells him not to blame himself – for any of it. They share chips, and Mia reckons her mum would be proud and would want them to move on, together.
Jill and Leonard agree they’re lucky to have found each other after their first loves. Jill remembers how badly she wanted to be ‘Mrs Archer’; to know that Phil wasn’t Grace’s any more. She’s sure Leonard can understand that.

Elizabeth’s pleased to hear Freddie’s settling into his job at Grey Gables. She checks whether David needs help at Brookfield with Jill’s injured wrist, and arranges to pop over later.
Elizabeth talks to Jim about her idea for ghost stories in the Lower Loxley attic. He informs her he’s found some potential tales online, and reads one to her. She thinks he reads brilliantly. Will he do it? Reluctant Jim insists he’s not a performer, but Elizabeth tempts him with incentives. He supposes it might be quite fun.
Lily’s distracted looking at photos from the recent party, and Russ looks over her shoulder. He thinks she and Johnny look very cosy, but Lily insists he has nothing to worry about; Johnny didn’t stop talking about Bella all night. Russ makes a pass at Lily, but she’s not in the mood. He feels like he’s still in the doghouse, but Lily has other things on her mind. Confused Russ is left on his own to stew. Lily shows a photo to Freddie; it has Bella in the background, kissing someone who isn’t Johnny. How are they going to break this to him?
David tells Elizabeth Leonard’s practically moved in, and is helping Jill with all her tasks. David’s beginning to feel like a stranger in his own home. He feels like they’re perfectly capable of looking after her themselves.