07/12/2015 EastEnders

CHRISTMAS SONGS IN BACKGROUND

This is what I've missed.

Proper London Christmas with my family.

I don't know what Jane's playing at. She said she'd be here.

-I'll go check.

-No, it's OK. I'll go.

You enjoy your hard work.

I miss you, Luce.

Gran? You've got to help. It's Mum. She's hurt!

-What?

-Come on, she's upstairs!

Jane? Are you OK?

Mum? Say something.

What happened?

Oh, I just tripped.

Be careful!

What was that?

My ankle. I must've twisted it.

How did you fall?

I was on my way out...

..and Bobby...

Bobby wanted help moving a final few bits,

so I was rushing, I wasn't looking where I was going.

Look, why don't you take some pain killers, and go to bed?

You look a bit pale.

No. I'll be fine.

Anyway, Sharon and Linda are waiting for us, aren't they?

I'm just going to nip to the loo, Kathy. I'll be down in a sec.

All right.

It was an accident.

But I pushed you.

Not on purpose, you didn't.

Are you going to tell Dad?

There's nothing to tell, is there?

-Mick, ready.

-Yeah, all right, sweet.

Ladies and gents, make sure you get involved in Babe's hot buffet,

-won't you? It's proper stew, innit?

-That's right. Venison stew.

Venison? Do what?

-Where's Kim?

-Back at the house.

She don't want to stand about in the cold.

Oh, come on! That is the oldest trick in the book!

Get you out the house so she can go looking for presents.

Dee, I don't know what to do.

No. It's Patrick.

Dee's in the bathroom. What's wrong?

Patrick.

No, no, it's no problem... Nothing. I just...

I'll try her again later.

Are you off out?

Yeah.

But I can get Abi and Ben to come back from the Albert

-if you want to come with me.

-Nah. You go and have fun.

Your ex-wife's going to be there. Don't think that word applies.

-Mum!

-Yes, darling?

Can we look after Marilyn over the Christmas holidays?

Who's Marilyn? Hamster?

Way cooler. A tarantula.

-No way.

-Please!

The pizza's in the oven. Be done in ten minutes.

Oh, I think we can manage with that, can't we?

And some beers in the fridge as well.

Thanks.

KNOCKING

-Kim? It's me.

-Patrick?

Yeah.

All right? Come in.

-What's the matter?

-Matter? Nothing. Nothing's the matter.

What're you doing here, Patrick?

I was going to the Vic with Denise.

Thought you might like to join us?

And you sounded a bit strange on the phone.

DOOR OPENS

You're back?

That's a nice greeting.

Patrick, what brings you here?

I just dropped in to see Kim.

My mum's at the Vic. She'd love to see you.

Yeah, man. You going to be OK?

Yeah, course I am. You go to the Vic. Have fun.

OK.

Someone couldn't wait till Christmas day?

Oh, there you are! You know you missed the lights switching on?

Yeah, I got waylaid.

Waylaid? I found her in a heap at the bottom of the stairs.

What? Really?

I just twisted my ankle - it looked worse than it was.

-Are you sure?

-Don't try and gatecrash our ladies' night.

Oh, no, no! I wouldn't dream of it.

I have a hot date with Miss Dorothy Branning.

Linda, Elaine - this is Kathy, my mother-in-law.

Oh, lovely to meet you properly.

And you.

Now I don't mean to be rude, but I've got to get these flyers out.

Got auditions later. Looking for a star!

-Mum's doing the Christmas show this year.

-You're welcome to try out.

No age restrictions.

Right, who's for a drink?

Large white wine, please.

-Me, too.

-You might as well get a bottle, Kath.

Please, Sharon. It's really important to Ian that we all get on.

Course we will. Right, Sharon?

I'll try.

If you're going to tell me it's icing for the Christmas cake,

you can just forget it.

Got it from The Albert.

I seized it off a dealer last night.

Why don't you stop insulting my intelligence

and just tell me the truth?

-I have.

-Vincent. I swear, if you keep lying to me...

-Baby, please...

-Don't baby me nothing!

I left Denise and Patrick for you.

I defended you to the hills

and you turn out to be all kinds of...dodge.

Kim. I'm not a dealer.

So what are those drugs doing in our house, with our little baby girl?

It's a set-up to take down Phil Mitchell.

What?

I was going to plant the drugs in his house,

make an anonymous call to the police and...

Merry Christmas, family Mitchell.

I really thought you had more brains, Vincent!

But no, no, you're just a stupid little boy with a stupid little ego

who don't give a damn about what he risks

as long as he's top dog of Walford.

It's not about that!

-Then what is it about, then?

-Eric Mitchell!

Who?

Phil's dad.

He killed my dad.

All right, Mrs B, smile.

Where do I look?

-Right here, just here. All right? You ready?

-Yeah.

Hey!

-Have you taken it?

-Yeah! No, look - you look beautiful.

-Get away with you!

-I'm going to the loo, all right? See you in a minute.

Hi, Dot.

Kathy.

I'll just go check on Bobby. I'll be back in a bit, yeah?

-Thinking of auditioning?

-Oh, not no more.

I was involved in a nativity play a few years ago.

I've still got some of the costumes somewhere, I think.

Oh, Elaine. Dot's just said she's got some nativity costumes going spare.

And maybe you could use her expertise for your auditions?

I've got an angel, a Mary,

and the head of a donkey, only I think its behind got the moths.

Thanks, Mrs Branning, but I'm not really going with the God theme.

But it's Christmas.

If you want to get involved,

I'm sure you can still help out with the teas and coffees.

I'll bear that in mind.

Why is she shouting?

I'm sorry, Dot, I didn't mean to put my foot in it.

It don't matter. I think I'm past my sell-by date,

people don't want a nativity play no more.

Rubbish. Give me a nativity play over some naff pantomime any day.

And I'm sure most people round here think the same.

Mum worked at the Roxy...

..where Eric and Peggy used to drink.

She begged my dad - don't get involved with him and his crew.

But we were skint.

I asked for a pair of trainers,

but Mum kept on saying we can't afford it.

Then Dad came back Christmas Eve all worked up.

I was in my pyjamas listening on the stairs,

they were arguing about Eric and money.

They caught me listening and...

..sent me to my bed.

I thought it's because I asked about the trainers.

I woke up Christmas Day and the house was empty.

I opened my one present under the tree.

High-top trainers.

Pristine white.

Later, Mum told me that Eric hadn't paid my dad for a job they'd done...

..so Dad went down there to confront him.

That's all it took, apparently.

I was thinking it'd be nice to have some good family photos this Christmas.

It feels a bit odd having those ancient pictures of me around the place.

I wouldn't mind if I were you. You were so glam.

Don't know about that.

Now, your mum, Sharon - she was the glitzy one.

When she could see straight to put her lippy on.

Scars run deep, eh?

I was kidding.

It's all in the past now, isn't it?

Venison? That's a bit pricey?

Not when it's road kill.

That's illegal!

Shut up! Babe's winding you up.

Course.

Oi oi oi!

What? Was already in Bambi heaven when our paths crossed.

Shame to let it go to waste.

I could lose my licence - stop serving!

Too late - it's all gone. Went down a storm.

You're off your nut, you know that?

Was it fresh at least?

Check the Rialto. Blood's still dripping.

Better not let Goosey Lucy see, she might do a runner.

Yeah... Yeah.

How is setting up Phil Mitchell 30 years later

going to make you feel any better?

It's bigger than one man when it comes to the Mitchells.

And Phil ain't no better than his dad.

As far as I'm concerned, he can pay for the both of them.

And Ronnie?

What's all that about?

Get close to Phil.

Like a honey trap?

So they never found the body?

Word on the street, he...he ended up in concrete

on some construction site.

Yeah?

What?

Nothing...

But...the urn.

They must've found him.

That's just Mum's way of remembering him.

She looks at an empty urn?

What, you saying you don't believe me?

I don't know.

No, no. Of course. Of course I do.

It just must've been hard.

Yeah, it was.

Need something stronger. Drink?

Yeah.

No, no - allow me, please - same again?

Actually, I was going to have an early night.

But you're very sweet. Another time.

You are terrible.

And you like it.

You all right? You've been ages!

Ollie'd woken up - took a while to get him back down.

So, Kathy, you used to run the cafe, like Jane?

Cafe! Kath!

Mum!

Yeah, and help out on the veg stall.

-Hard slog.

-Got your feet up now, though, ain't ya?

Yeah, but it was always fun this time of year, though.

Do you remember in '84 when we all got dressed up on the market?

Not really, Kathy, no.

-Dressed up?

-Yeah, you remember. It was a Victorian theme.

We all wore bonnets.

I was 15, Kath, probably too busy kissing boys.

Oh, come on, we even put one on Roly!

Roly?

Yeah, he was my dad's dog. Poodle.

Matched her perm.

So, what about Ian?

Ian? Right. He wore trousers, suspenders and a flat cap.

Oh! He looked so cute.

Just getting the lowdown on your fashionista past. Christmas 1984.

-Thank you, Mother.

-You're welcome.

-You'd have loved that, Linda.

You couldn't wait to get into your petticoats.

Look, why don't we do it again? The Victorian Market.

Oh, no, I'm too old for all that now.

-Although Nancy'd look lovely in a bonnet.

-Not to mention Mick.

Oh, come on! It'd be a laugh.

OK. Why not?

Yeah, OK. Count me in! Cheers.

But I thought you said he was upset

because Eric hadn't paid him?

So how come he could afford the hi-tops?

He bought them on a tick, he banked on getting the money back -

that's why him and Mum were rowing.

But you definitely heard your dad saying

he was going to have it out with Eric?

-Yeah.

-But you were in bed.

-DOOR OPENS

-I know what Mum told me, I know what happened.

Eric Mitchell killed my dad.

You told her? That's private, Vincent.

That's my past.

I don't want it getting out there my husband ended up like that.

No better than a dog.

Not even a grave to mark his body.

-It's true?

-You think I'd make something like that up?

Kim, where're you going?

You stay here - you concentrate on Phil Mitchell.

I'll sort Kim.

Ah, good.

It's been bought to my attention that the community

might prefer a nativity play to a Christmas show.

Bought to your attention? By who?

Well, Kathy for one.

And I think it would only be fair if we put it to the vote.

A vote, what do you mean a vote?

Well, if you win, then your Christmas show goes ahead,

and if I win, we're putting on a nativity play.

What d'you say?

May the best woman win!

HE SIGHS

Er, are you all right if I pop out for a bit?

-What for?

-Just going to nip to the shop.

-You know mum wouldn't like it.

And mum doesn't like you eating sweets either.

But if you keep shtum, I'll get you some.

Or you could get her to agree to Marilyn coming to stay.

But why do I have to do it?

I ain't having her complaining that I rigged the vote.

Oh, stop pretending you don't like the limelight, Ian.

All right, I will do it for you, Dot, OK?

Ladies and gentlemen, can I just have your attention for a moment, please?

-Just gather round. And you lot over there.

-It's Dot.

She's got all sniffy about my show. No thanks to you.

Right, as you all know,

we normally have a nativity put on by the church, but this year,

Linda's mum, Elaine, has said she wants to put on a Christmas show.

Yeah, it's going to be Jack and the Beanstalk. Great fun!

Singing, dancing, the works.

Yes, and the nativity play is going to have Christmas songs

and hymns and it will involve all the local children.

Yeah, mine is not going to be exclusive.

-Young and old, all welcome.

-Profits will go to the church fund.

And my profits are going to go behind the bar.

LAUGHTER OK.

Right, we've heard from both the ladies,

so how about we now put it to a vote? Is that fair? OK.

All those in favour of Elaine...

-Sorry, I've forgotten your surname.

-Peacock.

-Stands to reason.

-..Elaine Peacock and her Christmas show, raise your hands.

-Yeah.

-Yeah, it's one over there.

-Right then.

So, all those in favour of a traditional nativity play,

put on by Dot...

Uh-uh. The legend that is Mrs Dorothy Branning.

I'm sorry, the legend that is Mrs Dorothy Branning, raise your hands!

CHEERING

Yes, I would say that is a landslide victory for Dot.

CHEERS AND APPLAUSE

I think that calls for a sweet sherry.

Oh, no, thank you very much, Arthur,

but I've got to get back home cos I've got me work cut out.

Well, allow me to escort the winner home, shall I?

-Oh, thank you, Patrick, very much.

-Night, Dot.

Oh, I'm ever so sorry, but there's always next year.

And I'd be very happy if you would help with the teas and the coffees.

No, no, no. It's fine. No problem.

Really. Anyway, I'm going to have my hands full.

I'm busy, you know, organising your wedding.

It's fine.

SHE MOUTHS

Ooh...

Dot, she's lived round here for donkey's, so don't...

Don't take it personally.

I only did it for the family.

Not for me.

I know. I know.

I just... I just wanted everyone to be together, you know?

What do you do when someone takes the title from under you?

You go and nick it right back. We'll do it together.

You all right?

I swear I just saw the old man going in the house

with a bag from the shop.

So? He's probably nipped out for something.

You know? I knew leaving him alone was a bad idea.

It doesn't mean anything. Look, Ben, trust me.

I'm dealing with it.

Ben's right, you know. Phil and booze was always going to get ugly.

It's not like before. I've read up on it. I know what I'm doing.

Oh, come on.

I'm not having a go at you, Sharon. I'm just saying, don't kid yourself.

I know how easy it is to make excuses

-when you're close to someone.

-Let's just live and let live.

And back then with Ange, you were just a kid, but this...

-This is something different.

-How dare you preach to me

when you've messed up so badly! No-one round here wants to know!

SHE MOUTHS

-What's happened?

-I'll sort it.

Oh? I know that face.

Spent the evening with the three witches?

I mean, Jane's all right...

..it's just Linda and Sharon.

They can be a right catty pair.

-Look, I'm sorry. I don't know...

-No. No.

Sorry, I'm Denise.

You know, you chucked me out of the caf, you know?

Used to be engaged to your Ian.

But it wasn't...the best fit.

Still, it must be nice to have his mum home for Christmas, eh?

Pity no-one else feels the same.

Ah. Er... Right. Well, I'll leave you to it.

Can't keep this pace up till Christmas.

Nice to meet you and I'm sorry about before, you know?

-The caf.

-Oh, look, forget about it.

Just ignore Sharon. You've just hit a raw nerve.

No, Jane. She's right. No-one wants me back.

Well, apart from Ian.

That's not true.

It's... It's great having another woman in the house.

Really.

Oh, listen, I don't suppose there's somewhere else we could go,

is there? Away from the old faces.

Good idea.

Oh, Kim.

Are you OK?

It's Vincent.

OK, come on. Let's get you inside.

Don't tell me you've had another row now.

Well, sort of.

I don't know, it's just hard to explain.

And I just walked out and left Pearl...

-Are you worried about her?

-No.

But you're scared. Has he hurt you, Kim?

No, no. It's nothing like that. It's just...

Kim? Is that you?

I thought you were walking Dot home.

Well, I was just taking Patrick up on his charming offer from earlier.

I should really get going. Left Vincent at home sulking.

-You know what men are like.

-What's he done?

He caught Kim searching for her Christmas presents.

Turned into a full-blown row.

-That is why you're acting so jumpy.

-Oh, for goodness' sake.

-Talk about making mountains out of molehills.

-Denise is right.

Let's get you home. You'll be laughing about this tomorrow.

Yeah, maybe it's for the best cos I am knackered.

-No, wait...

-What?

Come on, Kim. We all want a nice Christmas, don't we?

For Pearl.

Good night?

Ben said he saw you coming in the gate.

Oh, yeah. I just popped out to get some toothpaste.

I was only gone a couple of minutes.

All right. I think I'm going to turn in.

Ain't you forgotten something?

Stupid.

Urgent enough to run out for.

Sharon...

These, the ones you got me, that's all I've had.

Not many women would understand this,

but you've got some brains in your head

and you know me better than anyone.

Better than Kathy ever did.

Good night.

He loves you. He does.

I know he can be infuriating, but his heart's in the right place.

He's an emotional man

and he needs to get this Mitchell thing out of his system.

So I'm supposed to just sit here and accept it.

What's the alternative?

You tell Denise, she kicks off, you leave Vincent,

you end up like her - bitter and twisted?

I know which option I'd go for.

Oh, come on.

Come home...

to your family.

POLICE SIREN

-A knitting business?

-Yeah. Ian used to help out sometimes.

Probably thought it was going to look good on his CV.

Empire building, even then.

-Really?

-Do you know?

Used to give him pocket money and he'd charge you interest

-if you were a day late.

-Oh, you've got to love him.

I'm glad he met you, Jane.

You are really good for him. And you're a great mum.

Look, I know it must be strange having me back,

but it means so much to me.

And especially having the chance to get to know my grandson.

DOOR OPENS

Your mum's right. I belong here with you.

But...

..this Mitchell thing, it can't drag on. Get it over and done with, OK?

Night, Jane.

Night. And um...thanks for tonight.

'I'm just glad we got a chance to talk.

'You see? I'm not the enemy.'

No, of course you're not.

You know...

..I feel like I can really open up to you now.

Thank you.

She told you, didn't she?

Hey, shouldn't you be asleep?

I heard you talking.

Mum said she wasn't going to say anything.

-What?

-Wouldn't have happened if she let me stay in my room.

What wouldn't have happened?

I wouldn't have pushed her.

She made me angry.