28/12/2017 - Part 1 EastEnders

VOICES CHATTER IN DISTANCE

ALARM BEEPS

Dad, the alarm would have gone off.

No-one has access to your safe.

I don't think you understand.

Well, I am just a girl.

It's highly sensitive information.

HE KEYS IN NUMBERS

HE EXHALES

There's enough in here to throw Weylands into a very harsh light,

bring down half the council...

..never mind what this might do to me personally.

I don't have another three years to spend

languishing unjustly at Her Majesty's pleasure.

No.

Are you feeling sick again?

Oh, don't fuss!

Here.

I've missed the boys. It's been quiet, just us.

Maybe I should track Luke down and get Josh round -

-family dinner at New Year or something.

-I don't think so.

But we must celebrate.

I mean, this is what it's all been about, isn't it?

Everything we've worked for together -

the fall of Walford, justice for Mum.

Her suicide, your wrongful imprisonment -

all started by one false rape allegation.

That's our whole childhood - that story.

Kathy says you're lying.

How is that new information?

I believe Kathy.

I thought you were scared of being left on your own.

Yeah, well, I'll just have to get over myself, won't I?

I can't be baby-sat for the rest of my life. And...

Look, I know you don't understand, but we agreed -

Louie should still see Lauren, shouldn't he?

I'll try and get hold of Emin.

No, thank you! New year, new me. Being scared stops now.

I'm sick of it.

Are you going to chuck me out rather than have one honest conversation with me?

I'm your daughter. I'm not your property!

Confiscate her pass.

SHOUTS: Confiscate her pass!

That's everything I know, yeah?

OK. Have you signed and dated it?

-Yeah.

-Any other witnesses?

Yeah, there's a few people out here.

-Oh, have a heart!

-I need my straighteners!

-I thought you won some money at the bingo?

-Just leave me my straighteners!

And what's to stop me calling the Old Bill over here right now?

This legally binding bailiff authorisation on the loans you've took out, Ms Taylor.

Loans? What loans?

If I don't have my straighteners, I will have a medical emergency!

-Shut up!

-You wanted proper presents!

All right!

You know how this works, love.

You find the sum of £1,000 before 12.15 tomorrow,

and you don't get served with a third-party debt order.

Oh!

It weren't a win at the bingo! Why are you saying it's the bingo for?

Why have you always got to lie about it?

-You wanted proper presents! I got you proper presents!

-Oh, have a word!

How are Chatham and Riley going to react when they get home

and find out they've had to give back their whole Christmas?

And my hair's going to be a nightmare.

I spent ages practising with them straighteners!

There's only one thing to be done, Mum.

-Oh, no!

-You'll end up in court.

-Don't ask me that!

-And we will end up in care!

I ain't going there!

I ain't doing it, Bernadette!

Push the button. Arthur, push the middle button. That's it.

No. Let Daddy have a look. Let Daddy have a look.

Ooh, look! Aargh!

THEY LAUGH

WHISPERS: This is what we're going to do.

Now, Mummy's still Mummy, OK?

Don't be scared.

We're going to go in there, we're going to play peekaboo

and we're going to give her a high five, yeah?

Yeah? Come on, then. Ready? There she is.

Hey!

-Go and give her a high five.

-Can I have a high five?

You're so strong!

I've missed you, baby. Hi, baby.

Catastrophic brain injury? But it's not...

-I mean, there's still something they can do, right?

-Yeah, of course.

Yeah, every test, every treatment.

Tanya's gone to pieces.

I keep telling her they've got to give you the worst case, haven't they?

Just got to keep it together.

She'll come round. I know she will.

Just need a little sign, that's all.

I know she can hear us.

She was reaching out to me.

I'm here now.

DOOR OPENS

Don't turn me away.

-We're closed.

-Please.

Are you actually mad?

No. Cancer of the liver, not the brain.

So frustratingly old, Kathy.

We have had a lifetime apart. We have limited time now.

There are so few people out there who...

We connected.

That's why it matters. We used to connect, didn't we?

No.

We did. You must remember.

I know you remember. All this...

So much thought and hard work and so much effort.

My private obsession.

You must see. Years and years.

Every decision I have made. All for you, Kathy.

For this moment.

You ain't making sense and you sound like a creep.

I want to give you what you didn't have all those years ago.

You are free.

Free...to choose, Kathy.

I kept him back for you, but you don't even need Ian now, really.

And it can't be much longer before he realises he should go and find that wife.

You had nothing to do with Jane leaving.

HE CHUCKLES

Free. Nothing tying you down. That is my gift.

And then, if you wanted to choose me...

..not to be indelicate - I...I have a small fortune.

And there has only ever been one person I wanted to share it with.

I'm lonely, Kathy. You understand?

May I at least sit down?

HE EXHALES

HE EXHALES

Right, if you want burgers first, you'll have to get a move on.

Lily!

Uh-oh! I think she's gone deaf. See, that's a shame

because I was going to get some sweets for this panto and all.

I ain't deaf!

-Oh, yes, you are!

-Oh, no, I ain't!

-Oh, yes, you are!

-Oh, no, I ain't!

Right, come on, then. Let's get dressed. Ten minutes. Come on!

I'm going to wear my princess shoes!

Good, good! Let's go. Come on, Arthur. Let's go.

Let's go and get dressed.

Quick, quick, quick, quick, quick, quick! Up them stairs!

-Martin, we need to talk about this.

-No. I've already told you -

we're not wrecking the kids' Christmas.

Come on, I'll race you! I'll race you!

That was us.

-That was us!

-No, it wasn't.

Yes, it was!

Yes, it was.

-Oi, oi!

-Sorry, sorry.

Stop! I want to get off! Sorry.

-Sorry.

-We need to get off!

SHE PRESSES BELL

Oi, bus driver! Can you stop, please?

Oi! Oi! Oi!

Yeah, I'm just ringing about the two-bedroom apartment you've got in Stratford.

It is?

How much?

How much?!

I don't suppose there's much anyone can do about it now.

All the local pubs are closing, aren't they?

But the thing is, this really is the Vic's last New Year.

We've got to have one last party.

Another party?

Yeah, well, don't look at me.

No, no. Sorry, ladies.

3rd of Jan, I am homeless, jobless and moving back to my mother's.

I ain't got time for a happy New Year. I've got a life to pack up!

I thought I was being innovative.

Had you bringing in fruit to put on the bar, remember?

And that old cleaning lady - what was her name?

-Ethel.

-That's it!

Took a big bite out of a kiwi with the skin on.

Claimed The Dagmar was trying to poison her!

Hm!

We all tell ourselves stories...

..about how we wind up where we wind up,

the choices we make.

Oh, don't you dare!

Is that why you're here? More of your mind-messing chat, James?

Yeah, well, I'm ready for you this time because do you know what?

You've said it all. You've bored me, you've scared me.

I didn't mean to scare. Halloween...

Will you get this through your head? I am never going to agree

because we both know what really went on, and it's done.

And I am never going there again!

No, no! I understand. You view what happened between us as rape.

No, the truth!

And I paid a very high price, didn't I? Well, didn't I?

I'm not trying to make you change your mind.

I'm...I'm just saying that, possibly,

in different circumstances,

things might have worked out differently for us.

And the circumstances are different now, aren't they?

We sort of think death only happens to other people.

I can see the end of the line, Kathy.

I didn't expect it to come up on me so quickly.

Don't you think it's time we moved on,

act like the mature adults we really should be by now

while we can...please?

You know, you still are the most beautiful woman.

OK, starting the brain stem test.

I know it's a cliche - blame your father,

fall-back position for the properly screwed up.

No responses to painful stimuli...

I've even tried praying.

Do you know it's taken me two weeks to finally get up the guts to ask my dad?

And when I do, he dismisses me like I'm an irritation.

An employee. And there's my answer.

I was brought up on a pack of lies.

My poor mum.

It wasn't the accusation she couldn't live with.

It was knowing that she was married to a rapist.

Yeah, well, you're a family of users.

Not got more than half a heart between the whole lot of them.

Says you!

I really did want to marry you.

The damage we've done in Walford in the name of revenge,

or whatever was going on in your dad's head.

And Weylands do what?

They clean up, move on to the next place.

At what cost?

You don't think you've actually got God without noticing, do you?

Miracles can happen, Max.

You want to go to the panto, you go.

I'll stay at home with Hope.

-I want to talk to you.

-I told you - now is not the time.

So when, Martin? Cos not yesterday, not tonight.

I need you to talk to me.

And say what?

What do you want me to do, Stace?

You want me to shout?

You want me to hit you?

Ask what that bald ginger sack has got that I've not?

Or ask how in God's name you could throw everything that we have made,

everything that we have been through, away for that scumbag?

Right, the kids are waiting.

What do we do now?

It's not about us.

The moment we chose to have kids

was the moment we chose to put ourselves second.

They come first. I thought... I thought we was on the same page.

-We are.

-No! No, we're not

cos I feel like you have got a little bit confused

between passion and stupidity.

Do you really think sleeping

with middle-aged Max Branning...

..is exciting?

Is that what does it for you, Stace?

You think you're the only one who doesn't find real life boring

and crap and exhausting sometimes?

You see, but I'm not prepared to swap

my day-to-day routine for misery.

Not a chance.

Not just because you want a little bit of drama in your life.

-It wasn't like that...

-It's pathetic! It's pathetic.

The whole time that we've been together, everything...

..this is the first time I've looked at you and seen you ugly.

And I ain't talking about it. I ain't talking it over.

And I ain't going to tell you what we do next, right?

Because you did this. You kicked this off.

You want this to split up our family...

..then YOU split up our family. You ain't laying this on me.

This is your choice.

-Yay!

-Yay! Come on, let's go! Are we ready?

Is it pantomime time, yeah? Pantomime time!

SHE GROANS

Touch your toes.

I don't want to touch my toes. You touch my toes!

Well, how's that going to work? I ain't the one with the stitch, Bernadette!

-Mum...

-Yes, all right. Shut up!

That's it.

-WHISPERS:

-Wow.

The villa in Tuscany...

..full-length pool...

..Sydney apartment...

..little place in the Cotswolds.

Well, if there's somewhere else you'd like to see,

you only need to say the word.

I want to look after you, Kathy.

I want to spend my last few months with you.

I want you.

Old fool! I always have.

Kathy, if you can't go into this with trust,

then I've been thinking, we could make it a more formal, um...

A business arrangement.

I can pay you for your time.

What do you say?

I think you'd have saved yourself an awful lot of effort

if you'd just asked me in the first place.

But you're no Richard Gere.

And I am definitely no Julia Roberts.

What?

Well, you can't force yourself on me, so you want to pay me for it.

No. You know that's not what I meant.

And I say...

No!

No!

HE GROANS

Thank you very much! But I said no then,

and I say no now, you sad, deluded, pathetic old man!

Destroy the Square so I've got nothing to lose?

No, Kathy!

I have friends. I have a life.

And I will ALWAYS belong here! Now, you get this -

if I EVER see you again, I will find the biggest, sharpest knife

and I will cut it off and I will serve it to you in a sandwich!

If you don't believe me, look in my eyes.

Look in my eyes, James!

HE GROANS

We all die alone, James. It's inevitable.

You can say what you like

and you can put in all the effort you like,

but the facts do not change.

You are going to hell.

So go to hell!

I can't do it.

Come on, it's freezing. Mum, you know it's time.

You look great.

I look like I've had an accident with an ice lolly.

DOORBELL RINGS JINGLE BELLS TUNE

Must need my head seeing to.

Kandice?

-Karen.

-I thought you had them lasered.

Terrible colour on you. What do you want?

A sit-down wouldn't go amiss.

What you doing living right out here for?

I wasn't aware of inviting you over.

Berni, darling!

Oh, look at you!

Well, go on, then. You're letting out my heating.

What is it this time? Destitute, debt?

Oh! You're not up the duff again are you, babes?

Cos, honestly, it's a little bit tricky to tell there.

Debt. We need a grand by tomorrow, Auntie Kandi.

£1,000! God's sake, Karen!

SHE SIGHS

I suppose it is the season of goodwill,

and Malcolm hasn't sent his donation to the donkey sanctuary yet,

so you can be our charity.

Never been good with her finances, your mum.

Even when we were kids, if we ever got pocket money,

she'd spend it all on sweets

and shove them in her fat gob before she could get out the shop.

-Don't you call me fat, four eyes!

-Ooh!

Your nan could never take a joke, neither.

-Me?

-Mum...

Oh, no, no! Sorry. I ain't the one with no sense of humour.

-If you say so, babes.

-Mum, shut up now.

I say - Christmas, 2014.

-Turkey drumstick, Kandice.

-Ooh!

SHE LAUGHS

Hilarious!

I'd almost forgot. Now I ain't.

Happy New Year.

She'd love it!

THEY GIGGLE

What are you doing, showing your boat in here?

What did you say, Michael?

You crossed the line. My kid could have found that gun.

You plant it,

and then you spin the Old Bill a little story.

You're lucky they're crawling all over the gaff

as I would seriously lose the plot.

We stand to make 150 grand each.

I need someone who can keep it together,

who's quick on their feet. You passed the test.

Now, mine's a quick double, please?

Just get it in your nut - I will never work for you.

Ever.

Am I getting that drink, please?

I hate this time of year.

Oh, don't! It's all diets and resolutions, ain't it?

Yeah. I mean, that's not even talking about removal men or job hunting.

Though I do like a nice removal man.

Of course, probably what you need is a good East End knees-up.

-Girls!

-Ian'll do the food.

-Decorations.

And the Albert has always got a few spare crates.

And you would not have to lift a finger, Linda.

You lot are worse than the kids!

You're seriously not going to stop banging on about this until I say yes, are you?

-No.

-No.

-Is that a yes?

-Yes.

-THEY CHEER

She said yes, then?

OK, people! Last ever party here, New Year's Eve.

-Let's make it a night to remember!

-Yes!

-Yes!

I'm thinking themes, yeah? What do you reckon to a theme?

Oh, yeah, yeah. Lovely.

Well, I would say that was a very good move.

You stay here, drink your wine and pretend it's still Christmas.

It ain't just you who's invested in this place.

Well, how is it my fault?

Well, it ain't me who earns 20p and half a pint of shandy a week!

We can't afford a shed up the allotment.

I don't want to live with you anyway.

I don't want to live with you either, Shirley!

The rest of the world get a long-term partner.

I have to live with my crusty, dried-up old sister!

FOOTSTEPS APPROACH

SOUND OF POLICE RADIO

HE KNOCKS

Abs?

Abi?

BEEPING

Nurse! Her eyes are moving!

BEEPING STOPS

Open the door, sir! Sir, open the door, please!

HE GROANS

HE GASPS

Oscar Delta 178 to control. Receiving. Over.