Episode 3 From There to Here

This programme contains some strong language

-Any word on who did this?

-Police say IRA.

-Will your wife be wondering where you got to?

-I'm not married.

Ever since the Arndale bomb, feels like one life isn't enough.

Finally worked out what I want.

I'm going to need more of you now.

I am trying to save this place.

Charlie refinanced the business.

You have no right!

-What's your plan?

-To trust Dad!

I love you. I'm always going to be coming back here to you.

Two families, another baby on the way, and they don't know about

each other. I would say that was pretty out of hand.

Well, at least I didn't bomb my own club.

Your bomb was YOUR bomb.

We've got a problem.

I was adopted, by the way. When I was about five.

There's something inside your head and it's driving you mad.

Are you all right?

Argh!

Who are you?

His wife. Who are you?

Did I die?

Not yet. But it can be arranged.

You had a mild heart attack.

So...

Are we all getting on so far?

Don't you joke! You shat on our lives!

Don't you lie there and joke about it!

Mum! Mum! Come on.

Get your hands off her!

He's sick in the head!

No, wait, stay.

Everybody else get out.

Claire, Joanne.

I want you to stay. Could you?

Please?

No chance, pal.

I can stay!

It's the last time I ever do anything you ask.

It's funny, really.

I don't remember him even liking the Osmonds.

Too soon for the Mormon gag?

I'm sorry about before. I jumped to the wrong conclusion.

It's hard to take in.

Yeah. Well.

Me too, lad. Sorry.

It must have knocked you bow-legged.

Not really. Didn't like him all that much, anyway.

You were in the club that night, weren't you?

Yeah. And you were lying through your teeth that night, weren't you?

What was I going to say? It was down to him.

What? Do you mean to say you've known about this all along?

Why didn't you tell somebody?

I don't exactly remember you returning my phone calls.

How is he? Is he all right?

Yeah. He's all right. Sorry to say.

Don't say that.

And who the hell is this?

Lee. Pleased to meet you.

This is my brother, Lee.

This is my baby sister, Scarlet.

Hi. Nice to meet you.

I feel like I'm in a really bad episode of "Surprise, Surprise."

I'm sorry.

To both of you.

I'm sorry.

Is that your explanation?

Maybe if you asked me anything.

Just anything you like.

How about "Why?"

I met Joanne and fell in love...

..and I was still in love with you

and it got out of hand.

Where did you think he was?

He worked away.

With the sweet factory.

"The sweet factory"? Is that what he told you?

There is a sweet factory. It's a family business.

Is that true?

Yes.

And does it pay well, this job?

I, erm...

Well, I kind of own it.

So you're rich?

He told me he was an industrial cleaner.

What?!

That's just bizarre!

It was all I could think of.

Why not a spy or a pilot or something?

An industrial cleaner? That was your fantasy self?

SHE LAUGHS

God almighty!

Have you got a big house?

I thought you wanted to know why.

We know the why. It's always the same. The why.

You wanted to screw two women at once

but not have to live with what came next.

I think that's the "why" well and truly nailed.

No. It was never, never like that.

Please don't talk about the bomb again.

Marks and Spencer's has managed to recover, and you haven't?

-Just...

-No. You don't get to call the shots any more. No.

I don't want to know what you think.

You lied because it suited you.

You lied because you're weak. You lied because

you don't mind whose lives were messed up

as long as it's not your own.

I had a baby. Our baby!

In this hospital!

And you made me feel like it was us. Just us!

And you've poisoned that.

You've poisoned everything.

Me, Scarlet.

All the rest, all the rest!

It's just...

I will do anything...

..to put things right.

Whatever "right" is.

You can write it down.

-What?

-I want you to write it all down.

Every day you were away.

What you were doing. Where you were. Who you were with.

But I can't remember. What would be the point of that?

So I know. So I'm in on it.

So that bit of my life isn't a secret to me any more.

Yeah, but you'd be torturing yourself.

Don't you think I'm torturing myself now? Trying to guess?

Right, I really appreciate you letting me know about that.

Well, I am just in the middle of something now,

so how about I touch base with you when I'm done?

Maybe an hour or so. All right, thanks now. Bye-bye.

Hi. How is he?

He's OK.

But there's something else that you should prepare yourself for.

His affair?

Charlie filled me in. I'm really sorry, Mum.

Do you think the press'll get hold of it?

Well... Word is that it might actually do me some good.

Blair's Babes have been seen as a bit non-descript.

So this might just help mark me out from the pack.

MOBILE RINGS

I'm so sorry. I just have to get this. Alistair, hi...

Every cloud...

Mum, do you want me to...?

I'm going home.

Call me if he dies.

Well, well, well.

Turns out my dad is an utter prick.

All that talking down to me.

All the moral high ground, and all the time...

He just nearly died in there.

You might want to remember that bit.

-Why are you suddenly on his side?

-He made a mistake.

It happens.

To me.

To him.

Even to you, one day.

It's definitely going to happen to me.

If you want to give me a kicking

you're going to have to book an appointment.

No. I'm not here to have a go at you.

I'm here to say that I understand.

I'm on your side.

I know why you did it.

How can you know?

The Manchester bomb. That bomb.

I felt it, too.

I felt something shift.

That'd be the Royal Exchange. It moved six inches, apparently.

Don't be cute. You're in no position.

You know and I know.

We had a little peek into the hereafter, didn't we?

A sneak preview?

-I don't remember.

-Oh, come on!

I could practically hear my coffin lid being screwed down.

You're never normal after that.

You're not MEANT to be normal after that.

You'd better move in with me.

You what? Don't be stupid.

Just till the dust settles.

So I can keep an eye on you. All right?

Cos you're behaving like you're mental

and somebody needs to keep an eye on you.

Ah!

So is that a "No" or a "Yes"?

BIG BEN CHIMES

CHEERING

MUSIC: "Bizarre Love Triangle" by New Order

Ten, nine, eight, seven

six, five, four

three, two, one!

LAUGHTER

Run! Hurry up.

SQUEALS OF DELIGHT

# Every time I think of you

# I feel shot right through with a bolt of blue

# It's no problem of mine But it's a problem I find

# Living a life that I can't leave behind

# There's no sense in telling me

# That the wisdom of the fool won't set you free

# But it's the way that it goes And it's what nobody knows

# Well, every day my confusion grows... #

And I'll tell you, Claire.

If you're big enough to invite Scarlet

then our Daniel should be big enough to turn up.

Well, what am I going to do?

Punish Scarlet because her dad's been a total knob?

Well, don't ask me to explain it.

I'm a bit Old Testament on the forgiveness front.

Free food. Bound to be here.

No explanation about last night?

No, and he'd gone out by the time I got up.

-Can I help, Mum?

-Can't be easy. I mean, living in his old house.

His old bedroom.

Nonsense. Samuel's got plenty of free bedrooms.

It's just attention-seeking, and I've no intention of indulging it.

Hello! Happy New Year, Charlie, my boy!

This is my grandfather, Samuel, this is Fliss.

-Nice to meet you. Happy New Year, Fliff.

-Fliss.

-Hiya! Happy New Year!

-Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Pete. How you doing, you all right?

Here they are...

All right? Oh, look who's here with her buttons!

Happy New Year!

Hello!

Happy New Year, Dad.

Happy New Year.

-Flowers.

-Very nice.

-Happy New Year.

Happy New Year.

Now listen, darling, if I put these crisps in bowls

will you hand them round for everybody?

Come on, then. That's it, there you go, you hold that.

-All right, what do you think?

-It looks wicked.

This is weird.

Right, come on, Harry. Shall we go and see

if we can find Scarlet's Christmas present?

It's under the tree, isn't it?

Got any nutriment round that joint, Claire?

-This gravy needs a bit of a buzz.

-Sure.

Mind it's hot.

Do you want me to take that through?

No. I'll do it.

You could just get everyone to sit down.

Since when did you become the domestic goddess?

About the same time you started acting a dick.

Just relax a bit, would you? You're setting everybody on edge.

Pretty hard to relax in your old house with a family that hates you.

Nobody hates you.

I can see the looks they're giving.

You're a grown man living with his dad.

Those are looks of pity, not hatred. Get it right.

It's getting cold and I'm getting hot with anger

so if you gentlemen wouldn't mind coming through, this millennium?

Oh, very good, Claire. Topical. Nice.

Roasties!

Have you just chucked peas on me?

Louise, can you put some spuds on Grandad's plate?

-Yes. How many do you want, Grandad?

-I'll have three, please.

-This is gorgeous, Mum.

-It's lovely, thank you.

Have you been up all night, Rob?

Yeah, but I was playing the chillout room from four.

I'm nodding as if I know what that means.

-Do you know what that means, Fliff?

-Fliss!

Very impressed though, I have to say.

I was wrong about you, Rob, and I was wrong about the club.

-Cheers!

-Cheers.

Turned out all you needed was a bomb under your arse, after all.

Daniel. The kids. Language.

Be good for business when you get them riverside flats of yours built, Charlie.

-They back on to us.

-That sounds exciting.

-If we get planning permission.

-We'll get planning permission.

I heard you have been turned down once already.

They turned you down?

The planning will go through.

It's a conservation area, isn't it?

That won't be a problem. Not to Manchester. Not right now.

The planning office always turns you down once just to

justify their existence.

It's a long way from penny chews, I know that much.

And a good thing, too. Congratulations, Charlie.

People will always be scared of change.

Amen to that. Me and Tony Blair agree on that much.

By people do you mean me? He means me, Flix.

-Fliss.

-Looking round this table do you see anyone whose life has changed

more than mine these past two years?

That's a trifle self indulgent, Daniel!

You didn't choose to change though, did you?

You changed because you got found out.

-Exactly.

-How long have you been sharpening that one?

As Grandad here will tell you, you could choose to hurt me

for being your dad or I could choose to hurt you for being my son or...

we could both grow up and eat our greens.

All right? Am I right, Fliss? Did I get it right that time?

-I don't know you well enough.

-You could just agree with Charlie.

His girlfriends don't tend to last if they, well, start holding opinions.

-Dad! Sorry...

-Fliss. Just keep your head down and keep eating

while they tear into each other.

-Hey!

-Believe me, I've had years of practice.

We're having a family meal here.

Can we just try and act like nice people. Please?

Does anyone remember what they act like?

SHE LAUGHS

'Is it just me, or is Dad turning into'

the uncle nobody wants for Christmas?

No. I think that's pretty much everyone's take on it.

You do wind him up, though.

Well, he's just plain wrong about the warehouse conversion.

How much is riding on it?

-Big numbers. But then big numbers don't frighten me.

-Charlie...

-Pretty much everything we've got.

-Jesus, Charlie, what were you thinking of?

That was good. You sounded just like Dad.

I'm sorry. Just got a lot of stuff going round right now.

Political stuff, or the fact you're having an affair?

I know.

You know? God, if you guessed, I'm really in trouble.

You're the most insensitive person I know.

I was told. By someone in the party.

When was this?

Does it matter? Fundraiser, or some lobbyist meeting.

Party conference.

You were at the party conference?

I think you might have your priorities ever so slightly skewed here.

Just be careful, hey?

-Yeah.

-Woo hoo...

Hello... Look at you, princess. Hello.

ALL CHAT

We are going to look at the garden, aren't we?

Yeah? See my lovely flowers.

It doesn't give me any pleasure to say it, Daniel.

Daniel... You've got to be a bit nicer round people.

You're the male role model for your daughter.

Do you really want Scarlet choosing a man as angry as you?

I am not angry. I'm just permanently irritated.

Do you think Louise and Peter are OK?

I'm sorry, I don't want to hurt your feelings but would you mind going quite soon?

Erm... I've got something I have to do.

I don't know why I'm being so coy.

I've got a date.

There. I've said it. I'm sorry, I would have told you...

A date?

There's no need to sound so surprised.

No. No.

A date. No. That's great.

That's great.

You don't mind?

It's none of my business. And erm...

I want you to be happy. So, er...

Yeah, it's great.

Well, that, my lovely, is what us grown ups call a bit of a turn up.

DOORBELL RINGS

I'm afraid she's had a ton of sweets, and terrible drinks,

so sorry about that.

She's very tired. SHE CRIES

Did you have a lovely time with your big cousins? Yes!

-Do you want to watch Bedtime Hour?

-Yeah.

Yeah. OK.

-I found these under Ryan's bed.

-Oh. That's not good.

Is that all you've got to say?

-Well, I didn't put them there.

-No.

But he only went off the rails since you grew yourself another family.

All right. I'll get rid of them. And I'll have a word with him.

Good luck with that.

COMMENTARY ON TV

'..Best is in sparkling form...'

Bestie. God, he was hard as nails, wasn't he?

People forget that about him.

He could be a dirty bugger, an'all.

You know he was the reason I strayed to the red side, don't you?

I should have known then that you'd never really understand family loyalty.

I think you should go and see your real mother.

Before it's too late.

-What? Why would I do that?

-You know. Your whatsit.

Your birth mother, is that what they call it these days?

I know what you meant the first time.

I haven't needed to see her for 45 years and you were glad of that.

So why is it such a good idea all of a sudden?

You won't go to a shrink.

You won't go and see the GP. You won't take counselling.

You haven't found God, and acupuncture is out of the question

because you're scared stiff of needles.

Daniel, I haven't got anything else.

I think I'll stick to self hatred and alcohol for now.

It's more dignified.

Listen, I am not going to stand by and watch you acting the twat

so much that you're actually becoming a twat.

It's killing you, it's killing me.

You've got to do something.

I don't know where she is. I don't know if she's alive or dead.

She wasn't hard to find.

That moment. That moment is all anyone should ever want from life.

# Son

# What have you done?

# You're caught by the river

# You're coming undone

# Life

# You know it can't be so easy

# But you can't just leave it

# Cos you're not in control... #

KNOCK ON DOOR

Daniel. Who do I speak to about cash flow?

I mean, you're still Managing Director, right? But is it Charlie, is it you, is it Samuel, or what?

Ask Charlie.

He knows everything!

And the sugar delivery?

Frasers were on the phone this morning bollocking us

for a non-payment!

# ..you learned a hard lesson

# When you stood by the water

# You and I

# Were so full of love and hope

# Would you give it all up now... #

This is Edie.

Edie. This nice young man has come to see you.

She's a real character, is our Edie.

I prefer the Sheikh.

What?

That lad. There. The Sheikh.

Do you know who I am?

Yes.

I, erm...

..brought this picture.

It's of you and me when I was a baby.

"Easki"? Does that sound like a fly swat to you?

I'm your son, Daniel.

We don't want to be going back there. That's all gone.

Do you know what really excites me about what you've done for us?

-What you're doing.

-What's that?

I could walk into Tesco's in Beijing tomorrow

and know that there's a bag of Cotton's Mint Balls by the checkout.

Now, that, to me, is the modern economy in its full glory.

Well, not quite Beijing. Not quite yet.

No. I know. I know. You know, I was romancing.

But we will.

Already in the Eastern bloc. As you said.

That solicitor, is he as good as his suit says he is?

Grandad. He's the best.

Yeah, well, he'd better be at the prices he's charging.

Couldn't our Louise have swung this for you?

I mean, she must be well in with the council.

This is all part of the game. The council turn it down.

We tweak the plans. We appeal.

They pass the plans.

They are ready for us.

Great, thanks.

-Good luck.

-Thanks, but we don't need it.

LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE ON TV

They're palindrome mad on this show. Must get paid extra.

Edie. Can you just... The thing is, I'm not sure you understand

who I am.

I understand. You're my son, Daniel.

Do you think I wouldn't recognise my own son? Hey.

Well, I thought maybe we should meet.

Before I croak?

No. No. I just wanted to see you.

Why now? You've had 40 years.

Turkish boat or a Tarot card. What do you reckon?

I'm your son.

I bloody know who you are! You're Daniel. I know that.

My son. I knew that the moment I saw you walked in here.

You've got his eyes. And his walk.

Can't miss it.

Who?

Your dad.

Oh, right.

Mr Bedroom Eyes.

Mr Get a Girl in Trouble and then do the right thing.

Nearly. Not quite. But nearly.

Mr Confectionery, with his sweet stall and his sweet talk.

No, no, no. You're getting mixed up.

Samuel was the one that adopted me.

He did indeed. At least he did that much.

But he's not my dad.

What are you saying? You saying I was easy?

No. No, of course not.

Why else would a man adopt a five-year-old

when he already has a son the same age?

He said he heard about me after the war.

It was after the war and you couldn't cope.

That's true. I couldn't cope.

I hadn't had a good war, as the saying goes.

I was a bit bloody cuckoo.

Samuel?

Samuel is my dad?

Run in the family? Is that it?

You seem very slow on the uptake. Funny that.

When I handed you over you seemed like a bright kiddie.

-How did it go?

-A breeze.

They're going to let us know in a couple of days but it's a formality.

-Good!

-I'll see you later. Thanks for coming, Grandad.

Hey, you pulled it off again, lad. Well done.

Yeah.

MOBILE PHONE RINGS

MUSIC ON, DROWNS OUT PHONE

MUSIC: "I Want To Break Free" by Queen

Dad? Could you...call me? Please.

MUSIC BLARES FROM CAR # But life still goes on

# I can't get used to living without, living without

# Living without you... #

COMMENTARY ON TV

That Colin Bell. He's some player.

Is it true?

Is what true?

What my birth mother just told me. About you.

Is it true?

She's mental.

I did notice. But that's not what I fucking asked!

We were ambulance volunteers in the war. Manchester blitz.

She was married but he was in action in the Far East.

Just like that.

It was the blitz. Everybody was at it.

Nothing like a bit of tracer fire to get the sap rising.

Oh, lovely(!) You're making me feel like a child conceived in love.

-Well. You wanted it straight.

-Not that fucking straight, I didn't.

I'm sorry. It wasn't a knee trembler in an Anderson shelter. No.

It went on for about five years on and off, even after the war.

Oh, well, that softens the blow. Didn't her husband suspect something?

No. He never made it back. Jap sniper saw to that.

1948, she got pregnant with you. I was already married.

A few years after that I found that she'd gone bad with her nerves,

you know, gone a bit mental.

She'd even tried to top herself.

And where did Mum think you found me? Under a gooseberry bush?

I told her I knew this woman from Stockport Market

whose husband had died in the war and she'd gone bad with her nerves

and there was a little lad in a children's home.

Heartbreaking.

Mum chose to believe it.

She chose to believe it.

And I owed it to her to keep the lie going.

Touching and convincing. A win-win.

For God's sake! Families have stories.

That's what holds them together.

It doesn't matter if it's true or not.

That's not the point.

What, and that's the moral of the story, is it?

You just did the same as me.

Except I didn't cut Joanne out. That's the difference.

Who do you think pays for that nursing home?

Why did you let me find out like this?

Why didn't you sit down and tell me?

Because I'm a coward.

Just like you.

Like the rest of the world.

To quote my dear old mamma...

"Why don't you do the right thing...

"..and fuck off!"

MUSIC ECHOES FROM INSIDE

HUBBUB OF CHATTER

Yeah, top gear, mate.

Yeah, 20 quid, yeah.

Shit! Move up!

LOUD, PULSING DANCE MUSIC

Well, there's a bit of news.

It doesn't really change anything, does it? Not really.

He was your dad this morning and he'll be your dad tonight.

It changes everything!

I've had a lifetime feeling grateful to the old twat!

Why would he lie for so long?

Because after a while the cover story becomes the truth.

It's like...the law of the land.

Look, the upside for you is we're related.

I mean, doesn't that make you a very proud man?

GUNSHOTS, SCREAMING

SHOUTING

Fuck.

So you didn't recognise the fella firing the gun?

No. Do you know what, I was looking at the gun not his face.

That's very common. Never seen him before?

-No.

-Would you tell me if you had?

Not unless you want to lend me a gun from one of your lads.

I'm going to need all your CCTV footage. Outside and in.

I'll go and sort that out.

Thanks, Daniel.

You've been a bit unlucky, haven't you?

You had that bomb down here, when was that?

Four years ago. No trouble since.

Did you know there was dealing going on outside your club?

Drug dealing? Outside a club in Manchester? Are you sure?

I'm glad you think it's funny.

Bet your doorman thinks it's funny too.

You can't arrest him. He's my Head of Security.

Been dealing Class As on your doorstep.

Expect you don't know anything about that either.

So some wannabe fires a gun in my club

and all you can do is nick my doorman?

I can do more than that. I'm going to close you down until we've completed our investigation.

Which might be for a while.

I told you you were unlucky.

HE GROANS

KNOCKS ON DOOR

What do you want? It's not a Scarlet day.

Is Ryan in? I need to see him now.

He's out.

I can wait.

The thing is, even when I was shouting at Dad,

the truth of it is, part of me felt relieved.

Why? Because he gave you an alibi for lying?

No! No, because... I don't know.

It makes me feel as though I'm on the inside.

Why are you telling me this?

Why would you think I even care?

Because you were the start of it. Coming here with you.

I just didn't know it at the time.

DOOR SLAMS

What the hell are you doing here? What did I tell you about letting him in?

Don't talk to your mum like that.

-Who are you to talk to me?

-SCARLET CRIES

Just try and keep it down, will you?

You step in here again without being asked,

I know people who can mess you up big time, bro.

Sorry "bro"? What, we're Manc gangsta now, are we?

A'right rass clad? Turned out nice again.

Don't rip the piss out of me.

There's something you need to see. Not here.

I'll be in the car.

There's hours of this stuff. And do you know what's brilliant?

It's you that's carrying. It's you that's taking the money.

You look like the bigger dealer than Stapleton.

Maybe I was.

HE CHUCKLES That's funny.

Still playing the big man

when this could get you locked up for the next ten years.

"Maybe I was."

You'll have them rolling in the aisles in Strangeways

cos those fellas on D Wing, they just love a new boy with a sense of humour.

Well, you know, thanks for getting it.

There's more.

But I'm hanging on to that.

Just until I'm sure you've straightened yourself out.

-What?

-You are going to come and work for me.

And you're going to do a decent day's graft.

-No chance.

-Hey... I've got hours of this stuff at home.

And I've got absolutely nothing to lose.

You love Mum, so you wouldn't do it.

And you love your mum, so you won't take that risk.

It better be a good job.

It's a great job. Believe me.

And very much using your current skill sets.

Right, welcome to the real world.

Right, you know the routine.

Give people the bag. It's 50 pence the small bag.

£1 the big bag.

Try not to call them wraps and try not to take the money with

the back of your hand like that, it's a dead giveaway.

Right.

It's a lot like drug dealing, actually.

People know there are bad side effects but are too weak to resist.

Make as many jokes as you like. We're not mates.

No. We're not.

I'll be back about half five to help you pack up.

So they just let you go? Just like that?

Nothing on me, have they? No CCTV footage.

It's disappeared, apparently.

Really? Well, that's great. And we can reopen.

I don't think that's going to happen now, is it?

Not with your security issues.

That's where you come in, isn't it?

I think my security days are behind me.

Bit close for comfort all that. I'm thinking of moving into ownership.

Oh, yeah. Where?

I was thinking I'd very much like to buy this club.

Yeah, nice try, bud, it's not for sale.

I'm the only thing standing between you and a plague of Manc gangstas.

So, it seems to me that you can't open it without me

but I can open it without you.

Feels like I'm holding all the aces.

And I think the price will have to reflect your desperation.

I'm not selling.

So you're hanging on to a club you can't open.

Yeah. Yeah, that's right.

Robbo...

Well, in that case I might have to give the police

information about the other Manchester bomb.

Your bomb. The one you planted.

So you'd be dropping yourself in the shit along with us.

You would think so, wouldn't you?

But the difference between then and now is the Good Friday Agreement.

I think you two would go down for fraud

but I think I might be having tea with Peter Mandelson.

I look forward to doing business with you.

Do you think he would talk to the police?

If he finds himself on a sharp enough hook.

And now the police are after him for dealing.

So you think we should sell?

Well, I think we could get some kind of price out of him.

It's not the market rate, but erm...

Right. So we don't have any choice.

Unless we find the CCTV footage. Which you know nothing about.

-Well, I can see why you didn't want the police getting hold of this.

-Yeah.

But that was before the club was at risk. You know. My club.

Yeah.

So now I have to lose everything to protect your steplad?

If you want to give these to the police

-I wouldn't blame you.

-Why would I want to protect Ryan?

Because you were in Strangeways when you were his age

and you know what that means.

All right. More to the point. Why would you want to protect him?

Because I'm trying to put things right.

I think I preferred you when you lied.

HE KNOCKS ON DOOR

Have you got a minute?

-I'm kind of busy here. Can it wait?

-PHONE RINGS

I just need to know if there's anything wrong.

How do you mean?

Well, we've got a cash flow problem somewhere along the line and

it's better we know now rather than later if there is something wrong.

There's nothing wrong.

We run a far more flexible business model these days.

Is that City talk for not paying our bills?

Credit lines run in far more adventurous shapes.

But for those of us who have to pay cash, well, you know.

If there's anything I can do to help.

There is one thing, actually, since you ask.

Could you kindly stop fucking my sister?

Cheers!

# Swim out to the ocean

# And drown your thoughts out at sea

# And dip your hands in the water

# The same deep water as me

# You've been watching the cloud burst

# You've been praying for rain

# Drench your soul in the water

# Cleanse your heart of the stain

# Cleanse your heart of the stain

# The river of love

# Flows deep through the night... #

KNOCK ON DOOR

Daniel?

Daniel.

For God's sake, come on, man, you're not 16 any more.

The last time I did this was when you weren't allowed to go

and see Hard Day's Night on a school night. Come on.

FOOTSTEPS APPROACH

It was Help, by the way.

Not A Hard Day's Night.

So, what is it that you want me to do about all this?

So this is my son, Charlie.

Er...

Clare, my...wife, and my daughter Louise, and her husband, Peter,

and their children, Ella and Harry.

And this is Scarlet,

who is the newest addition to the family when she was born.

She is obviously three now, so, er...

Now, Edie, any more gentlemen callers

and people are going to start to talk.

So who's this?

Excuse me.

There. I've done as you asked.

Now would you tell me in God's name what all that achieved?

Nothing at all by the looks of it.

Yeah, quite right. At least we can agree on that.

All the cover ups. All the lies.

Does that just cost you nothing?

Of course it cost me something!

I lied to my wife every day of her life.

She died and...I'd never told her the truth about you.

Don't you think that was tough? Because it was!

I took my secret and I buried it.

And I got on with it, not because it was easy.

It wasn't, but because it was the right thing to do.

It was like those lads that came back from the war.

They'd seen terrible things. Done terrible things.

But they didn't bring that shit back into the family home.

Now, believe me. My lying hurt me.

But if all that means that you and me spend the rest of our days

at each other's throats then none of it was worth it.

There.

Now, will that bloody do you?

Well, it's a start.

MOBILE RINGS

Yeah?

Well, how long has he been in there?!

He won't answer!

Charlie.

Charlie, you have to let me in, son.

Whatever it is, we can sort it out. I promise.

I don't know what to do, Dad.

Well, don't worry, because I do.

Listen, Charlie, learn from my mistakes. No lying. No covering up.

Just go in there and tell it straight.

You're right. Thanks, Dad.

OK. I'll be in your corner, son.

I'm going to be honest. And...direct.

It seems, well not so much seems as is...

The thing is, I have fallen victim to what Alan Greenspan once termed,

"irrational exuberance".

Just tell it straight, Charlie.

Our...asset acquisition has not,

I have to admit,

yielded the anticipated results.

What Charlie is trying to tell you

is that we've moved into property development...

..and have lost our shirts.

And trousers.

The buildings we bought were in a conservation area

so change of use to flats is a non-starter.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

It's a bit worse than that.

The cost of purchasing the property was...

was borrowed against the value of the confectionery company.

And the value of the property was inflated to include

change of use, so it was already high.

So the property wing of the company is in trouble?

Gone altogether, actually.

And the factory?

Yeah... The factory, too.

So, everything has gone.

That's one way of looking it.

Is there another way of looking at it?

So, you bet everything on property development and lost the bet.

Well, in fairness, Dad, we all took our eye off the ball so, erm...

So we've lost...everything?

Yes. We've lost everything.

Well, to be correct, you've lost everything. On our behalf.

I warned you. I said.

Didn't I? I said.

You stupid, arrogant prick!

-Louise. That's enough.

-No, it isn't!

I'm sorry. All right?

To everybody. I'm sorry.

No need to apologise to me, kid. I've got other reasons for going bust.

Well, that's not strictly true.

They turned down my plans

because they've already approved other plans for executive flats.

Your club is bang in the middle of the application.

They're going to flatten the Boo.

Are you serious?

What, demolish it? My club?

Happy now, Charlie? You've even screwed Uncle Robbo.

Like you've never done anything wrong!

Not like this, I haven't.

Don't make me say it, Louise. Don't push me.

Charlie, don't even go there. It's none of your business.

Has anybody got any idea what he's on about? Louise? Peter?

What?

To quote Robin Cook when his wife was crying

because her horse had died,

"As you're upset already,

"I need to tell you that I'm having an affair."

Sorry, I don't get it.

I'm having an affair. Peter and I are splitting up.

-It's going to be in the papers in the morning.

-What? Is this true?

-Yeah.

Peter?

Does that make you feel better about yourself, Charlie!

ALL SHOUT AT ONCE

This isn't really the time...

OK! OK! All right! Quiet! Shut up!

Listen! Everybody just listen!

We might be broke.

But Charlie isn't the only one who has done something wrong, is he?

I mean, we've all messed up.

But we're here, in the same room, talking to each other.

Shouting, more like.

Well, yes. Shouting maybe.

But at least we're here.

And I, for one, would rather be in a family of...honest fuck ups

than a family of lying high achievers.

-Sorry, where was I going with this again?

-You were heading to a silver lining.

Right. Yes. Right. We're not the Waltons. I know that.

But we're here. For each other.

Every one of us has lied. Every single one of us.

I've lied. Dad has lied. Robbo has lied. Charlie has lied.

Louise has lied. Every one of us.

I haven't lied.

Well, no. No, not you, Peter, maybe.

-Neither have I, come to think of it.

-Just go with this, will you?

Most of us have lied.

And most of us have kept up appearances.

And I've done it more than most.

And it cost me.

And it cost the people I love.

Right, but not any more. Not any more.

And maybe, if I'm honest, and Dad's honest, and we're all honest...

Then maybe this is the start of something.

Something good.

Maybe?

Are you sure about what you told me, Charlie? About my club?

Yeah, I'm sorry.

Don't be sorry, mate. Compulsory purchase job. Market price.

I'm out of the woods. Nice one.

Oh, that bomb is the gift that just keeps on giving!

That was nice. What you said.

What you tried to say. Whatever it meant.

Thanks.

It was hardly, "I have a dream", you know, but, erm...

We can sort this all out, you know.

The money stuff, at least.

Can we?

I think we can.

I've got an idea.

'Claire remortgaged the house

'and set about turning Cottons back into what it was good at.

'In her first year as boss, Claire won Economy Wine Gum of the Year

'at the North West Confectionery Awards.

'Robbo used his compulsory purchase windfall to fund a PHD on

'the Philosophy of Ecstasy at the University of Salford.

'Louise and Newell finally got married in a low key ceremony

'at Stockport Registry Office.

'Louise lost her seat in the 2001 General Election

'to her ex-husband, Peter.

'Samuel gave up fried breakfasts for good and became a health fanatic.

'He's still a miserable bastard.

'Ryan served his country with distinction in Afghanistan -

'spending most of his time destroying opium crops.

'And Charlie made a fortune in something called

'"collateralised debt obligations" - he didn't understand it either.

'Edie passed away in her sleep.

'Her dying words were, "Keep that priest away from me!"'

DOORBELL RINGS

Hello.

Present for you.

It's the diary.

Remember when I was in hospital

and you asked me to go back and write everything down?

I didn't think you'd actually do it.

I only asked you to do it because it was the worst thing I could think of.

Yeah, well, I did it.

Look, you don't have to read it, you know, if it's too painful.

No, no. I will...

It starts with the bomb.

Of course it does.

And it's all true.

That'll make a change.

Have you written about the bit where you reach down inside me

and rip out my heart?

Is that what I did?

Yeah, that's what you did.

Didn't you know?

So...

How does it end?

I don't know yet.

Robbo says that, from time to time,

bad shit can,

by complete accident,

cause good shit to happen.

Well, if that's your attempt at a kiss and make up speech,

you're going to have to work harder than that.

Right.

I'll try.

# Above there are no stars tonight

# Just northern skies

# Reflected light upon your face

# Some people think stars rule our lives

# Some people they think otherwise

# They can be replaced

# Where did you go on that big black night?

# Did you take the coast road back through your life?

# See the sand, the moon, the stars that shine the light

# And say, well, they'll do all right for me?

# We shroud our lives in mysteries

# Shooting stars and storming seas if we

# Have any sense

# Storm clouds roll, they're free to break

# And we're free to make... #