Episode 4930 (23 September 2014)

With Ben standing in front of him in the Arches, Phil is speechless. He asks Jay to leave so that he and Ben can be alone. Phil questions Ben; where has he been? Ben apologises to Phil for telling him not to visit him in prison, he’s changed as a person since he said those words. Phil questions why Ben’s suddenly back now; Ben’s answer is that it’s for Shirley. Ben explains that he knows about him and Shirley sleeping together behind Sharon’s back. He’s come back to tell Phil that he’s marrying the wrong one. Ben lists the reasons why he thinks Phil shouldn’t give Shirley up – namely, he loves her and always will do.

Sharon and Linda head for cocktails in the Albert; Shirley turns up and stands outside the chippy and she and Sharon trade insults. Spurred on, Shirley heads upstairs in the Albert and confronts Sharon; Linda tries to diffuse the situation. As the women bicker, Sharon goes to throw her glass of red wine over Shirley, who dodges, and Linda is left covered instead. Linda is fuming, whilst Shirley leaves, amused. Phil’s stag party is in full swing at the Vic – various guests question Phil’s whereabouts. The boys erupt in cheers when Phil finally walks in, but the atmosphere soon changes when Ben follows. When Mick is alerted to who Ben is, he desperately tries to convince Shirley to stay out of the pub. Mick introduces himself to Ben as Shirley’s brother and rejects his handshake.

As Shirley sneaks downstairs to nick some vodka, she is startled to see Ben with Phil and Jay. As Ben heads to the toilets, Shirley follows him in and confronts him; he’s not wanted here. Shirley pins Ben up against the wall; he’ll never have done his time for what he did to Heather. Ben begs Shirley to listen – he’s on her side. As their argument spills into the bar, everyone looks on as Ben shoves Shirley. Seeing this, Dean snaps and punches Ben. Mick tells Ben to get out of the pub, Phil and Jay follow. Dean finds Shirley upstairs and pours her a large vodka. Shirley confesses to Dean that seeing Ben brought her upset over Heather all back again. Shirley is overwhelmed that she and Dean are able to have a heart to heart.

As Phil nurses Ben’s bloody nose, he reminds him that he’s welcome here. Sharon comes in and is shocked to see Ben sat at the kitchen table. Sharon and Phil argue over Ben – Sharon doesn’t want him in the same house as Denny. Ben overhears Sharon stating that she doesn’t want him around and announces that he’s leaving. Phil persuades Ben to stay until the wedding. When Jay confirms to Ben that Phil and Sharon are in bed, the two head out to the allotments to find Lucy’s purse and phone that Jay has buried...

Dean arrives home to find an angry Tosh, drinking. She confesses to him that she lost the baby and that they can’t afford to try again for months. When Tosh states that Tina is angry at her for talking to the police and only listens to her family, Dean suggests that he will talk to Tina for her. Later that night, after the stag do, Dean arrives back at the flat drunk himself and tells Tosh that he understands she can’t afford another trip to the clinic – he can help instead...

Stacey tells Max that she’s going to find a new job and move out– the two of them working together was never going to work. Max admits that he’s tried to move on from her but it’s hard. Max explains that he was lost after Stacey left, but then out of the blue met someone new. Stacey presses Max for details – he tells her she’s called Emma and that it didn’t work out how he’d hoped. When Stacey prompts him that it might not be too late to save things, Max leaves Emma a voicemail telling her he misses her.