Episode 3724 (27th April 2004)

Plot
With Shadrach nowhere to be found, Zak and Sam go in search of the feckless Dingle, knowing that if he’s done a runner they could both be spending some time behind bars. As the Dingles set off in search of Shadrach, the sly old fox sneaks back into the house and is just about to make off with the contents of the Dingle money pot when Chas catches him red-handed. Chas tell her father if he goes to court and takes the rap it will go a long way to repaying Zak and Lisa for giving him a home. Jubilant Zak, Sam and Lisa, retire to The Woolpack to celebrate Shadrach’s incarceration, having stayed in court long enough to hear him pronounced guilty. A Dingle knees up in The Woolpack is not good news for Charity who has been invited out for a drink by Tom. When Charity joins the Kings she receives a frosty reception from Jimmy. Later as the Dingles decide to continue the party at home, Cain insists that she joins them. When Charity objects Jimmy suggests that she leaves with Cain. Charity and Cain have another bitter row. With the whole Dingle clan assembled and the party in full swing there is bewilderment all round when a drunken Shadrach walks through the door and announces that he remains a free man, the judge believing that deep down he was a good man. Delighted that he has got off with community service, Shadrach makes Zak regret proclaiming Shadrach King of the Dingles, when he agreed to go to court earlier in the day. Zoe feels nostalgic when she receives a letter and some photos from an ex-girlfriend. She confesses to Scott that she hasn't felt close to anyone for a long time. Feeling lonely, she invites Ashley and Laurel over for dinner, but their new-found happiness as a couple only underlines her own sense of isolation.