Episode 3479 (2nd July 2003)

Plot
Syd is finding Scott and Chloe’s smooching a bit too stomach churning. Later, Chloe begins talking about baby Jean, and Scott misinterprets this as broodiness. But, it seems, Chloe is not thinking about motherhood yet. Rodney enlists the help of Diane to prepare a surprise 50th birthday party for Steph. He finds Steph in a surprisingly light mood considering her reflective frame of mind yesterday. Interested by Nicola’s comments about Rodney’s fortunes, Steph does some fishing of her own to try and find out how much Rodney is really worth. It’s still a bit tense between Chris and Charity. After another damning letter from the school, Chris takes it upon himself to punish Debbie by disallowing her to go on the trip. Charity confronts Chris about his decision, feeling as though she has been over-ruled by Chris, even though she is Debbie’s mother. Marlon is brushing up on the highway code in preparation for the driving theory test he is about to sit on Sam’s behalf. But Emily, unaware of the scam, takes it upon herself to teach Sam the highway code. Will he give the game away? Later, The Woolpack is all dressed up and ready for Steph’s party. When she arrives, she seems a bit overwhelmed but is secretly pleased at the effort Rodney has gone to. Rodney tells her that he thinks she’s a special lady and Steph, no doubt with pound signs in her eyes, is more than interested. She proposes a toast to the entire pub which makes it appear that Rodney has just proposed. Confused, Rodney is left slack jawed at what just happened – has he been tricked into getting engaged to Steph?