Episode 3825 (23rd August 2004)

Plot
When Diane wakes up gripped with fear about her cancer she decides that she needs to go for a drink. When she goes to see Jack, he is dubious about the idea. Disappointed Diane returns to the pub where she finds Rodney looking decidedly downcast. He tells her that he plans to spend the rest of the day in the barn working his way through a case of Barolo. Diane tells him that she’ll get her coat. As Diane leaves Louise and Bob look on with disapproval. Rodney tells them to let Jack know where Diane is going. At the barn, Diane and Rodney get down to some serious drinking and hide from Val when she comes looking for Rodney. Diane falls asleep and it is afer nine when she wakes. She confesses that she’s scared about her cancer and tells him that laughing about it is the only way she has of dealing with it. Rodney puts on some music and they dance the night away before stumbling back to The Woolpack well after closing time. Rodney asks Diane where she’d most like to go and decides that he will book a holiday to remember in Egypt. Ethan is full of foreboding as he sets off to pick Niamh up from the airport. He tells Ashley and Laurel that it can only be bad news if she’s flown all the way back from Malawi to see him. When she arrives Niamh wastes no time in telling Ethan that her new job will mean staying in Malawi long-term and she would like him to go with her. Ethan does not like this idea at all and tries to convince Niamh to come home. The couple argue and Ethan embarrasses Niamh by continuing the argument while having dinner with Ashley and Laurel. Debbie continues to follow Ethan around and interrupts him, while he is arguing with Niamh, to give back his copy of The Catcher In The Rye. When she gets home late, Cain gives her a hard time for not telling him where she’s been. Daz tells Cain that Debbie’s been out chasing boys. Cain tells that lads are only after one thing and he should know because he used to be one. Debbie tells Cain that she has just been emailling a boy she met in France. Len asks Pearl to arrange a prison visit so that he can meet her son Frank. He begins to lose his patience with Pearl when she returns from her visit to the prison and claims to have forgotten to arrange for Len to visit Frank. Len is unable to understand why Pearl preventing him from meeting Frank now that she has told him about Frank being in prison for fraud.