On Monday, following her meeting with Archie last week, Peggy heads across to the Car Lot to see him. There, he shows her a suitcase full of cash – £150,000 – to cover the outstanding balance of Sam’s bail money.

Archie tells Peggy that she can have the money, but only on the condition that he can move back into the Vic. Peggy’s furious at his suggestion but Archie concedes that they’ll sleep in separate beds to start with. Peggy, however, points out that the rest of the Mitchell family won’t be happy with the decision.

In desperation, Peggy again asks Ronnie if she’ll put forward her profits from the sale of her half of R&R. Ronnie’s resolute, though; the money’s for her future as she and Joel are looking to buy a club together and start a new life.

Later, Peggy tells the family that Sam will be released on bail as Archie’s offered to put up the rest of the money. As she expected, they’re not impressed by her decision to take Archie up on his offer of help, but Roxy insists that he’s doing the right thing standing by his family. While the Mitchells reluctantly agree to take Archie up on his offer, Janine tells him that she’s ready to help when she’s needed.

It’s the day of the Miss Queen Vic competition and Janine’s fuming to hear that Peggy’s allowed Stacey to be a late entrant. Just as the competition begins, the Vic’s doors swing open and Sam walks in with Peggy.

Meanwhile, Jane starts packing for the impending Branning/Beale wife swap. Ian’s not entirely comfortable with the idea and Tanya also has concerns. And, as the swap commences, both couples get off to a rocky start. Tanya thinks that Ian’s patronising and irritating as he gives her jobs to do in the café, while Jane and Max are already annoying each other. Much to Jane’s delight though, Max cooks a family meal which improves her opinion of him.

Elsewhere, Jean watches Stacey ‘taking’ her medication, completely unaware that she’s hiding the pills.

Also, Darren goes for a drink with Libby and Adam to size up his competition and is left shocked when Adam issues a warning to him.

Finally, the kids tell Bianca how much they’re missing Ricky.

On Tuesday, the locals at the Vic stare in amazement that Sam’s been released from police custody. Peggy takes Sam upstairs and insists that she won’t be able to help if she breaches her bail conditions, so she must be on her best behaviour. With that, Peggy tells her to don her glad rags and take part in the Miss Queen Vic competition.

As the contest gets under way, Stacey acts oddly on-stage and Amira belts out a rendition of ‘I Will Always Love You’ towards Syed. Despite her flawless performance, Peggy ensures that her little princess Sam wins the competition.

Joel tells Ronnie that their lives will be perfect when they leave Walford to start a new life together. Ronnie, however, is concerned that she’s letting her family down and changes her mind about giving up the money from the sale of her half of R&R. Ronnie then decides to give Peggy the cash, putting her plans to open a new club with Joel on hold.

Peggy, Phil, Ronnie, Roxy and Billy proudly return Archie’s cash and warn him to stay away from the Vic with Peggy telling him that there are some things money can’t buy. A little later, Archie meets with Janine and hands over a wad of cash, vowing that they’ll bring down the Mitchells together and take control of the Vic.

Meanwhile, the wife swap is ongoing and Tanya confronts Peter and Lucy about a packet of condoms she’s found in the house. Both teens deny knowing anything about them and so Tanya presumes that they must be Ian’s. Later, Peter turns to Bradley for advice in taking his relationship with Lauren to the next level. That night, Ian accidentally climbs into bed with a horrified Tanya.

Elsewhere, Bradley suggests that Noah should be told that they’re not leaving Walford any longer, and, insisting that it’s who you’re with, not where you are that makes you happy, Bradley suggests he and Syd get married. He also tells Noah that they’re going to become one big, happy family in Walford.

Also, Bianca hears that Sam’s back in Walford and worries about how that’s going to affect her and the kids.

Finally, Stacey goes home with Ryan.

On Thursday, Sam’s delighted with the title of Miss Queen Vic but when the Walford Gazette turns up to take photos, the photographer mentions that she’s older than the average beauty queen.

Roxy soon clashes with Sam again and Roxy’s quick to point out that everyone in the Square has moved on while she’s been away, and adds that she’s certainly no princess.

Sam’s later frustrated when she discovers the Miss Queen Vic contest score sheet under the bar and notices that Peggy fixed it so that she’d win by a clear margin. When confronted, Peggy admits that she tampered with the scores out of love for her daughter, but assures her that she could’ve won the competition anyway.

Over at Pat’s, the kids continue to quiz Bianca as to Ricky’s whereabouts, but she’s not heard a thing from him. He soon turns up though and Bianca gives him short shrift. Confiding in Pat, she admits that she’s becoming increasingly frustrated by the situation with Ricky. Pat, however, assures her that if she doesn’t fight for her man, and be honest with him about how she feels, Sam will win his heart.

So, Bianca dolls herself up to see Ricky, and as she makes her way through the market, she tries to stop the kids playing around on Pat’s mobility scooter which she accidentally bought. As Bianca deals with the kids, she bumps into drums containing waste chip oil.

As Sam sits on the swings in the park reflecting on her life, Ricky joins her and they have a heart-to-heart about their current situation. With that, they share a kiss. As they do, an oiled and messy Bianca sees them from a distance.

Meanwhile, at the Beales’, Ian apologises profusely to an unimpressed Tanya for climbing into bed with her. Pointing out how many tasks she’s accrued since the beginning of the wife swap, Tanya tells Ian that he takes Jane’s role in the household for granted.

Over at the Brannings’, Jane hears Peter and Lauren making arrangements for later in the day and realises that they’re up to something. Confronting Lauren, Jane’s surprised to hear that she wants to take things further with Peter and Jane simply tells her to be careful and safe.

Tanya, however, isn’t impressed in the slightest when Jane tells her about Lauren and Peter’s plans. Tanya barges in on them watching TV with Max not far behind her. An argument ensues between the adults and the wife swap is soon called off. Later, Jane confides in Tanya that she doesn’t want to return to her life of old with Ian.

Elsewhere, Stacey wakes up with Ryan but she quickly leaves and Ryan’s disappointed that she’s not more keen on him. Later, Bradley’s concerned about her increasingly erratic behaviour, and he’s every right to be as Stacey’s still hiding her medications rather than taking them.

Also, Peggy warns Janine about Archie but Janine has other things on her mind as she lays into Ryan for becoming involved with Stacey. However, it’s not long before she’s telling him all about the scam she has going with Archie. She soon suggests though that Ryan help her to scam Archie instead.

On Friday, as Jane removes a slip of paper from her handbag, Ian walks in and claims that the wife swap experience has shown him that he has a perfect wife. With that, Jane walks out of the room, insisting that she won’t be working at the café for the day. Ian’s puzzled by his wife’s disappearing act and leaves her a voicemail message.

Ian then pops round to Max’s house to see if she’s there, but Max insists that Jane was happy enough when she left the Branning’s house. Ian’s investigation takes him to see Tanya in Booty and she eventually reveals that following the wife swap, Jane didn’t want to return to her “old life”.

Puzzled, Ian returns home to await his wife’s return. He’s pleased when Jane walks through the door but he’s confused when she starts to apologise. Jane goes on to reveal that she can’t continue smiling any longer and that she’s been to see someone. Fearing the worst, Ian reassures her that she can have whatever she wants. Jane calmly responds, “I want a baby.”

Meanwhile, Peggy’s not happy to see adverts for Archie’s new business on the walls of the Square and presumes they’re there to rub her nose in it. Spurred on by Archie’s giant portraits, Peggy ensures that her family and friends will have nothing more to do with him.

Denise turns Whitney down for a job at the Minute Mart and with that in mind, Darren offers her a job at the Car Lot. Over at the Vic, Sam’s annoyed to hear that Whitney’s going to be working for Archie. Bianca eventually agrees to put Whitney off the idea of working for Archie but she tells Ricky that she did it for Whitney’s sake, not Sam’s. On returning to the Vic with the good news, Sam suggests that Ricky should move in with her and the rest of the Mitchells. Ricky, however, suggests that they wait until things have settled down.

Elsewhere, Ricky tells Bianca that he wants to inform the kids that he and Sam are together. However, Liam’s teacher Sandra turns up at the house in order to discuss Liam’s progress at school and she stresses that Liam needs all the support he can get with his homework due to his dyslexia.

Also, Bradley expresses his concerns about Stacey to Jean and reminds her that she has to tell Stacey about their decree absolute. Later, Bradley tells Syd that he’s now decided to move to Canada with her and Noah.