On Monday, while still feeling guilty about Louise, Ronnie’s continues to keep her distance from the rest of the Mitchells while Peggy and Ben compile their guest list for their joint birthday party. Ronnie turns down her invitation, but after some pleading words from Ben, she eventually shows up.

While at the Vic, Ronnie attempts to come clean with Phil about Louise, but the partygoers continually interrupt them. Abi tells Ben that she was babysitting a girl called Louise for Ronnie the previous week, and with that, Ben asks his father if Ronnie’s ever mentioned Louise to him. Phil, however, isn’t listening.

Shirley, meanwhile, has decided to stay at home, believing that Phil’s planning to propose to her. A few vodkas and after a heart to heart with Heather, Shirley reluctantly makes her way to the pub…

Turning up at the Vic, Shirley embarrasses herself when she preempts Phil’s non-proposal by accepting. Laughing at the misunderstanding, Phil reveals that the ring is a present for his mother’s birthday. Embarrassed and furious, Shirley goes to storm out of the pub and bumps into Ronnie on her way out. As she does, the photo of Phil, Lisa and Louise falls to the floor. Ronnie attempts to retrieve the picture before Shirley can get hold of it, but Shirley snatches it and hands it over to Phil…

Livid with Ronnie, Phil flies off the handle and pins her against the wall, demanding answers. Phil soon regrets his actions though when he turns and sees his visibly frightened daughter standing before him.

Meanwhile, Lucy decides to skip school for the day as she struggles to come to terms with her pregnancy, and Jane soon receives a call to inform her that Lucy’s not in school. Tracking her down to a local café, the pair have a heart-to-heart about the pregnancy, and Jane insists that everything will be fine. Lucy, however, doesn’t appear convinced. During a conversation with her father later that evening, Lucy makes a shock revelation; she wants an abortion.

Also, the locals are furious at the state of the Square gardens after Lucas covertly ransacked it the previous night. Later, Lucas steps in to help Charlie when a reporter from The Walford Gazette arrives, and he’s hailed as a hero as he announces a youth community programme.

Ricky tries to keep the news that he’s had to let Billie go a secret, and Carol’s upset when she finds out. And her day doesn’t improve as Ian continues to patronise her at the unit. However, he’s later annoyed when Zainab announces that she and Carol will ‘butch up’ and do all the cooking while he cleans.

Finally, Ben’s jealous when Abi turns up at his party with Jordan in tow.

On Tuesday, unable to sleep, both Jane and Ian sit drinking cups of tea well into the night. Each other’s reading material, however, couldn’t be different; while Jane happily continues reading about foetal development, Ian researches as much as he can about terminations. Unbeknown to Jane, Ian guiltily heads to the abortion clinic with his daughter Lucy. The reality of the situation hits home for Lucy and the pair bond over their mutual unease about what they’re about to do…

Lucy’s called into the doctor’s room and Ian seriously begins to question whether his daughter will to go through with the procedure or not. Resolving to continue it though, Lucy swallows the first two pills and eventually leaves with Ian. Back at home, Ian tucks Lucy into bed and promises that he’ll let Jane know what’s happened.

Meanwhile, a restless Jean finds it difficult to sleep because of worrying about Stacey, so she spends the night cleaning the kitchen. Mo’s concerned for Jean’s welfare when she sees her heading out onto the Square in only her dressing gown to buy a mousetrap.

Bumping into Max, Jean lambastes him for causing Stacey to go AWOL and he’s visibly upset by her words. Deciding that it’s about time he built some bridges, Max heads to the Slaters’ to help Jean with her mouse problem. Realising that the mouse droppings are actually biscuit crumbs, Max and Jean descend into a heart-to-heart about recent events…

After Jean suggests that Max take something from the house to remember Bradley by, Max wanders down the stairs with a Bugs Bunny mug. On his way out, though, Mo’s walking to the house with the police who have some grave news for Jean…

Also, Phil keeps Louise’s whereabouts a secret, despite the police search for her. However, Peggy and Shirley tell Phil that hiding Louise now will only make it harder for him to gain custody of her in the long run, so after promising his daughter that he’ll fight to keep her, Phil’s devastated when he watches a social worker walk away hand-in-hand with Louise.

Finally, Denise arranges for Chelsea to go on a date with Lucas’s assistant Matthew, however, Chelsea’s not impressed with Matthew’s attitude, but luckily, Jack’s on-hand to scare him off. After he’s gone, Chelsea thanks Jack for saving her.

On Thursday, Becca returns to the Slaters’ and is puzzled to find the grief-stricken family somberly gathered in the living room. It’s not long before she discovers that the police have found a body matching Stacey’s description while dredging the canal. Instead of waiting for the dental reports, Max suggests to Jean that they formally identify the body themselves…

Max, Jean and Jack arrive at the mortuary, but Jean struggles to find the strength to go inside the viewing room. The Branning brothers offer to go inside for Jean, and when they eventually emerge, Jean’s relieved to hear that the body isn’t Stacey.

Later, Max is curious when Becca rushes from their post-coital slumber after receiving a call. Following Becca, she arrives at a derelict block of flats. When she leaves, Max knocks on the door, and he’s stunned when Stacey opens it…

Meanwhile, Billy offers Billie some hours on the fruit and veg stall, but Ian’s not best pleased when he sees the new employee. Livid that Billy’s made such a disastrous executive decision, Ian dismisses Billie, much to Carol’s annoyance. Down about losing yet another job, Billie turns to his old friends Kylie, Connor and Mitch for comfort, and they decide to take him for a drink in the Vic…

After her previous encounter with Kylie, Peggy’s on-edge when she spots her in the bar. Determined that there won’t be any trouble in the pub when the social worker arrives, Peggy asks Phil to ask the gang to leave. Outside though, they’re not impressed in the slightest and their thoughts turn to revenge…

Elsewhere, Jane ponders baby names while Peter’s disgusted by the whole situation. Later, Ian and Lucy return from the abortion clinic and lie to Jane that Lucy’s having a miscarriage. Jane’s distraught by the ‘loss’ of Lucy’s baby and comforts her step-daughter, while Lucy asks Peter about school.

Also, Ritchie informs Phil that as Mark Fowler’s named as being Louise’s father, it could take him a long time and expensive trial to gain custody of his daughter. Meanwhile, Peggy receives a call from Social Services to let her know that they’ll be inspecting the Vic as Louise has been singing the Mitchells’ praises.

Finally, Chelsea tries to cheer Max up.

Friday’s episode is Max and Stacey’s two-hander, so only a synopsis of the show is available…

Max’s reunion with Stacey is a tense and emotional one as Max blames her for the death of his son, Bradley. But Stacey has home truths for Max and rips into him for his role in Bradley’s death.

And as Stacey’s forced to explain exactly how and why she killed Archie, Max is faced with a choice; should he protect her secret, or should he let justice run its course to clear Bradley’s name?