On Monday, Natasha tells Mark that they need to watch Cain as she reckons he won’t back down easily. Her prediction comes true in the village when Maisie tells Cain that his flirting won’t go “unrewarded”.

Back at Home Farm, Natasha’s interrupted from her preparations by a knock at the door – it’s Faye. After a decidedly awkward conversation about job vacancies, Faye’s horrified to discover what Natasha’s planning and preparing for. Mark’s stunned when he’s told about the unexpected visit from Faye and angrily rips up Faye’s CV in front of a puzzled Natasha. Can Mark hide the real reason behind his anger?

Meanwhile, Pollard’s adamant that he won’t give up on the election, despite having suffered a suspected heart attack. David seeks answers from his father but Pollard refuses to talk to him and David’s none the wiser as to his “health issues”. When David later overhears a semi-argument between Val and Pollard, he demands answers but Pollard lies and says that he invented an illness to guilt-trip David into pulling out of the election. Val’s incredulous and begs him not to put himself into an early grave because of male pride, but he won’t be told. Pollard later tries to apologise to David for lying but is told he’s a despicable father. Will the election damage their relationship beyond repair?

Elsewhere, Doug’s concerned when he discovers the rift between Laurel and Ashley and, examining the void in their relationship, Doug wonders how he can help them out. He finds Ashley and realises that there’s been a communication breakdown which means that both Laurel and Ashley want to talk about their feelings but feel unable to do so. Doug hastily arranges an opportunity for them to chat and Laurel discovers that Ashley’s worried about damaging their marriage so soon after they’ve got back on track. Laurel manages to calm his fears and they agree to try for a baby at a time in the future when both feel ready.

On Tuesday, Mark remains distracted by Faye’s impromptu visit and still struggling to commit his vows to paper, Mark decides to go for a drive. He ends up driving to Faye’s flat and pushes her inside when she answers the door. She quizzes him about the renewal of vows and states that his going through with it is “irrelevant”. Asking her what she wants, Faye replies with a single word “you”. Mark argues back that she had no right to come to his house but he’s stunned into silence when Faye reminds him of the potential consequences of their secret past. She threatens to tell Natasha the truth about their history together and Mark’s faced with the reality that his life could be torn apart. With one last effort to win Mark’s affections, Faye kisses him and Mark begins to reciprocate before realising the implications of what he’s doing. Will Mark end things with Faye and risk Natasha discovering the truth or will he sacrifice his marriage and children?

Also, Gennie’s touched when Bob praises her efforts ahead of the variety show. Bob steps in for Shadrach at the show when the latter decides to do a runner and Belle sets up for her ‘decapitation chamber’ act, but the release of a smoke bomb causes the sprinklers to go off in the hall.

The audience race outside but Gennie realises that Bob’s been abandoned in the chamber. After rescuing him, Gennie takes Bob home and speaks of her admiration for his saving the day. Gennie’s left reeling when she shares a moment of unspoken attraction with Bob. Is the attraction between them something more than they realise?

Also, Lee’s irritable after a night sleeping in Seth’s hide. Sam meanwhile reports news of an intruder in the grounds to Nathan and is ordered to keep a look out. When Lee finds out that Nathan told Sam to burn the clothes he found, he flips and his secret’s exposed to an amused Nathan and Katie.

Katie offers Lee a place to stay and he gratefully accepts but when Nathan arrives at the house, he’s irate to find Lee in a towel and jumps to the wrong conclusion. Katie explains that she’s helping out a friend and Nathan’s pacified. Can Nathan contain his jealousy?

In Wednesday’s episode, Mark’s encounter with Faye is in danger of consuming him as the vow renewal day dawns. Blaming his anxiety on the preparations, Mark does his best to avoid Natasha’s questions.

The congregation arrives at the church without a hitch and Mark’s forced to put his fears to one side but as the ceremony begins, Mark turns to realise Faye has slipped in at the back. She struggles to listen as Natasha expresses her love for Mark during her vows.

Expecting the worst, Mark takes the opportunity to deliver a moving and emotional speech to Natasha, seeing it as his last opportunity to tell his wife how he feels and Faye witnesses the fact that Mark loves Natasha more than he did her. The ceremony draws to a close and as the happy couple walk up the aisle, Mark meets Faye’s gaze but can’t read her intentions. Will Faye destroy their wedded bliss?

Later, Jimmy accompanies Nicola to the reception and masks his relief when she avoids alcoholic drinks. Nicola, still unaware that Jimmy knows about the baby, is pleased with the fact he’s dancing to her tune. Laurel points out that she can’t hide her baby bump forever while Rodney’s also quick to dole out advice when Jimmy forsakes alcohol to share a fruit juice with Nicola. Rodney and asks Jimmy not to make his knowledge of the pregnancy obvious but will Jimmy be able to keep his happiness under wraps?

At the shop, Bob’s missing Viv whilst simultaneously dealing with his unexpected frisson with Gennie. He struggles having her around and stuns Brenda when he snaps at Gennie for offering advice on the café. Feeling immediately guilty, Bob apologises to Brenda who tells him to do the same for Gennie, arguing that he’ll have to get used to not having his wife around. Can Bob continue to cope without Viv?

On Thursday, Rodney urges Nicola to tell Jimmy about the baby before he notices for himself. Not one to wait patiently, Jimmy invites Rodney round and asks his permission to propose to Nicola. He hastily purchases an engagement ring and heads to Home Farm where he bumbles through a proposal and Nicola’s touched when he says he sold his car to buy the ring. Nicola accepts Jimmy’s marriage proposal, but still doesn’t tell him she’s pregnant, wanting to enjoy the romance. Rodney feigns surprise when they reveal they’re engaged before warning Nicola to tell Jimmy everything. How long can she keep her pregnancy from her fiancé?

Bob feels awkward when he finds Gennie looking for a new place to live, however, they’re thrown together once more when Brenda sprains her ankle and Gennie offers to cover at the shop and café. Bob’s worried by the development, but can he maintain a professional relationship with Gennie?

Meanwhile, Mark’s a new man and wastes no time in injecting the romance back into his marriage. When he’s stopped by Cain in the village, Mark’s concerned when Cain mentions Faye but soon relaxes as Cain hints he’s merely attracted to her. Working at the garage with Debbie, Cain asks her for a description of the woman she saw Mark with and delights that it matches Faye. Cain smiles, but what’s he planning?

On Friday, Rodney tells Jimmy that Nicola intends to break the news of her pregnancy today. After moving her stuff back into Mill cottage, Nicola prepares to tell Jimmy everything, but they’re interrupted by a phone call from Carl letting them know he and Lexi are back in the country. Nicola’s mind instantly switches to dreaming of the look on Lexi’s face when they reveal their engagement and sure enough, Carl and Lexi are horrified to be given the news as soon as they step in the door. When Lexi questions whether Nicola got pregnant to snare Jimmy, he replies by saying it wouldn’t be a bad thing.

A shocked Nicola dumps Jimmy after realising he knew all along about her pregnancy and believes it’s the only reason he proposed. Can Jimmy convince Nicola he was genuine?

Meanwhile, Bob avoids Gennie when she tries to address their growing closeness and when they’re given the task of preparing food for Laurel’s birthday party, Bob and Gennie have no choice but to work closely together. Gennie then gets a phone call to view a flat that afternoon and Bob offers to come with her, however, after talking things through, Bob admits to Gennie that he doesn’t want her to move out and she says the same. Will other villagers notice the spark between Bob and Gennie?

Elsewhere, Brenda’s eager to get back to work but Terry advises her to rest up. Brenda’s delighted when Doug presents her with a wheelchair, enabling her to get back in action. Terry’s unimpressed that Doug’s started interfering in Brenda’s life again and has to hide his jealousy.