On Monday, Bob and Gennie enjoy each other’s company as they prepare the food for Laurel’s party. Later that day, Brenda gets a little bit tipsy and quizzes Gennie about why she hasn’t found herself a nice boyfriend causing her to get annoyed, and when her mum then embarrasses her in front of Bob, Gennie snaps and makes a hasty exit.

Bob follows her to check she’s ok and Terry follows them both when Brenda asks him to and he witnesses Gennie and Bob in a passionate embrace. Will he reveal his discovery to Brenda?

Meanwhile, Aaron leaves Victoria to get caught when he shoplifts a handbag. Andy’s fuming to find out what’s happened and suggests that Aaron’s setting them up. Victoria’s horrified to realise Aaron might’ve done it on purpose to affect the custody battle so she storms into the village and slaps Aaron across the face in front of Cain. Aaron’s gutted that Victoria has the wrong idea, but Cain thanks him for helping the Dingle cause. Victoria then returns home to find Andy in a state having been told by the social worker that they have a statement from Jo confirming his violent behaviour. Is Andy about to lose Sarah?

Elsewhere, Nicola’s in a foul mood having moved back into Mulberry. Jimmy bursts into Laurel’s party and tries to talk to Nicola but ends up revealing the pregnancy in front of Betty. Jimmy pleads with Nicola to consider a life with him and the baby but she refuses to listen; Nicola’s an emotional wreck after the confrontation but Laurel tells her she can’t hide away from Jimmy forever. Despite Laurel’s encouragement, Nicola’s torn between her anger towards Jimmy and doing the right thing.

On Tuesday, Andy fears that the custody decision will go against him and prepares to take Sarah to Spain to stay with Annie. Mick meanwhile is curious when Sarah mentions that they’re going on holiday so, torn between loyalty to his employer and his conscience, Mick decides to forewarn Debbie that Andy’s leaving the country. Debbie drives round to Butler’s and finds Andy loading the car and though he tries to deny it, Debbie knows what he’s doing and sets about finding Sarah.

Distraught at the thought of losing custody of Sarah, Andy locks himself Debbie and Sarah in the house and his temper gradually rises as he argues that he’s the only person never to abandon Sarah and coldly states he’ll do anything to keep her. While in the house, Debbie secretly calls Cain and allows him to hear her argument with Andy via speakerphone causing him to rush round and smash through the window to get inside. He makes sure Debbie and Sarah are out before mocking Andy saying that he’s lost Sarah forever leaving Andy broken by the ordeal. What will the custody decision be?

Elsewhere, Carl finds a pregnancy test in Lexi’s bag and understandably suspects she’s having a baby. Sharing his concerns with Jimmy, Carl’s clearly dreading the prospect of being a father again so when Carl asks Lexi about the pregnancy test, she shocks him with the revelation that she’s stopped taking the pill. Lexi’s gutted by his reaction as Carl is clearly fuming that she kept the information from him. Carl realises he might’ve taken things too far though when Lexi gets the impression that he never wants a child with her. She’s also crushed when the pregnancy test is negative, but Carl gives her some encouragement when he agrees they can keep trying. Is Carl making the right decision?

Also, Terry’s concerned to see the awkwardness between Bob and Gennie. When he shares a drink with Bob and Brenda over lunch, Terry notices Bob’s unease when Brenda summarises Gennie’s many poor choices in men. Bob’s then floored when Terry tells him that he saw him and Gennie kissing and he feels more wretched when Terry tells him to speak with Gennie. So, Bob swallows his pride and explains to Gennie that a relationship would be very difficult between them.

He tells her he likes her a lot but he wouldn’t want to make a terrible mistake. When Gennie suggests they just “cool it”, Bob’s relieved, thinking she’s got the message, but Gennie thinks they’ve only agreed to slow things down temporarily. Will this misunderstanding come back to haunt Bob?

On Wednesday, Andy’s a broken man ahead of the court hearing and Debbie feels sympathy for him after his degeneration the previous day. Cain meanwhile seeks to make sure Debbie employs every tactic to win over the judge, but she’s unsure that doing so is the right thing to do. Andy arrives at the court just in time but has the look of a doomed man.

Debbie gives a passionate statement asking the court to give her a chance to be Sarah’s mother and her words apparently strike a chord with Andy. When given the chance to speak, Andy shocks the court into silence by withdrawing his application for custody. With no other option available to him, the judge grants full custody to Debbie.

The Dingles are delighted with the outcome but for Debbie, her victory is bittersweet as she reflects on how much the process has demoralised Andy. Will Andy recover from this crushing defeat?

Meanwhile, Lexi orders Carl to clear the house for the evening so they can spend some time together. She also speaks with Gennie in the café and is interested to hear that her aunt fell pregnant after eating oysters. Back at Mill cottage, Carl tries to convince Jimmy to let him go on another overseas trip but Jimmy’s adamant; he needs to spend time with Lexi. Later, Carl tells Lexi that Jimmy’s gone off on a business trip so she’s delighted and determined to make the most of the potential baby making time. Carl’s cornered as Lexi force feeds him oysters, but will her culinary selection lead to the patter of tiny feet?

Elsewhere, Pollard gets back on the campaign trail, however, Nathan doubts whether his candidate is up to winning, prompting Pollard to remind him of his “credentials”. Nathan smiles at Pollard’s dynamism and explains he was just testing him. But, Pollard is growing weary of the process and worries David when he fails to react to the news that his son has moved ahead in the polls. Eric then decides against spending the evening canvassing for votes and takes Val for an anniversary meal instead. Has Pollard given up the political ghost?

In Thursday’s episode, David’s suspicion is further aroused when Pollard spends the morning of the election canvassing in public, but looking thoroughly worn out when the public have gone. Val warns Eric that David knows something’s wrong but he orders her not to breathe a word until after the election. Later, David and Pollard have a heart-to-heart and realise that neither is enthusiastic about the election anymore and as David delves into his father’s forced ‘jolliness’ Pollard finally admits his heart attack. David’s in pieces but Pollard tells him not to worry and as they put their differences aside, Pollard whispers that he voted for his son.

The village hall then erupts in a round of applause as David wins the election. Pollard tells David he’s proud of him but it’s clear his son’s victory is going to come at a cost.

Meanwhile, Andy isolates himself from his family as he becomes depressed after losing Sarah. Victoria’s upset to realise Andy gave up on Sarah but he refuses to listen to any of her arguments. After receiving a mouthful from Victoria about how she stole Sarah from Andy, Debbie worries Sarah’s missing her dad so she resolves to ease Sarah’s fears that Andy’s abandoned her, but will she be able to build bridges with Andy?

At Mill cottage, Carl’s habits are under scrutiny by Lexi as she strives to maximise the possibility of conception. Scarlett spends the morning with Carl at work and then explains to Lexi that her constant baby talk might be starting to grate on him. Lexi agrees and when Carl arrives home, she lets her actions do the talking. Can Carl and Lexi find some common ground on the subject of baby making?

On Friday, Paddy berates Aaron for not taking care of Clyde and threatens to call the dogs home if he doesn’t pull his weight. Paddy then leaves Clyde with Aaron during his shift at the garage but Aaron’s distracted by a call from Victoria and the dog bolts. Andy finds what he believes to be a stray dog worrying his sheep and locks him in one of the barns. Aaron’s devastated to have lost Clyde and spends all day searching for him without success. Paddy and Chas try to reassure him that they’ll be able to find Clyde but Aaron seems certain that something bad will happen to him…

Also, David’s unable to revel in his election victory due to his fears about Pollard’s health. Pollard makes an enemy of Nathan when he calls him a “jumped up a little kid” and tells him to forget their deal. He’s set his sights on further bridge building with his son and David’s grateful when Pollard genuinely offers to guide him in his new role. Can Pollard help David to political success?

Meanwhile, Debbie thinks about taking Sarah to see Andy but Cain warns her not to do him any favours. When Aaron mentions he was talking to Victoria about the state Andy’s in, Debbie’s even more concerned. However, it gets worse when Sarah runs towards Andy in the village and starts crying when Andy blanks her. The Dingles make a start on planning for Sarah’s birthday but Debbie frets about what might happen when she realises Andy won’t be there. Can Debbie please Sarah whilst not upsetting the other Dingles?