Following the everyday life and times of the residents, friends, and enemies who live in a suburban neighbourhood on the outskirts of the city of Liverpool in the north of England.
Rod arrives home with a black eye, but finds that it wasn't worth getting. Doreen's turkey fund becomes a little under-done.
Pat and Terry are summoned by their bank manager. Doreen confronts Julia. Heather has a visitor, but does she still have a job?
Lucy invites James home. Pat and Terry meet a potential new customer. Damon starts work in a stately home. Ralph and Harry are bored.
Damon is in a spot of bother at work, but won't blow the whistle on the guilty party. Harry and Ralph man the phones.
Damon confesses that he has been suspended. Pamela encourages Karen to crib an essay. Pat and Terry blame Harry for sending them on a wild goose chase.
Sheila takes steps to clear Damon's name. Sandra is not pleased when Harry wakes her up. Karen obtains a second-hand essay to save her some time.
Sinbad tries to interest the residents of the Close in fresh turkey for Christmas. Karen discovers that her tutor originally wrote the essay she handed in to him.
Sinbad introduces Trevor the Turkey to the residents, most of whom decide that it's slightly too fresh for them. Karen is flattered by the weirdest Guy she knows.
Lucy feels trapped as Annabelle sets a date for James's visit. Billy is asked to work over Christmas. Sheila is surprised that Father Christmas knows so much about Claire. Pat, Sandra and Terry cel...
At Billy's factory, many of the men are made redundant just before Christmas, and it's time for Bobby to take action. An ex-girlfriend of Barry's turns up and has a few surprises for everyone.
Barry discovers that Jane hasn't kicked her habit, and confiscates what he finds. There's trouble between Billy and Bobby at the picket line. Joyce turns up at Heather's in need of somewhere to stay.
Bobby and Sheila learn from Barry that the heroin belongs to Jane. Joyce tells Heather she is setting up in business, and invites Heather to join her.
James has dinner at the Collins', and Annabelle and Paul soon suspect that he has something to hide. Jane receives some good advice - but will she listen?
It's Claire's first birthday. Paul and Annabelle's fears about Lucy are confirmed. Pat and Sandra discover that Jane has left during the night, taking a few of their things with her.
When the Clearys remove the wheels from Pat and Terry's van, they get much more than they bargained for. Nicholas helps Heather with her decorating, and insists on staying to finish it. Bobby is an...
Barry and Pat have plans to stop a war. Vicki blames Terry for her brothers being beaten up. Paul and Annabelle try to discover where James really works.
Pat defies Terry and takes the law into his own hands with Barry. When Paul discovers something about James, he gives him a week to reveal it to Lucy. Heather is disappointed to discover who her ne...
Barry is determined to continue sorting out Terry's problems with the Clearys, but he is about to make a big mistake. Billy and Doreen meet with Tracy's headmaster and the teacher involved in the a...
Damon and Neil have another cunning plan, but as usual it's about to backfire. James's attempts to dump Lucy don't have the intended result.
Bobby is bothered by scabs on the Close. Lucy decides to tell her parents that she has stopped seeing James. Sheila wants to adopt, or at least sponsor, a child. Nicholas takes Heather to dinner, b...
Lucy and Tracy have exactly the same problem - their parents don't understand them or approve of their actions.
Tracy comes clean about Peter, who wishes she hasn't when Billy exacts a brutal revenge. But James is still keeping Lucy blissfully unaware of a few things.
Annabelle spots Lucy and James together in town, but isn't prepared for what Lucy tells her. Sheila spots Barry handing over a bundle of money to a stranger.
Heather is attacked for political incorrectness. There are some unwelcome revelations for Lucy. Tracy disappears.
Tracy is staying away, and Lucy refuses to face up to the facts about James.
Lucy discovers that her boyfriend isn't even called James when she decides it is time to pay a visit to his wife.
Doreen fears that Billy will be sent to prison. Can someone with previous experience reassure her? Ralph tries to help Harry compose a "lonely hearts" ad. When Heather gives Nick a present, he reco...
Harry wonders if he is being disloyal to Edna. Ralph can't make up his mind. Heather's curiosity about Barbara gets the better of her - but she is not at all prepared for what she discovers.
Harry receives nineteen replies to his advert, one of which is from a man. Billy appears in court, but refuses to cooperate with his probation officer.
After Harry posts his letter to Madge, he has second thoughts and wants to get it back.
Sandra is offered a promotion, but to the private ward. Bobby receives a letter about a loan taken out in his name. At the art gallery at which Madge is due to meet Harry, she unfortunately isn't t...
Bobby is jealous of Sheila's tutor when he holds a class in their front room. Sandra is annoyed to find Vicki cooking her steaks in the kitchen. Ralph wants to borrow Harry's car.
Sandra starts her new job, and Sally Dinsdale turns up at the Grants' with a black eye. Karen interviews Paula Yates.
Sandra and Jackie show the pest control man their cockroach-infested rooms. Sheila tries to convince Bobby that he has nothing to worry about.
On Bobby's birthday, Damon gets his cards. Pat pesters Sandra about why she is so irritable, not expecting the answer he gets. A telephone call from Teresa forces Sheila to lie for matty.
Sandra tries to let Pat down gently, but it's almost impossible.
Guy invites Karen to spend the night with him, and she agrees. Ralph sneaks out to see Madge. leaving Harry to spend the bank holiday on his own.
A shop steward draws Bobby's attention to some surprising payslips. Madge pays a visit to the bungalow, and Ralph's planned trip to Torquay with her turns into a foursome.
When Tracy is bored at home, the Corkhills' telephone bill is about to start shooting up. Sheila confronts Mo, who tells her that Matty is leaving Teresa to marry her.
George tries to convince Bobby to take the "long view". Heather and Keith return from Aberdeen. Sally Dinsdale turns up again, and this time Sheila insists that she stays. Damon gets a new idea abo...
Sheila has a frightening secret she doesn't want to worry Bobby with. A visit by Jehovah's Witnesses results in Pat and Terry missing "The Magic Rabbits". Harry, Ralph, Julia and Madge enjoy a holi...
Sheila confides in Alun over the poison-pen letter. Pat and Terry appear to have dropped themselves in it with an unexpected visitor, but is there a solution?
Lucy seems to have got over losing James, as she meets another man; but Paul and Annabelle are not convinced that Barry is a suitable partner for anyone. Bobby is annoyed with Sheila again.
Bobby faces a difficult choice - his job or his men? When Karen gets a nasty telephone call, Sheila explains that it was meant for her. Nick has a confrontation with Keith Tench over Heather, and c...
Billy and Doreen anxiously go to court, as so much depends on the result of their appeal. Keith Tench is determined to make Heather's life difficult.
Rod and Damon are both convinced that they have won their bet. Petrochem is taken over. Lucy says her goodbyes as she prepares to leave for France with Barry, but she's leaving something behind her...