20/11/2023

It’s Brian’s eightieth birthday and he’s been thrown out of Blossom Hill while Adam, Ian, Kate, Jakob and Alice prepare a party for him.
Despite Adam’s reservations about pushing Brian into having a party Tom thinks Brian will love it. Tom then passes on the news about Rob’s death and Helen’s confused reaction. Jakob mentions a mystery guest Brian’s invited, Natalia. There’s much speculation, particularly from Kate, about her being Brian’s new girlfriend. But Brian confesses to Stella how much he misses Jennifer on a day like this, and does the same later with Adam. He could never have imagined losing her so soon, admitting that he misses her every day.

Later, the party’s already in full swing, with meat evangelist Freddie as DJ, when Josh and Paul turn up. They have a present for Brian: a fancy, initialled pen-knife. Josh then joshes Paul about avoiding Ruairi, while dissing Paul’s current boyfriend, before they both add to the speculation about who exactly Natalia is. Adam’s surprised when Helen turns up. She tells him she needs the distraction from thinking about Rob, before Jakob consoles Helen in his own, inimitable blunt manner. Brian admits to Adam that he’s enjoying himself, while Natalia turns out to be a great dancer, leading Brian on the dance floor. Neither Adam nor Stella think Brian has any designs on Natalia, which Adam reiterates to Josh and Paul later. Then, when a cake with candles is produced, Brian makes a very moving speech about his beloved Jenny, before the dancing resumes.