As Lip turns 18, the Maguires expect more of him. Meanwhile, as the Gallaghers witness Kev and Veronica being arrested abroad for illegal baby adoption, their estranged mother Monica, returns.

Sheila fears that Monica will destroy her marriage with Frank. Meanwhile, a Maguire son is released from prison.

Monica manages to claw onto Frank and Frank has to choose between her and Sheila. Elsewhere, Lip, Ian and Carl organize a garden sale.

Learning that Sheila is selling her house Frank returns home. Debbie starts dating neighbour Luke Newman at Monica's suggestion, but when he hears that Luke's parents are religious Pentecostalists, Frank sets out to end the relationship. Micky tries to get closer to Ian but his advances are rejected when Ian learns about Micky's unusual relationship with his dog. Karen and Jamie get engaged. Mimi is not overly impressed but asks Karen out, leading to her becoming an accomplice on a raid.

Frank and Monica continue to clash, and Monica vents her anger by sleeping with Norma. Frank tries to steal Norma's money, but when she catches him in the act, an allegation is made that could land Frank in deep trouble.

Paddy is shaken up when he learns about the suspicious deaths of his three ex-cell mates. Jamie is about to marry Karen and Mimi is not keen on the idea. Karen is shocked to discover the truth behind her weekends away with Jamie.

Frank ends up in hospital after mistaking an electrical generator for a toilet and is told his life style is catching up with him. Lip returns from university but Alex,his girlfriend there,has followed him home,ending his relationship with Mandy. Karen takes over the Jockey and Lillian opens a brothel.

A visit from an old acquaintance helps Mimi realize some home truths. Carl is furious when Ian starts dating his teacher.

Monica believes she might be pregnant and is the only family member to be disappointed when the test proves to be negative. The Jockey is robbed on the eve of Mimi's birthday and the Maguires set out to replace the stolen furniture though Karen is more concerned for the pub's future after a visit by a man from the brewery. Community policeman Stan dates a woman from the Ukraine.

Frank Gallagher wins the lottery, or so the residents of Chatsworth believe when Yvonne announces it on the local news! And Frank's not about to tell that he's never bought a lottery ticket in his life when free drinks are coming his way.

With the council dishing out initiative grants, Debbie wants invests in hens and potatoes to supply the estate with free egg and chips. Shane meets a desirable woman but gets a shock when they go back to Lillian's and whilst Yvonne encounters trouble from a girl gang, Stan accidentally runs a woman over. After his admitting that he should be wearing glasses, Carrie agrees to take the rap to save his job - until the woman threatens to sue.

When Monica finds out that she is pregnant, Liam,envisaging being roped in to change nappies,leaves home. Baby Katie eats an E tablet which she mistakes for a sweet and Frank is blamed for leaving it around. The family throw him out and he joins Liam on the streets. Paddy pays Kelly,Kev's sister and Shane's new girlfriend,to leave the estate for reasons of his own.

Following a gas leak at the Gallaghers sexy fireman Sean is in attendance and both Ian and Mandy are out to get into his pants. Eventually it's Ian whose suspicions that Sean is gay are proved right and a relationship seems on the cards until it turns out that the boys are half-brothers and Ian becomes aware of his biological father. Frank ends up in a wheelchair after another binge and Carl starts dating the mother of a girl he went out with at school.

Whilst Paddy attempts to blackmail Carrie into being his nark,Debbie,to raise money for a family holiday,takes in two American students, the strait-laced Brandy and her silent brother Barney. Brandy is very religious - but a trip to the Jockey soon has her letting her hair down. Frank thinks he has found love and a new life with antique dealer Rosie,only to find that she will not leave her sick husband. He attempts suicide - in the process saving Lillian from being attacked by a robber she has identified.

Monica's mother Joan turns up with Alzheimers and a bag full of pills. Years earlier she had neglected Monica and let her boyfriend abuse the girl. Now,though only half lucid,she begs forgiveness before over-dosing. The Maguire boys plan a party with Mimi and Paddy away and trust to a scam instigated by Carl to finance it,only to find he has outsmarted them. Stan declares his love for Yvonne in the shop.

Karen is wary when Jamie's cell-mate Mark turns up and tricks Jamie into abetting a robbery. Fortunately the Maguires pull together to force Mark to tell the truth. With poor GCSE grades Carl feels he is a somebody at last when Paddy encourages him to box,where he does well . Unfortunately his last fight involves taking a dive. Yvonne is shocked when her schoolgirl daughter Meena declares that she is going to Islamabad for an arranged marriage though Meena's auntie Shaza makes her see sense. Shaza also invites Norma out for a drink and at last Norma seems to be over Monica.

When Paddy is caught on camera for an armed robbery, Mimi begs him to call his brother Noel: he's the one who can help. But Paddy has a dark history with his sibling and would rather go to jail than ever set eyes on him again.

When Stan gets caught in the crossfire between Yvonne and her kids, a full-blown row puts their relationship on the rocks. Things go from bad to worse when Yvonne finds herself held at gunpoint in the shop.

Stan moves in with Yvonne and witnesses her feud with Mimi after catching Chesney,her youngest,with drugs. Chesney decides he prefers the Maguires as his parents,until he ingests an E,whilst Shane becomes Yvonne's pet, working in the shop. Mandy goes on a date with the handsome Dex,only for him to croak after drug-fuelled sex. She and Karen dispose of the body but next day he turns up in the Jockey with no recollection of the night's events.

The Maguires are subject to a stake-out,which causes Mimi to lose her rag and lash out at Mickey. As a result she attends an anger management course which makes her too mellow,so that Paddy's profits from his regulars see a sharp decrease. Mandy sets out to help Tom find his birth mother,bringing in an impostor to help,only for him to have tracked down his family himself. In the process Mandy discovers Tom's relationship with Debbie but agrees to keep silent.

Whilst Carl gets brewer's droop Ian finds himself oddly attracted to Mandy and Norma wakes up after a drunken night wondering why she is wearing a stranger's jogging pants - though the answer is a let down. Tom and Debbie find a young girl who has been raped and left unconscious and Tom is charged. Debbie is anxious to come forward but Tom forbids it as their secret will be exposed. However Frank admits to Debbie he has known all along and the real rapist is caught. Paddy subjects Shane to a violent beating in the Jockey over Kelly - before asking her to dinner. After all,she is family.

When Manchester experiences an earth tremor, Monica's water breaks and she goes into labour. However, on the other side of Chatsworth, the same tremor knocks Frank off his barstool and puts him in a coma.

Monica has had her baby,delivered with Ian's help and christened Stella Iana. Somewhat bizarrely the baby seems capable of speaking - or is it Frank hallucinating again? As Debbie hits sixteen she and Tom go public and the Gallaghers throw a party. It's bad news for Shane though when Kelly tells him she miscarried and for Ian,who is attacked and wakes up in hospital with total amnesia.

Ian leaves the area and Micky enrols on a film course where his penchant for erotic scripts sees him indulging in threesomes with tutor Zeta and her husband Ady whilst Mimi finishes his assignment. As the Jockey reopens after its fire damage with a night of impromptu strip-tease Karen and Jamie fall out but get back together and Carl,working at the hospital,is smitten with nurse Maxine though she wants their relationship to be casual. Mandy gets a new boyfriend in Jamie's friend Joe whilst Stan at last makes a break-through with Yvonne's kids and Norma,obsessed with a possible murder at the pub in the past,finds what she mistakenly believes to be human remains.

Frank is shocked to discover that he's been a victim of identity fraud. As a result, his record has been wiped clean and he's eligible for jury service.

The Maguires are horrified to find their late son Fergal's grave has been desecrated and set up a CCTV camera which actually captures a mystery woman tending the grave. Carl gets a job as a car washer,leading to another sexual encounter but when he discovers he has an STD ,on Stan's advice,he is forced to tell all his old conquests - except the sexy customer,who is expecting. Micky learns that Ady is in love with him but,after an ultimatum from Zeta,intends to stay in his show marriage,ending Micky's acquaintance with the couple. Monica uses sham hypnotist Damien De Soto to try and make Frank jealous but ends up having sex with Damien in the toilet. Despite a misunderstanding over body hair Mandy,now living in the Jockey,has a night of passion with Joe.

During a James Bond themed evening at the Jockey Paddy meets Maureen,the woman from Fergal's graveside,and Karen suffers a miscarriage. When Mimi and Paddy insist on an elaborate show funeral she wonders whether she wants to bring another Maguire into the world. Debbie enters Liam for a modelling contest,a cash prize accompanying the photo shoot in Blackpool. As the poster is for a child abuse campaign Debbie is not keen for Monica to know but she tags along with Norma and Frank,who ends up being in the poster. Whilst Carl's compilation of a black book of the sexiest women he knows lands him in trouble,Tom's sick prank to make Stan think he has hung himself will lead to his leaving the area with Carrie.

After a night of drink Paddy wakes to find himself tied to a bed in Maureen's house. But this is not a sex game. Maureen's teen-aged daughter died of an overdose of heroin supplied by Paddy and now she intends to inject him with his own merchandise. Lonely DSS fraud officer Bernard calls on Frank to find out why he is claiming for children who have left home. Frank tries to bribe him with drink and a session at the brothel but Monica's wiles ensure that the case will be 'lost' though Frank is unhappy with her seduction method. Micky begs Carl to keep quiet after Carl discovers he is into men and Carrie and Tom move on,taking the contents of the police house with them.

Ian returns from his travels. However, he's unaware that the car he's driving harbors secret cargo. Ian makes an even more shocking discovery when returning home to the Gallaghers' to find history has repeated itself.

Maureen releases Paddy who returns home addicted to heroin though Mimi believes he has cancer. Kelly discovers the truth and tells Shane. She has resigned from the brothel and they are working a scam to blackmail married men having sex with her in hotels before Shane bursts in on them. However one man attacks Shane,who ends up in a coma. The Gallaghers believe they have inherited a four-bedroomed house from a deceased aunt but it turns out to only be a caravan. Karen and Jamie have yet another public row when she opposes his being co-licensee as she refuses to let the pub pass to the Maguires.

Shane is left temporarily paralysed,causing Mimi and Kelly to fight over which one of them should care for him,which in turn leads to Kelly telling Mimi that Paddy is an addict. Mimi eventually agrees to stand by her husband. Ian and Danny move into Danny's grandfather's house and Norma decides to go back to lorry driving. Old flame Ruby suggests they start over but Norma sees that,with Monica gone,Liam and Stella need a mother and returns to the estate. Suspecting that Joe is overly controlling to Mandy Karen confronts him but ends up having sex with him.

Frank is summonsed to Liam's school as the boy is granted a special scholarship due to his brightness. Both parents are required to attend so Norma poses as Frank's wife,the pair of them fancying Liam's school mistress. Kelly engages Meena as Shane's physiotherapist though her methods prove to be rather too hands on and Maxine and Micky grow close due to their mutual lust for Carl. As sole licensee of the Jockey Karen fires Jamie,who retaliates by selling his share of the pub to Joe.

Hearing that Joe has been abusing Mandy Jamie hospitalizes him but,given that her son is on licence for killing a man,Mimi takes the rap and is remanded in custody. Zeta's husband Ady is a sergeant on the case and suspects a cover-up,blackmailing Micky into having sex with him though Maxine calls his bluff,as well as showing Carl how to thwart thieves on his milk round. Frank discovers Paddy's addiction and tells the boys. As Shane and Micky are hopeless as drug dealers Jamie must take over the business.

When Liam is reported for missing school Ian discovers that,as he has a knowledge of sign language,Liam has been trying to help Danny find his father but this leads to a parting of the ways between Ian and Danny. Yvonne is concerned that Meena,who is now embarking on a modelling career,is posing for raunchier shots than she should and Mandy confides in Frank that she not sure whether or not to leave Joe.

Chesney loses his cherry to housewife Lorna and becomes infatuated with her. However,literally caught with his pants down by her tough-looking soldier husband he realises that the man allows his wife's promiscuous indulgence to make up for his own deficiency. Joe agrees to drop the charges against Mimi provided Mandy returns to him and Mandy agrees though she plans to leave him later. However Karen and Jamie are reconciled. Liam and Stella are taken into care after a neighbour finds Frank comatose in charge of them. Debbie lets fly at him and he reacts predictably - by getting drunk.

Despite Frank's efforts to stay sober Social Services doubt his parenting abilities and Debbie trying to snatch Liam and Stella from the foster-home does not help. Fortunately Yvonne is accepted as the new foster parent. She has persuaded Meena to return home from the brothel but a larger problem when husband Kash,who faked his suicide,leaving the children to believe he was dead,returns and wants money to vanish again. Desperate Yvonne and Stan devise a plan which ensures that this time he will stay dead. Mimi is released and a contrite Joe sells his share of the pub back to Jamie whilst declaring his love for Mandy.

Paddy has gone cold turkey but Mimi still believes he betrayed her with Maureen and is hostile. After Frank has defecated in public Debbie throws him out and he shelters in a church confession box where he overhears Mimi planning to hire an assassin to kill Paddy. He tells Paddy who decides he will pay the hitman more to kill Mimi though in the event the gunman intends to kill them both but is knocked out by Mark,Debbie's new boyfriend. Joe proposes to Mandy and Ian plans to return to Spain despite Liam's efforts to get him to stay by using Micky as a potential lover.

Angry to have lost his Child Benefit to Yvonne Frank gets her to pay him to baby-sit whilst farming the kids out to a woman in the pub at a lower rate. Maxine comes up with a novel way to declare her feelings for Carl in public whilst Karen finds she is pregnant. Suspecting that Joe might be the father she tells Mandy about their fling and asks her not to marry Joe. However Mandy is lured to Maureen's house where the older woman,desperate and deranged,aims to show Paddy what it means to lose a daughter and blows the house up,killing herself and Mandy.

It's Frank's 50th. Uncharacteristically, he snubs the chance for a party and opts to dwell in his own lonely loveless existence - until librarian Libby falls into his life.

The Maguire clan is fully mobilized for the christening of its newest member: baby Connor. Mimi is organizing everything, including reallocating godmother duties, leaving Kelly devastated.

Karen's obsession to prove herself more than just a mother has Jamie worried. Liam's pursuit of true love is threatened by his own lies, and Maxine is in turmoil when faced with a choice.

With Karen in hospital still Mimi leaves Paddy to help Jamie run the Jockey and acquires a toy-boy,Billy,the pub's football team's star - but under-age - striker. However,when he becomes infatuated with her Mimi has to pull a bizarre stunt to frighten him out of town. Paddy,meanwhile,failing to pull at the disco pays Kelly for sex and Chesney watches Joe getting barred from every casino in town for cheating. Frank,temporarily blinded by boot-leg vodka,has a bizarre sexual encounter.

Karen returns home and is cared for by Mimi,who tries to keep her daughter-in-law's illness a secret. However Jamie finds it hard to accept and on a night out has casual sex with Michelle,who runs an escort agency. Maxine gets Ian to pose as her boyfriend to impress her parents, a fact which makes both Carl and Micky jealous and when Micky catches the couple in bed together and tells Carl the brothers end up fighting. Kelly runs Lilian's brothel in her absence and does well, but refuses to cut Paddy in as he requests her to.

Paddy has met a woman called D'reen who shares his love of salsa and with whom he hopes to emigrate to Cuba but Mimi commits him to a final job,robbing the family's enemy,the psychopathic Roscoe. With the bailiffs calling on the Gallaghers Liam has to make money fast by joining Joe on his illicit gambling. Ian and Carl are still at loggerheads over Maxine and Jamie,as well as helping his father,is working as a male escort for Michelle as Karen sinks under the weight of her post-natal depression,rejecting Connor.

Having served a short prison term for inciting a riot over the library closure Libby is back,driving a mobile library van and,after some misgivings,Frank agrees they should make a go of it. Lilian buys a HD television whose white noise leads her to believe that she has a link to the after-life and conducts a seance but it turns out to be a technical fault. After Karen accuses him of infidelity Jamie quits working as a male escort and Carl willingly takes his place.

As Libby and Patty move in Frank offers to paint Patty's room but,when he falls over absconding with the paint,he feigns injury to get out of the task before buying cheap road marker paint from the workmen. Karen improves but Kelly,ashamed of her session with Paddy,repeatedly turns down Shane's marriage proposals until Paddy tells his son the truth and the couple wed. Chesney and Carl go on the run after seeing the ultra-violent Jimmy beat to death a boy who has sex with his sister and threaten to claim that Chesney was the killer.

The council ask the residents to make a film to improve the estate's image though Micky's violent take on 'Taxi Driver' is not what they expected. Meanwhile the Gallaghers use the filming to shadow Jimmy but when Ian confronts him he gets a severe beating. Chesney and Carl hole up with the free-spirited Hazel on her cannabis farm in Wales but she is also hiding a deadly secret and Carl decides to return home. Mimi joins the W.I. to soften her image and gets her revenge when the others look down on her.

Chesney and Carl return to the estate,hiding out with Joe,who dissuades Carl from shooting Jimmy. Eventually Shane,increasingly angry at how the cocky Jimmy and his gang see themselves as beyond the law whilst terrorising the Gallaghers,persuades his family to take them on and teach them a lesson. Maxine persuades Jimmy's sister to tell the police the truth and the fugitives are cleared though Maxine still aborts Carl's child. Shane also finds that he is infertile,leading to his family offering to be sperm donors though Kelly declines their offer as she and Shane continue to be surrogate parents to Liam.

When Liam befriends a World War II veteran to help him with his school project, he finds solace in the old man's company, but Libby spies on them and jumps to all the wrong conclusions.

Libby makes it clear to Frank she wants a child but she and Liam do reconcile. However,at the Jockey's Talent Contest night it's Liam's new friend Dean who helps him win - approval. Ian is involved with the local boxing club and discovers that its owner Jock and Paddy have ill-feeling which goes back a long way. Jock owes Paddy money and to prevent him taking his gym he torches it. Fortunately Micky,recently accepted as a fireman,is on hand to act and to save Paddy - at long last gaining his father's respect.

When Kelly's fifteen year old sister Tonya arrives to stay her child has been taken into care but she has a chance of reclaiming it if she proves she can look after a robotic baby. However she dumps it on the Maguires whilst she goes out on the lash and Micky sadly acknowledges that her child would be better off without her though he rallies the family to scare off her father Homer,who is also the father of her baby. Frank accompanies Patty to Lourdes,where they masquerade as clerics to steal the altar wine and Frank appears to be on the receiving end of a miracle.

When Paddy plans to move on with new lady friend Rosalita he and Mimi decide to divorce,only to discover their marriage was never legal.so they have to get married again quickly to make the children legitimate. They hope to keep things secret but Micky finds out. After Frank has stolen from her Patty sets him up for benefit fraud,leading to a day in the cells for them both whilst Micky gets picked up by attractive Gary. Unfortunately Gary thinks Micky is Paddy and is only sleeping with him for the status,which he publicly declares.

Bruce,now live-in barman at the Jockey,takes over the football team and enters them in an all gay football contest,much to the disgust of Chesney. Maxine meets her old art teacher,Marc,recently widowed,and agrees to pose topless for his class. However she turns down a relationship with him so as not to betray Ian. Joe learns of his father's death on his birthday and determines to run away with Karen and Connor. However Ian follows and,when Joe violently attacks Karen,who wants to return to Jamie,he brains him.

Helped by his friend Anto Joe flees the estate with Karen and Connor but when Karen expresses a desire to return to Jamie,Joe gets violent,trying to strangle her. Fortunately Ian has followed and kills him. Back at the Jockey,the scene for a weapons amnesty,Roscoe,whom the Maguires scammed out of counterfeit money,bursts in with his gang and takes everybody hostage,threatening to shoot Shane and Jamie. However Frank,Bruce and Micky,who are in the cellar,access the handed in guns and succeed in saving the day by arming everybody... except Mimi,who is upstairs. The pains she thought were menopausal were in fact a sign of pregnancy and she gives birth to a little girl.

Karen returns and tries to patch things up with Jamie whilst Mimi,who has called her baby Cilla,tries in vain to find out who the father is. Libby and Frank's wedding plans are interrupted by news of Debbie's death and the arrival of Monica,who in fact had put a friend up to falsely reporting the non-existent death to hurt Frank. Frank enjoys himself at his stag night but then disappears whilst new resident Avril Powell organizes a hen party for Libby,at which Mimi collapses and is rushed to hospital.

Frank is still AWOL and Libby is distraught that Monica is demanding custody of Stella and Liam, while Karen is keen to move forward as a family in counseling.

Frank is in a mental ward at the mercy of Monica's lover ,nurse Mildred,but Libby believes he has deserted her and spends the wedding money on a new kitchen. Avril sets out to look after Mimi,causing Mimi to temporarily have 'impure' thoughts about her whilst Shane takes over security at the school where Jackson works. He helps young Jude overcome bullying by his twin but there is still competition between him and Jamie over business. Micky attempts to help his ex-con pen-pal come out to his family but just stops short of outing himself to Mimi and his brothers.

Chesney's cousin Sita fails her exams but her tutor John Cromer agrees to pass her if they have sex,which leads to his being set up and filmed by Carl to compromise him into passing Sita. Patty's great nephew Aidan,an aggressive little brat,comes to stay after his single mother,a drug addict and prostitute,has been jailed. He soon gets into a fight with Jackson and uses Libby's credit card to access Interner porn. Karen and Jamie reconcile,Karen agreeing to out-patient treatment at the local psychiatric hospital,where she sees Frank and tells Libby.

Monica informs Libby that she has twenty-four hours to marry Frank or else she will nullify the divorce and reclaim the house. Recognizing Mildred Fletcher as Monica's lover Frank steals her keys and escapes with a girl called Carly,putting Mildred wise as to Monica's true nature. However,as Libby has broken into the unit he has to recruit the Maguire boys to go back with him to rescue her. At the Jockey the wedding is about to take place,Liam sending a letter to say he will stay with Monica to try and make her a better person. Monica is beaten but Libby and Frank decide not to marry but live together instead.

Kelly is angry with Shane for taking money from their joint account for the business and helps herself to two grand,an act which spells danger for Carl on his first day as a courier for the Maguires and though Jamie ensures he has a memorable twenty-first Shane warns him against doing business with his brother. Micky meanwhile persuades a reluctant Chesney to help him set up a gay chat-line and comments about football by Mimi mistakenly lead Jackson to believe she is racist.

Kelly and Shane start a business satisfying people's sexual fantasies. However,whilst helping MP's wife Sandra Brown enact her fantasy of being kidnapped they attract police attention and are soon besieged on the estate. Fortunately Shane has an elaborate plan which will return Sandra without any arrests and make him a pile of money. Sita discovers Chesney's Muslim driving school is a front for wild parties and teaches him a lesson by calling in the anti-terrorist squad,at the same time securing compensation for their ailing shop.

To get money for Cilla and do his bit for morals Micky creates a fake child porn site Skool Dreamz,with no nude photos,to get the credit card details of would-be punters and bankrupt them. Unfortunately the family is arrested for fraud but Micky gives a rousing speech in court which has no bearing on the case being dismissed. Working on a help line Patty meets and marries depressive Trevor but finds he only wants her for a suicide pact,which she is not about to fulfil. Sita gets one over on Aidan,who has been sexually harassing her.

After sleepless nights with Cilla Mimi is starting to feel bad and believes that she is going mad,as one of her relatives did,and that the house is haunted. Finally she believes that Kelly and Shane are trying to kill her and locks them out of the house though she recovers after seeing a vision of Mandy,who tells her what to do. Kelly is suspicious of the power new girl Bonnie exerts over Lillian in the brothel and Avril and Jackson's continuing efforts to spice up their sex life leads daughter Letitia to believe that her father is having an affair.

Micky gets a cat,Dusty,from the pet shelter and,wrongly believing it has Feline AIDs consults elderly gay Lulu,who is HIV positive. When Lulu dies Mimi appears sympathetic to gays but adds that she would feel she had done something wrong if she had a gay child. After Carl is injured minding the shop in Chesney's absence Sita drives the car Jamie wanted him to deliver,only for them to discover it was stolen and a knicker-thief,stealing Mimi's pants off the washing line,brings fear to the estate.

Kelly is appalled to find that Lillian has formally adopted Bonnie and given her the brothel,which she sets about altering. However Bonnie is a very mixed up young woman and,unable to face up to Lilian's love for her,kills herself. Also disturbed is Jennie,the carer Libby hires to look after Patty because Jennie has a pathological hatred of old people,stemming from her childhood,and Libby has to save her mother from her. Carl is upset when Sita tells him she is returning to Pakistan for an arranged marriage though he has a new,unwanted admirer in Letitia.

Mimi is surprised when her brother Bobbi turns up to announce he's soon to become her sister! Meanwhile, Jackson dabbles in local politics while Shane's new clamping business causes mayhem.

Following a charity evening at the Jockey Shane resists the advances of wheelchair-bound teenager Tilly Pucker,who consequently accuses him of stealing her chair and the charity collection. When her minders pursue Shane however the entire Maguire clan ,including Jamie,close ranks and family harmony is restored. Increasingly disheartened at Frank's lack of romance,especially after hearing he had oral sex with Letitia's headmistress, Libby invents a fictional lover to make him jealous. He sees through the ruse but she decides to leave him anyway,despite his accidental torching of her library van.

Paddy returns to the Chatsworth in a coffin. Karen sets up a children's entertainment business, but when a catfight with a sexy rival is popular with the dads, she finds a new way to make extra cash.

Avril starts living above her means,sending Letitia to a private school and Jackson is horrified to learn she has been financing it by embezzling the Jockey's holiday fund. Vilified by the estate she goes to work for Lillian but Jackson's overtime and Letitia's scams pay off the money owing. Mimi meets fellow jogger Neil and is soon enjoying a sexual relationship but dumps him when she learns he prefers her to gain rather than lose weight. Chesney is concerned that delivery driver Gorky,separated from his wife,is abusing Bean,his 12-year old daughter and sets out to frame him for drug-dealing.However Bean takes drastic action of her own and Chesney helps her to escape.

Jackson over-reacts when he sees Letitia kissing her boyfriend Dee and goes to Dee's house to complain,only to discover that his mother Alyah,is an old flame of his and Dee in all probability his son so he persuades Carl to help him break the couple up. Frank,drunk as usual,accidentally gets onto a mini-bus and eventually wakes up in a synagogue where a man named Isaac believes he is an angel sent from God though Frank's response is to steal the candelabra. With Jamie having legally taken over the Jockey during her breakdown Karen feels it is time to get her share of the pub back,which she does by beating Jamie at cards and at last they both have their names over the door.

Handsome,charismatic lay preacher Jesue (real name Eric) O'Toole and his busload of acolytes invade the estate,picketing 'immoral'businesses and leading the Maguires to consider violence to get rid of them,only Aidan finding romance with young disciple Grace. However Kelly and Micky have a better solution,tempting Jesus with the flesh and causing him to renounce his faith. Patty,having fallen downstairs and been genuinely invalided,does a deal with Frank to stay in his house whilst Marty Fisher,on the run from the CSA,causes discord between Kelly and Shane.

Mickey gives Mimi an ultimatum: either the new boiler goes or he does. And there's uproar in The Jockey when Frank pockets Cynthia's scratch card.

Aidan's bad behaviour has landed him in court, but it's Patty who'll decide the outcome. Cilla's abduction forces Mimi to face her past and her family, and Mickey helps Marty do up the flat

When the Maguires see CCTV footage of Marty's inept attempted robbery Shane realises the robber is using his clothes and gun and calls the police,sending Marty on the run. Kelly's affections are torn and when Shane tells her that Marty's wife and children died in a mysterious fire in Spain and the arsonist has yet to be caught she is unsure what to believe. Billy tries to get back into Mimi's good books but very nearly fails when he attempts to kill the annoying local priest who is conducting Cilla's christening.

Micky has landed in court and been given community service,helping supervise a social group for people with Downs Syndrome and autism. He notes that one group member Ray is brilliant with numbers and takes him to hit the casino but he is rubbish there and only interested in Kelly - who admits to Karen she is pregnant by Marty. When the unpopular group leader Michelle gets pushed downstairs Micky takes over organizing the annual play,a Nativity,which he stages at the Jockey and it is a huge success. Mimi gets Billy to 'man up' by joining her on a burglary. Escaping the law they hide in a church,where he proposes to her.

Kelly admits her pregnancy,telling a heart-broken Shane that she no longer loves him. After doing nothing while witnessing a mugging in a park Carl finally champions old school mate,constable Simon Wexford,accused of injuring a robber,and ends up being accepted for police training. Despite her sons' efforts to scare Billy off Mimi proves her devotion to him by turning down an offer to join Paddy in Bangkok and soon Mimi has become Mrs. Billy Tutton.

Kelly moves in with Marty,asking Micky to leave. Jackson celebrates qualifying as a teacher but festivities are short-lived,due to Operation New Start,a multi-agency based crackdown on the benefit culture of the estate led by hard as nails Carmen Kenaway and her adoring assistant Daniella Feeney. Soon they are evicting dozens of residents,who take refuge at the Jockey but,since over-night stays breach its licence,Kenaway demands its closure. Having unsuccessfully tried to save himself by turning super-grass Frank is made to become a double agent,discovering that Operation New Start wants nothing less than to obliterate the estate as it is seen as an example of throwing good money after bad.

His teaching job withdrawn Jackson is in the same boat as the others as the estate risks becoming a ghost town but the residents fight back,playing 'musical houses' by taking over each others' homes and claiming squatters' rights. Kenaway responds with fire bombs but the Maguires play to her greed,kidnapping her and making her an offer she does not refuse,which makes her rich and saves the estate. Frank is reconciled with new police recruit Carl but Kelly suffers a miscarriage.

On a lads' night out, Mickey looks for love in the wrong places and is savagely attacked. Meanwhile, Carl falls for the beautiful Clem and Mimi's sexy, challenging niece turns up at the Maguire house.

Aidan feels guilty that he stood by and let Kane rape Lara,especially when Kane turns his attentions to Letitia. After letting Lara stay with him and Patty Aidan agrees to testify and Kane is arrested. Jamie is almost tricked into doing the dirty work of a discredited policeman,Brooksy,to whom he owes a favour,but Karen stops him in time and Brooksy is sent packing after trying to knife Jamie. Micky ends up with a baby instead of a debt he was sent to collect and decides to move on,becoming a single father. As he leaves he is about to come out but Mimi,already aware of his sexuality,prevents him.

Avril takes matters into her own hands on discovering her colleague Callum is addicted to the pills they are dispensing and Kelly,rejecting advice from those around her,flees the estate and ends up at a drugs rave. However,after passing out she imagines a conversation with a concerned Marty and returns to him. Dom bets Karen that if he successfully beds Ruby he can have her too but Karen tells Ruby,who leads Dom on but loses him the bet. Frank nonetheless suspects that Karen is attracted to Dom.

When Frank tells the Maguire brothers that Manchester's former war rooms have been taken over by the NAtional Lottery and are now home to thousands of scratch cards the boys,along with Frank,Ruby and Aidan,hatch a plan to tunnel underneath the main hall and steal the cards. Unnfortunately Frank's stupidity and a general falling out among thieves leads to the tunnel collapsing and trapping them. In Jamie's absence Karen sets out to prove to Mimi that she can replace him as the collector for the family's business whilst Letitia and her friends Keisha and Heaven post a girl band video online but suffer from a hacker.

Jamie, Shane, Frank, Aidan and Ruby are trapped underground where the pressure is building and truths, lies and confessions are abound.

Short of cash Gloria gets a loan with a huge interest rate and gets drunk,waking up at Mimi's. Next day Billy finds a positive pregnancy test kit and,assuming Mimi is pregnant,gets advice from Jamie - who concludes that Gloria is actually pregnant after their fling. He offers her money for an abortion but,finding that the result was a false alarm, she rejects it. However Dominic gets Jamie to pay her to keep the secret from Karen. Chesney and Aidan are shocked when Jamie sends them to collect the meat for the pub raffle and end up with a live cow,which they call Alan. Too attached to it to kill it they let it go and buy in meat instead. Shane engineers a meeting with Ruthie,the widow of the man he ran over,whilst Avril annoys Jackson by clubbing with young colleague Calum but draws the line when the lad gets too serious.

On a lads' night out, Mickey looks for love in the wrong places and is savagely attacked. Meanwhile, Carl falls for the beautiful Clem and Mimi's sexy, challenging niece turns up at the Maguire house.

When Kelly's fifteen year old sister Tonya arrives to stay her child has been taken into care but she has a chance of reclaiming it if she proves she can look after a robotic baby. However she dumps it on the Maguires whilst she goes out on the lash and Micky sadly acknowledges that her child would be better off without her though he rallies the family to scare off her father Homer,who is also the father of her baby. Frank accompanies Patty to Lourdes,where they masquerade as clerics to steal the altar wine and Frank appears to be on the receiving end of a miracle.

Libby makes it clear to Frank she wants a child but she and Liam do reconcile. However,at the Jockey's Talent Contest night it's Liam's new friend Dean who helps him win - approval. Ian is involved with the local boxing club and discovers that its owner Jock and Paddy have ill-feeling which goes back a long way. Jock owes Paddy money and to prevent him taking his gym he torches it. Fortunately Micky,recently accepted as a fireman,is on hand to act and to save Paddy - at long last gaining his father's respect.

Micky has landed in court and been given community service,helping supervise a social group for people with Downs Syndrome and autism. He notes that one group member Ray is brilliant with numbers and takes him to hit the casino but he is rubbish there and only interested in Kelly - who admits to Karen she is pregnant by Marty. When the unpopular group leader Michelle gets pushed downstairs Micky takes over organizing the annual play,a Nativity,which he stages at the Jockey and it is a huge success. Mimi gets Billy to 'man up' by joining her on a burglary. Escaping the law they hide in a church,where he proposes to her.

To get money for Cilla and do his bit for morals Micky creates a fake child porn site Skool Dreamz,with no nude photos,to get the credit card details of would-be punters and bankrupt them. Unfortunately the family is arrested for fraud but Micky gives a rousing speech in court which has no bearing on the case being dismissed. Working on a help line Patty meets and marries depressive Trevor but finds he only wants her for a suicide pact,which she is not about to fulfil. Sita gets one over on Aidan,who has been sexually harassing her.

When Paddy plans to move on with new lady friend Rosalita he and Mimi decide to divorce,only to discover their marriage was never legal.so they have to get married again quickly to make the children legitimate. They hope to keep things secret but Micky finds out. After Frank has stolen from her Patty sets him up for benefit fraud,leading to a day in the cells for them both whilst Micky gets picked up by attractive Gary. Unfortunately Gary thinks Micky is Paddy and is only sleeping with him for the status,which he publicly declares.

Micky gets a cat,Dusty,from the pet shelter and,wrongly believing it has Feline AIDs consults elderly gay Lulu,who is HIV positive. When Lulu dies Mimi appears sympathetic to gays but adds that she would feel she had done something wrong if she had a gay child. After Carl is injured minding the shop in Chesney's absence Sita drives the car Jamie wanted him to deliver,only for them to discover it was stolen and a knicker-thief,stealing Mimi's pants off the washing line,brings fear to the estate.

Aidan feels guilty that he stood by and let Kane rape Lara,especially when Kane turns his attentions to Letitia. After letting Lara stay with him and Patty Aidan agrees to testify and Kane is arrested. Jamie is almost tricked into doing the dirty work of a discredited policeman,Brooksy,to whom he owes a favour,but Karen stops him in time and Brooksy is sent packing after trying to knife Jamie. Micky ends up with a baby instead of a debt he was sent to collect and decides to move on,becoming a single father. As he leaves he is about to come out but Mimi,already aware of his sexuality,prevents him.

Frank is in a mental ward at the mercy of Monica's lover ,nurse Mildred,but Libby believes he has deserted her and spends the wedding money on a new kitchen. Avril sets out to look after Mimi,causing Mimi to temporarily have 'impure' thoughts about her whilst Shane takes over security at the school where Jackson works. He helps young Jude overcome bullying by his twin but there is still competition between him and Jamie over business. Micky attempts to help his ex-con pen-pal come out to his family but just stops short of outing himself to Mimi and his brothers.

Frank is shocked to discover that he's been a victim of identity fraud. As a result, his record has been wiped clean and he's eligible for jury service.