Jim, unable to keep his secret any longer, pours out his grief to an assembled crowd in the Vic. It results in a lock-in, and in timehonoured tradition in times of crisis the people of Walford come together to put their own lives into perspective. Meanwhile, at the hospital, Sonia and Pauline put aside their differences in an outpouring of grief for Dot as her life hangs in the balance.

Elsewhere, the lads of Walford decide upon a belated stag do for Martin. As the revelry gets increasingly raucous, happily married Martin finds that the devotion and loyalty that he feels for his wife is put to the test.