Uninvited Guests

E P I S O D E Uninvited Guests
Season 11, Episode 9
Air date	23rd December 2001
Written by	Douglas Watkinson
Directed by	Paul Walker
Episode guide
Previous Home to Roost	Next No Hiding Place

Synopsis

There's a salmonella outbreak and a chicken pie from the Aidensfield Arms is suspected as the source. Two criminals take a mother and her son as hostages and Vernon wants to start a cemetary for pets.

Full Summary

Aidensfield is suffering from an outbreak of salmonella. Already one of Tricia's patients, Jim Pitchard has died and other residents are succumbing swiftly. When questioned, Jim's Aunt Daisy blames Gina Ward's chicken pies saying that Jim thought they were a bit dodgy. Tricia immediately alerts Mike and Craddock to the situation and they start their hunt to find the source of the outbreak. They begin with the unpleasant job of telling Blaketon that he can no longer sell any food at the Aidensfield Arms until further notice. As the outbreak spreads Tricia's work load increases and she can no longer cope. At the hospital she meets a friend Jenny Latimer, a pharmacist. Jenny offers to come in and help at the surgery during the current crisis. Whilst Ashfordly constabulary is on the hunt for the source of the salmonella Meryl Johnson, manageress of the Ashfordly Building Society, and her fifteen-year-old son Toby find themselves victims of a hostage situation. Ben and Danny Begley plan to raid the Building Society after Ben has shared a cell with Meryl's ex-husband Alex. When they discover that the Building Society is being renovated and there is no money on site they decide to stay as uninvited guests with Meryl for the weekend until they can resume their plans on Monday. With two extra people in the house Meryl soon runs out of supplies. Danny takes Meryl's Mini to Mrs Morton's Pantry in Herondale. When he makes his way back to the cottage the car runs out of fuel on a deserted road. He abandons it and walks. Ventress stumbles across the car and he and Bellamy return it to Meryl. When Meryl answers the door she pretends not to know Ventress, which makes him suspicious. When he receives a letter from Meryl regarding a late payment on his mortgage he knows all is not well as his mortgage has been completed for some time. Craddock sends Tom and Mike to survey the Johnson's house. They witness Ben taking Meryl to the car - they are on their way to meet the security firm which will deliver £8,000 ready for opening on Monday morning. Tom is left alone to survey the house with Danny and Toby inside but he is weary and nods off, missing Tricia arriving at the house to tend to a very ill Toby - who has been hit by the salmonella bug. Danny, who has called the doctor in panic, flees in fear of his brother's wrath. The Aidensfield police arrest Ben as he forces Meryl to withdraw the cash. The salmonella outbreak has also been solved.The missing link between all the cases was Mrs Merton's out-of-date mayonnaise. Gina's pies are cleared from blame much to Blaketon's relief. Elsewhere Vernon expands his brother's funeral empire by introducing 'Fur and Feather Farewells' for pets. Much to the distress of Bernie, Vernon plans to turn a nearby field into a pet cemetery and very soon he finds that there is quite a demand for this new service. However Vernon's brusque business style is not suited to the sensitive nature of the funeral business and he finds he's out of his depth - especially when he nearly buries alive one of his clients, Amanda the pig. The new venture comes to an end when Councillor Blaketon, responding to Bernie's cries for help, informs Vernon that he will need planning permission to transform the field into a pet cemetery.

Cast

• Veronica Roberts as Meryl Johnson
• Simon Lenagan as Ben Begley
• Gareth Farr as Danny Begley
• Timothy Smith as Toby Johnson
• Olive Pendleton as Daisy Pritchard
• Joseph Aston as Harry Davies
• Jason Durr as PC Mike Bradley
• Ryan Early as PC Tom Nicholson
• Mark Jordon as PC Phil Bellamy
• William Simons as PC Alf Ventress
• Philip Franks as Sgt Raymond Craddock
• Claire Calbraith as Dr Tricia Summerbee
• Tricia Penrose as Gina Ward
• David Lonsdale as David Stockwell
• Sarah Tansey as Jenny Latimer
• Christopher Wilkinson as Herbert Maddison
• Peter Daimonds as Stunt Co-ordinator

Gallery

Meryl Johnson does her gardening as she hears a motorcycle approach

Meryl finds herself with uninvited guests

Ben tells his reason for his visit

Tricia does her rounds

Bernie gets an odd funeral request

Vernon is soon puzzled why the business don't do animal funerals

HQ receives news of salmonella poisoning from Daisy Pritchard

Tricia tells Craddock that her patients have the same symptoms

Tricia found that the bacteria may come from Gina's chicken pie

Tom phones Tricia only to find Craddock on the other line

David, Bernie, and Vernon scout out for a possible land for the cemetery

The police soon alerts the pub of the health risk

Oscar tries to reason but the police came prepared

Danny does Meryl's grocery shopping

On the way back, the Mini runs out of petrol

Danny decides to abandon the car instead

Tricia tells the news that it was not Tricia's chicken pies

Tom and the others were shocked that the ice cream may be contaminated

Meryl makes a letter to Alf to signify for help

Tricia soon tells HQ that salmonella may be linked to ice creams

Ben reads the final draft of Meryl's message

News of Bernie's animal funeral was soon spreading

Daisy calls Bernie for her husband's funeral before she was interrupted

Mike interviews Daisy to what she knows about Jim's eating

The question of death soon worries Tom

They soon find Meryl's car

Ald decided to fill the car up and return it to Meryl

Phil soon receives an emergency of a kid with salmonella

The sight of the police soon alerts Ben

Ben threatens Meryl to get rid of the police or Toby will be shot

Meryl thanks Alf but pretends she doesn't know him

Alf soon becomes suspicious

With the ambulance backed in traffic, the police delivers the emergency

An old friend notices Tricia

Jenny Latimer is introduced into the series

Tricia gets an uneasy feeling all of a sudden

Tricia ask if Jenny knows anyone to help her with the outbreak

Jenny promises to look for help

Alf pops in and checks over Vernon's animal service

Craddock was soon worried over Tricia and calls Jenny again for luck

Alf tells his concerns over Meryl to Craddock

Craddock gets uneasy and rejects ice cream as the subject of salmonella

Tricia was soon surprised to see Jenny come in

Jenny announces she's the new helper

Alf tells the others its not Mr. Pickering's ice cream with salmonella

Craddock goes to see Tricia about his pains

Vernon gets another odd request from Herbert Maddison

Herbert tells Vernon to bury Amanda after her sudden "death"

Ben and Co. eat unbeknownst to them of the salmonella outbreak

Craddock comes back saying big company ice creams may have salmonella

Alf gives Craddock Meryl's letter to him

Alf thinks it was a sign for a distress signal

Bernie ask Oscar for his help to stop Vernon's scheme, which he agrees

The police are soon watching over the Johnson's households

The police soon recognizes Danny

Craddock orders Mike to follow Meryl and Ben

Craddock gives Tom the orders to keep a lookout for Danny and Toby

Amanda the 308 pound pig soon arrives to the funeral parlor

Bernie recons that Vernon wasn't expecting this request

Toby soon starts to get bad stomach pains

Danny soon notices the salmonella news

With no choice, Danny calls for Tricia's help

Tom was starting to feel sleepy on the job

Danny hears Tricia and hides in the closet

Tricia soon comes to Toby's rescue

Danny hides in the closet with the shotgun ready

Meanwhile, Amanda is revealed to be still alive

Meryl and Ben soon comes back and sees Tricia's car

Tricia tells Meryl that Toby will be fine as he was healthy

Ben introduces himself as Toby's uncle

Tom radios HQ that Tricia was in the premises

Ben was angry over Danny's action

Tricia is questioned by the police if she saw Danny and Ben

Tricia denies seeing the two and Alf gives the food the Johnson's ate

Tricia soon finds the source of the outbreak, the mayonnaise

Meryl tells Danny to leave immediately

Meryl reckons that his presence is known to the police but saving Toby's life was different

Bernie finds his garage in a total mess

Ben notices that Danny escapes and puts the robbery into action

The police are soon in full alert watching Ben

The police watch as Meryl does the transactions

Herbert was called and was overjoyed of Amanda's news

Craddock ask Mike about Tom before he realizes Tom will be staying with him

Meryl and Ben are soon back

The police soon set up a road block as soon as Ben leaves

Ben shoves Meryl and Toby into the closet

Ben rides off with the money

Ben's motorcycle hits the barbed wires and spins into the field

Ben is soon apprehended

Toby and Meryl are soon saved

Oscar has a word to Vernon about using the land for the cemetery

Oscar was surprised that Vernon was shutting down the animal business

Tom admits that he fell asleep on duty bet Craddock was grateful for his honesty

Two weeks later, Harry comes in as promised by Vernon to bury Ector

The episode ends with Harry saying his last farewell to Ector the best pet rat