On Ben Keane's wedding day, Ben and his family are stunned when Ben's father, who they thought was dead, turns up at the church.

A middle-aged marriage registrar is forced to re-evaluate her thoughts on life, love and happy-ever-afters when she discovers her husband is having an affair.

A young man on a zero-hours contract realises that he must make a choice about the job controlling his life, a decision that will make or break his career.

John has always hated confrontation. When a scratch appears down the side of his car, it leads to firings and fights, concrete mixers and a Mexican stand-off.

Affluent Gary and Michelle are forced to downsize when their business goes bust, but Michelle struggles to settle and is reluctant to make friends with new neighbour Tina.

A happily married mother of two is forced to revisit her tragic childhood when a face from the past threatens to disrupt her content and ordered world.

Ronnie teaches neighbour Helen to drive, and begins to suspect that she is being abused by her partner, despite Helen's vehement pleas to mind his own business.

A working mother of two sons realises that her youngest child is growing up and moving away from her, so acts to keep him from leaving.

Moira and husband Ken are struggling, until a customer hands Moira a lottery ticket without realising it is a winner.

When married couple Lisa and Gary split up, they become flatmates from hell.

John and Carol are in their sixties, looking forward to retirement and a quiet life. Long-suffering of each other's foibles, but always leavened with fond humour, relations are nevertheless strained by their failure to sell their house, which has been on the market for months. As they bicker about reducing the price, they are unaware that two other arguments are happening simultaneously on their street; a young couple, Sarah and Ryan, argue about money, and taxi passenger Dave complains about the fare to driver Neil. These events come to a terrible head when Ryan is fatally knocked over by Neil, outside John and Carol's house. John and Carol try to be as sensitive as they can to the mourners congregating outside their house, but as the weeks turn into months, and the shrine of flowers, cards and soft toys encroaches ever further into their lives, even John and Carol's ever-present humour starts to fade.

Angela cares for her alcoholic dad Mick. When an accident leads to Mick needing to live with her, she has to confront her father's problems and her own.

When a picture of Hayley's 16-year-old daughter is uploaded onto a website and goes viral, Hayley doesn't know what to do.

Paul and his wife Lisa move in with Paul's father, who soon signs the house over to them.

An adopted teen learns on his eighteenth birthday that he is to be deported. Desperate to stay in the UK, he goes on the run.

A blind woman’s sight is restored through an operation, but she soon questions her decision when the visual world presents more problems than the one she’s left behind.

Working at the same taxi rank, Frank is left with the prospect of having to tell Linda, the woman he loves, something that will break her heart.

Fun-loving 60-something Madge has a loving relationship with former magistrate Eric, but she is also hiding a very big secret.

Stressed and unable to cope, newly qualified teacher Amani Sarin tells a terrible lie.

Caroline is an army wife, recently moved to barracks with a new baby. Her husband Tom is on his first tour away, and Carolins finds it hard to adjust to life alone. They keep in touch as much as they can, but it's hard work - the baby's had colic and won't stop screaming. The wives' network is strong, but Caroline's struggling to fit in. All the other women seem strong and calm, neat and tidy - why is she such a mess? Old hand Maggie can see Caroline's becoming a bag of nerves and tries to help. When it turns out that there are rats in the house Caroline reaches breaking point, but Maggie calms her and puts her in touch with her husband's mate Sam, a rat catcher. Sam says it's going to take several weeks to get on top of the problem, as he doesn't want to put poison down with a baby in the house. He takes pity on Caroline's predicament; he can see how hard things are for her, and he unwittingly starts to take the place of Tom in the household - at the dinner table, with the baby, doing odd jobs about the house. The attraction is clearly growing between Sam and Caroline, but they both resist. When there's a health scare with the baby Sam is a rock for Caroline, but even when he stays over he's on the sofa. However, Maggie is suspicious of the dramatic change in Caroline's outlook and gossip starts to spread. Caroline is snubbed by the wives at a memorial service and her protests at innocence are scoffed at. Chastened by the priest's sermon about sacrifice and duty, Caroline goes to find Sam to tell him that they can't be friends any more, only to find that he has been beaten up as a warning. Caroline's heart goes out to Sam, and they end up in bed confessing their love for each other. They are interrupted by a phone call...

Hapless plumber Billy has always struggled with gambling - he claims it's under control, but with bills and repossession notices piling up, his wife Michelle is close to breaking point. Billy has had to sell his van to pay off debts, and is getting by on small plumbing jobs. Even then Billy can't help himself - he gambles the money a customer gave him for parts, and ends up having to steal a pair of taps from the betting shop toilets to complete the job. Even his mate Dave won't lend him any money - he's on the ropes. Whilst pricing up a job one day, Billy stumbles across what looks like a small bag of diamonds hidden in the loft. Billy has no idea whether they're real or not, but as house owner June isn't aware of the stash, Billy takes one to show the more worldly-wise Dave. They're both gob-smacked when the gems turn out to be real. Billy isn't sure he wants to get involved, but there are bills to be paid and Dave eggs him on. Billy takes a few of the gemstones and splits the money with Dave. For a while he's flush - but instead of paying off his debts immediately, Billy tries to make his windfall larger at the betting shop, and it's not long before he is back at square one. The final demands are getting more insistent, and Billy has no other option but to go back to June's for more diamonds. When he fritters that money away as well, Billy gets desperate and takes Michelle's house-keeping money to try and win money from his friends at cards. At his lowest ebb, Billy returns to June's - only to discover that he's in even more trouble than he thought... With Dave on the next flight to Spain, and Michelle packing her bags, Billy is at his wit's end when there's a knock at the door. When will Billy face up to his addiction?

When Kirsty O'Connell finds drugs in her house she's appalled but determined to get her teenage son the help he needs. But is he the addict in the family?

Carl is a cleaner at the local university. When he masquerades as a lecturer, he discovers a newfound confidence.

A middle-aged woman is forced to fight for her job and prove her role is vital. In doing so, she reaches her own, surprising conclusion.

A woman struggles to come to terms with her father’s sudden death and the heartbreaking discovery that he had a secret second family.

A retiree finds a new lease of life when his daughter gifts him a course of fitness sessions for his 65th birthday.

A gifted but neglected teenager’s education is jeopardized when she is made homeless.

Phil starts looking after his father following a fall, but a tragic accident ensues.

A former homeless addict turns her life around and volunteers at the local shelter in an attempt to 'give back' and reconcile with her family.

Faced with spiralling debts, Ellie Morgan's only hope of avoiding bankruptcy is to sell the home she loves. No-one's buying, however - no-one, that is, except John Mulligan, an old flame from school. A bad boy done good, he's Ellie's knight in shining armour. He offers the perfect solution, or so Ellie thinks, until best friend Maria suggests that not everything about John Mulligan is as great as it seems.

When Sylvie Jackson is asked to cover for a colleague at work, she makes a decision that results in a terrifying situation. The incident kicks off a chain of events that leads her into unfamiliar territory. With her back against the wall and all sides closing in, it's up to Sylvie to find the courage to take control and get her life back on track.

Kieran struggles with depression after leaving home to attend university, but when his girlfriend discovers he has taken an overdose, he is forced to admit his problem to his parents. His mother and father learn the path to recovery is going to be difficult, especially after their son refuses to take anti-depressants, although they soon bond over the experience.

A stressed-out English teacher heads for a breakdown as he copes with an impossible workload and a particularly unruly pupil.

A couple who struggled to conceive their twins through IVF are informed that they still have embryos at the clinic, but their shelf-life is limited.

Single mum Danielle befriends Sonia, a new mother at the school.

A man longing to get back with his separated family acts rashly to reconnect with them, leading to a tragic situation that backs him into a corner.

A father attempts to toughen up his son, but in doing so unleashes a chain of events that look impossible to stop. Can he repair the damage, or have his actions turned away the person he loves the most? Family life may never be the same.

When Liz's husband died, years of looking forward to retirement suddenly became irrelevant. Then she met Damar, a retired Nepalese soldier, and fell in love. Liz doesn't understand why her family aren't happy for her. Damar doesn't understand why he can't work in the country he fought for. All they want is to hold onto the bit of sunshine they've found.

When Mary-Ann and Anthony's attempt to adopt their foster baby Grace founders at the last possible moment, they resign themselves to a lifetime of heartbreak. It doesn't help that Mary-Ann's sister Sarah, with three teenage kids, is always ready with interfering advice.

Jean is about to turn 60 and has left a school reunion in a huff, no one at the reunion knew who she was, but they all looked drop dead gorgeous. Has she aged so much now she's unrecognisable? Jean shows daughters Nicola and Lindsay photos from the party and they enjoy spotting the cosmetic surgery - nose job, boob job, botox. Jean is shocked and then intrigued...