It's Christmas Eve and Gavin is doing is best Scrooge impersonation. An old friend drops by for a visit. And Colin is a surprisingly good Santa.

It's Christmas Eve and mayhem ensues when the turkey delivery fails to arrive and there's a big party to look forward to where a certain butcher takes on the role of Santa.

It's the one-millionth customer promotion, complete with balloon archway and Leighton in the guise of the Valco tick.

Gavin and Lorraine are as unlikely a pairing as Spam and ice cream but, with Julie on "sick leave", they're forced to work together

Gavin is hit hard by the death of his dog Chester and, understandably distracted, accidentally leaves out a document detailing staff wages, which Leighton promptly pins up on the noticeboard.

Gavin assures Julie that he won't make another Lorraine-shaped mistake as the search for her replacement gets under way.

It's Christmas Eve but all is not well. A hapless team of criminals are planning to nick the takings: can Gavin save the day?

It's Christmas Eve and Gavin has an important proposal for Cheryl, but when a bid to throw her off the scent spectacularly backfires, he is left desperate to make amends. Brian returns to the store and is clearly unimpressed with humble new pharmacist Alan, while Colin and Lisa witness something horrifying and the spark between Katie and Daniel becomes clearer than ever at the Valco Christmas party.

Julie is welcomed back to a Lorraine-free Valco and, therapy having done the trick, she's noticeably more relaxed; unnervingly so.

Julie and France are gearing up for the supermarket awards, and the former is concerned about the drop in the number of customers since the makeover. Katie is offered a managerial job at Valco, but has a decision to make when an old friend appears.

News of Leighton's sacking doesn't go down well, and it's Julie who receives the brunt of the backlash. The No Nonsense range comes in handy for a pregnant Sue.

The supermarket awards are here, and France hatches a dastardly plan to fool the judges.

It's the day of the scheduled fire drill and Julie's still off, so Gavin steps in to brief the troops.

Julie awaits her interview, and Katie has some bad news for Kieran.

France pulls out all the stops for the big reopening, booking a celebrity shopper in the form of Kelly Brook. An unimpressed Gavin, meanwhile, crosses the line.

Richard France holds a workshop to try and help the Valco staff understand customer loyalty with a series of acronyms and training exercises.

Gavin doesn't feel missed when he returns for his first visit as area manager, not even by Julie. Plus, checkout girl Katie 'enjoys' her first day back at Valco.

Lorraine ends up venting her anger Julie's way after a pleased Leighton returns to work. Katie lets Kieran know about the latest news involving her love life.

Leighton is promised a trip to head office by Richard France to pitch his ideas, which Gavin thinks is a terrible idea. Julie's frustrations with Gavin's girlfriend turned Valco employee Anna reach an all time high. Andy decides to leave the Warrington branch of Valco for pastures new as follows his former flame, Sarah, to Scarborough.

Gavin is back at work and doing his best to be a bit more like France. Plus, Colin and Lisa's stag and hen dos are almost upon them.

Richard France's latest brainwave is given the greenlight - a 'suggestion fort' to find out what customers want from the Valco Better store.

Cheryl starts to seriously regret leaving Gavin in charge of the wedding plans. Katie's left to show Lou the ropes - and that's not something that proves easy.

Things start to crumble as new worker Margaret works as cashier, and Julie gets upset as only two people want to come to her tea party.

It's the launch of Valco 24 and Lou's got a stunning night display up her sleeve. Hot newbie Craig means Linda's keen to work the first night shift.

It's a big day for Gavin as he prepares to launch his new healthy eating initiative. Meanwhile, Brian gives a harrowing presentation on the dangers of fat.

Julie's predecessor, Leanne, pops in - much to her dismay. Margaret attempts to succeed on the tannoy.

Somebody gets fired. Colin tries his hand at blackmail. Heather runs the tasting station. Things are tense between Sue and Linda, and hot between Gavin and Cheryl.

Gavin's got some serious amends to make after Lou uncovers his devious plan. Brian gets more than he bargained for when he opens a pharmacy consultation room.

Freddie Flintoff is launching a brand new party range in Valco and for the main press event he hosts a small game of cricket in-store with Gavin taking the lead.

Julie finds her spirits being a bit too lifted after Gavin gives her the Valco manager's handbook. Andy wishes he had never signed up to run the marathon.

Gavin's out for answers when there's a fire during the night shift. Meanwhile, Lisa tries to make Colin's childhood dream a reality.

Valco's new recruits arrive, but when Colin sees them walking up the aisle, he's horrified when he recognizes one of them... his very own Nan.

Gavin makes the ultimate sacrifice in a desperate bid to fix things with Cheryl. Oblivious to the tension, Colin and Lisa plan their stag and hen dos.

Cheryl orders Gavin to cooperate with Duncan as he launches a new energy drink in store. Meanwhile, things between Holly, Katie and Daniel take an unusual turn.

Staff gather for the night shift to give the store the final once-over ahead of its reopening, but emotions run high after Julie misconstrues a conversation she heard between France and Anna, and reports back to Gavin.

Everybody is doing their part for charity. Gavin is waxing his legs, Sue and Linda are on exercise bikes, and Lisa is filling up the swear jar. But who will win the grand prize in the raffle, a brand new car?

Gavin decides to fight back when he shows up at work to find a huge Lauda truck blocking Valco's entrance. Charlie discovers an embarrassing secret about Daniel.

Sparks fly when Gavin and Cheryl are forced to spend the day in close quarters. There is also a recall of some bad lasagnes. Plus, it's Sue's birthday - but will anyone have remembered her big day?

Valco is cracking down on counterfeit money, and when Lisa tells Rose that a customer is pulling the wool over her eyes, she decides to take matters into her own hands.

Duncan's back in store and is far from impressed with Gavin's health food drive so he starts one of his own to promote his products to customers and staff alike. Katie also faces an unwanted visitor in the form of Daniel's girlfriend Holly.

Brian struggles to hide his scepticism when first aid training gets under way, while security guard Ian is outfoxed by an unwelcome visitor to the store.

Valco have rolled out a new uniform and Cheryl is delighted to see that Gavin has turned a real corner when it comes to coping with change. That is, until CEO Brendan O'Connor pays an unexpected visit making an announcement that leaves Gavin reeling.