Second ThoughtsEpisodes Guide

Divorced magazine illustrator Faith Grayshott is dating her boss, editor Bill McGregor and arranges for him to meet her teen-aged children Hannah and Joe in a café. Unfortunately his interfering ex-wife Liza finds out and visits him at work, also demanding he returns a jardinière he has given to Faith. He takes her out for a platonic lunch but Faith gets the wrong idea and, when Bill turns up at her house, expecting to move in with her, she calls the plan off.

Faith is still annoyed with Bill but he wins her round by cooking her a dinner at his flat. At the same time Liza visits Faith's house on the pretext of wanting to assure Faith that there is nothing between her and Bill but Hannah correctly surmises that she has come to pry. Bill is annoyed when he finds out about Liza's visit but Faith is even more annoyed that nobody told her whilst Bill also manages to antagonize Hannah by criticizing her new hairdo and Joe, after he has been acting as linesman at the boy's football match and awarded the other side a penalty.

Bill and Faith plan a night of passion at Faith's house, which involves sending the children out on sleep-overs at friends' houses. Unfortunately the night is ruined when the dog refuses to get off the bed, the football pools collector calls and Joe is taken ill at his friend's. By the time Bill is ready for his night of love Faith has fallen asleep and he trips over the dog's bone and falls downstairs.

Bill is moving in with Faith and he wants to take her out to celebrate but she has her Keep Fit class and wants to cook Joe a meal so declines the offer. Bill arrives home very late and very drunk and they argue when he accuses Faith of not being spontaneous. However, when he rings her from work claiming to be in Paris and asking her to jump on the next plane to join him she calls his bluff.

Bill is off work with food poisoning though Faith is not a very sympathetic nurse. To make matters worse he gets a call from the office to tell him that Liza has started work there as an interior decorator. To keep the two women apart Bill suggests to Faith that she gets another job elsewhere - which she does, with better conditions and pay. She also goes down with food poisoning.

When Bill complains that Hannah and Joe are borrowing his belongings without asking Faith is not sympathetic, pointing out that he is now part of a family, where such happenings are the norm. But when Hannah comes in very late with a boy when she has school next day Bill believes Faith is taking the family ideal too far when she wants him to play the heavy stepfather.

Bill and Faith decide on impulse to have a secret wedding on a special licence but word gets out and their relatives all turn up. Unfortunately the wedding cannot go ahead as Liza had never applied for a decree absolute and therefore Bill has nothing to prove that he is not still married to her. The couple decide to have the reception anyway and to' honeymoon' at home having sent the children to their father in America.

When Joe gets an ear-ring - and Hannah supports him against Faith - and Faith also learns that he has been truanting she feels that she has been neglecting the family to spend time with Bill, though it is Bill who eventually gets through to the boy. Faith is also angry to find out that Liza has been working with Bill - and so is Bill when he sees how she has redecorated his office.

Faith is still annoyed that Bill has yet to receive his divorce papers and she is also unhappy that Hannah keeps asking them both for lifts, so she persuades Bill to give her driving lessons. This proves to be a harrowing experience for him and there is worse to come when he learns that his sports car, driven by Faith, has been in an accident caused by another male driver.

Faith and her best friend Hilary spend a weekend at a health spa, which allows Bill, who decides that the household needs reorganizing, to devise a rota making its running more efficient. Unfortunately this lands him with all the ironing, the kids are not keen to cooperate and the dog runs off whilst he is taking out the rubbish and is returned by an irate neighbour. Then Liza turns up, wanting to stay the night after a row with her boyfriend. Bill just about manages to keep this from Faith on her return.

Bill incurs Faith's displeasure by going behind her back to sell his flat to Liza, thus cutting all ties with his previous bachelor existence. By the same token Bill is unhappy that on a visit to the kids' school it is assumed that he is Faith's husband and addressed as Mr Grayshott. Thus they both decide to vent their frustrations at the school fete.

Bill is stunned to learn that his married boss Richard loves Liza and is having an affair with her. He is also taken aback when Faith suggests they try for a baby. He starts to come round to the idea but changes his mind when Joe, who has taken a paper round to finance a school trip, falls ill and Faith has to do it for him and Hannah's end of exams party attracts police attention.

Bill's boss Richard wants him to go to work in America to launch a new, Stateside version of their magazine 'Vista' but the family is not keen to go with him. To add to Bill's problems Richard wants him to keep Liza away from his wife Marjorie at the office party. Here Bill learns that the American job was Liza's idea so he turns it down. Meanwhile Hannah gets a job at a coffee shop to be working alongside a boy she fancies but quits when she discovers that he already has a girlfriend.

With Hannah about to leave home for Liverpool University Faith wants her room to use as a studio but Joe feels he should have it. Then Bill, having collected all his belongings - including a full-size pinball machine - from Liza reckons that he needs the room for storage space. After a talk with her best friend Hilary Faith appreciates that she has been selfish and agrees to keep the room open for when Hannah comes home in the holidays.

Joe wants to learn Italian and persuades Faith to let Hannah's room to an exchange student, preferably a boy with whom he can talk football but a girl, Gina, arrives instead. She hogs the bathroom and gets stranded in Brighton, requiring a midnight dash by Bill to bring her home. Then Hannah arrives, fed up with university and wanting her old room back. Fortunately a phone call from boyfriend Kevin sends her back to Liverpool whilst Gina tells Faith and Bill how wonderful they are compared to her own parents and leaves on good terms with them.

Bill is annoyed that Richard has used him as an alibi for a weekend away with Liza but is nonetheless keen to cook a sumptuous meal for Faith's old classmate Sally and her husband David, over from Australia. There is a setback when Hannah arrives with boyfriend Kevin and other students to stay and Faith starts to panic. Bill however keeps perfectly calm - until he has a kitchen disaster just as the guests are about to turn up.

Faith is feeling neglected as Bill is having to put in extra hours at the office to cover for Richard's assignations with Liza. Furthermore Marjorie seems to think Bill is the one who is playing away. Bill brings Liza home for a confrontation with Faith but Faith is planning a sexy surprise for him and has to hide until after Liza has gone - so the two women have still yet to meet.

Annoyed that Bill is being used as an alibi Faith confronts Richard and he agrees to end the affair with Liza. Liza herself is happy to take up with rugged Australian Dennis, the previous occupant of her flat, and they stay together even though, at an office party, he accidentally reveals the affair to Marjorie, leading to a fight.

The day of Bill and Faith's wedding arrives - and there's no more time for second thoughts.

Faith discovers Hannah is sleeping with Kevin, and is alarmed when she asks him to stay the night at their house.

Faith is forced to accept that mid-life crises do not just happen to other people.

Faith catches Joe smoking, and Bill starts work on a top-secret project at home, disrupting the smooth running of the household.

Faith treats Bill to a night in a grand hotel to celebrate their anniversary but they are constantly interrupted by hotel staff and Bill is not pleased when Faith drags him to the theatre when he would rather have dinner. They eventually order room service food but are so tired they fall asleep before they can eat it - or indulge in any romance. Fortunately they have all next morning to themselves before needing to vacate the room.

Faith decides to reconcile Richard with Marjorie, who has thrown him out. Everything is going according to plan until Richard refuses to sack Liza whereupon Marjorie walks out. Faith is no more successful at keeping the peace between Bill and Joe, who has returned the jacket he borrowed from Bill in a filthy state. Matters are not helped when Faith wrongly believes that Joe has been sniffing glue.

Back with Kevin Hannah is moving into a house with him whilst Joe announces that he may be trying for a scholarship to an American university. Faith is delighted as it means she and Bill will be alone in the house but is less than pleased to learn that his new job will take him to Germany for three months, clashing with their plan to holiday in Italy. She lines up Hilary as a companion but when she also backs out Faith decides to travel on her own.

Bill returns from Germany for a weekend and Faith tries to create a romantic ambience despite an unexpected visit from Hannah and a phone call from Joe in America in the middle of the night. Bill accepts an invitation to a quiet drink from Richard, only to find that Liza has organized a belated farewell party for him, which does not go down well with Faith. Worse is to come when Bill gets a call to say that his magazine has folded and he is redundant.

Bill is coping well with his redundancy, assuming the role of the house husband when Faith gets a full-time office job. Hannah, having split with Kevin again, is annoyed when Faith tries to get her back with ardent old flame Christian. Fortunately Christian hits it off with Hannah's friend Sarah and between them they rescue Bill's DIY disaster.

Faith persuades Richard to give Bill his job back and the couple decide to move to a flat for two. However Hannah decides to take a gap year and Joe breaks his leg, meaning that they both come back to live at home and the move has to be put on hold. Returning to work Bill finds that Richard has been sacked for spending so much time with Liza - who has been given his job as the new editor.

Bill is no more happy to have Liza as his boss than Faith is when Callum arrives to build a conservatory and gets on very well with Hannah. Richard is now the owner of the local wine bar where Callum comes in and they drown their sorrows over their memories of dating Liza - though a drunken Callum turns up at Liza's flat to disrupt her photo call for the magazine. Joe also gets drunk, prompting Faith to start a temperance drive in the house.

Joe is working as a door to door salesman and gaining sympathy by keeping his healed leg in plaster whilst Liza decides to date Callum, now working for Richard, when he claims to have inherited a vineyard in Australia. Bill's birthday is approaching and, whilst he professes not to want a celebration, he is put out when everybody seems to have forgotten it. In the event both Faith and Liza have planned surprises for him but he rejects Liza's party for a date with Faith.

Bill is diagnosed with stress brought on by Liza's crazy ideas and his adjustment to domesticity - which annoys Faith. Mercenary Liza, still believing that Callum is to inherit a vineyard, takes him as lover and chauffeur and persuades Richard to make him manager. Richard also employs Hannah, who has finally got over her on-off relationship with Kevin and starts to get close to Callum.

Liza is being interviewed for radio's 'Woman's Hour' but her snobbish, condescending attitude and the fact that she takes a call from Callum on air makes Bill cringe. Hannah faints at work, prompting fears of pregnancy though she is actually on a diet and the real shock comes when Joe announces that he is engaged. Marjorie and Richard however seem closer to a reconciliation.

Faith is shocked when Joe announces his engagement to the very proper Louise, planning an early marriage and eschewing all his old laddish life-style. However when exchange student Gina reappears and he escorts her to a football match rather than take Louise and her nephew to see the Sooty Show, the old Joe starts to reemerge and, to Faith's relief, the engagement seems to be in doubt.

Faith gets a letter from old client Karel inviting her and Bill to stay with him in Prague but Bill has to attend a weekend management course with Liza. It involves quelling a mock picket line but Liza's solution is to injure the other group leader, as a result of which she is sent home early and catches Hannah kissing Callum, so she finishes with him. Faith returns from Prague having turned down Karel's advances and goes to tell Bill, who has just spurned Liza's attentions though Faith gets the wrong idea when she sees them together.

Having wrongly assumed that Bill was getting back with Liza after finding them late at night in the office Faith is far from happy - and a mugger does not help. Despite Hannah's efforts to calm her down she decides that the only way to get Liza out of her life is to finish with Bill for good.

Bill decides to move in with Richard so that he can relive his days as a carefree bachelor. However the old magic has gone, Richard's obsession with Liza makes him a less than compatible flatmate and - most of all - he is missing Faith - who is missing him as well.

Unable to stay apart for any longer Bill and faith decide that they must get back together, to the relief of Hannah and Joe. Bill wants to start exactly where they left off but Faith insists that he romances her - as if they were meeting for the first time.

Bill takes Faith up to Scotland to stay with his mother. He is anxious to show her all the old haunts that he knew before coming down to live in England but is dismayed that so many of them have either been demolished or are completely unrecognizable. Ultimately both he and Faith are relieved to return home.

Faith decides that it would be nice to have a conservatory in which she can work and Bill agrees. However neither he nor Callum are exactly tip-top when it comes to DIY and so Faith engages workmen Barry and Jay. Bill is less than pleased with their progress, leading to arguments and a question mark hanging over whether or not Faith will get her conservatory.

Joe 's eighteenth birthday is coming up and Faith is anxious to provide a celebratory family lunch though he is not enthusiastic and Bill and Hannah agree with him. However the day dawns and the lunch is about to go ahead but Faith and Bill are both called away on apparent emergencies. On return they discover who was behind them and discover Joe wants to celebrate in his own way.

Richard engages Max, an attractive young man, as his new pianist at the wine bar and the girls all fall for him, particularly Hannah. She starts going out with him but unfortunately learns that he is already married and that his wife is well aware of the effect that he has on the ladies. Cue Faith to offer her daughter a little consolation.

When Joe refuses to go work Faith is concerned, especially as he claims that he is starting to feel depressed about work and about life in general. Faith suspects that it may be down to a change in his hormones and persuades a reluctant Bill to have a pep talk with him - which gets to the real reason for his reluctance to turn up at work.

Liza is bored with her job as the editor of 'Vista' magazine and decides to step down. Duncan, the owner of the magazine, then suggests that Bill replace her, initially on a temporary basis but with a permanent contract if he does well. A delighted Bill jumps at the chance and suggests that Faith, previously free-lance, becomes the full-time art editor - though her insecurities give him some cause for doubt.

When Joe gets arrested for swearing at a football match and is completely unrepentant about it and Hannah continues to bring a succession of boyfriends into the house Faith has had enough. If they will not abide by her rules there is only answer. She will move out of the house and let them fend for themselves.

Faith has now got a job working on a magazine which specializes in health and fitness and she comes to realize that she and the family have been living a far from healthy life-style. As a result she insists on preparing only 'healthy' meals which everybody hates, as well as cajoling them all into taking more exercise. This is bound to end in mutiny.

The magazine's annual dinner is coming up but Faith goes down with the flu and has to take her to bed. With time running out Bill needs another escort and it is not going to be Liza. Hannah agrees to step into the breach and accompany him but is keen to get a suitably glamorous dress to wear - and then hope that nobody will turn up in an identical one.

Joe starts his first day at college and is appalled that Faith has prepared a packed lunch for him rather than let him eat at the canteen. Bill meanwhile reluctantly takes up golf as he has been persuaded by the editorial board that it will introduce him to influential people - though it does not. Richard organizes a week of charity events at the wine bar and a television crew comes in to aid its publicity. Needless to say Liza is there aiming to be the centre of attention.

Faith's god-daughter is getting married and the Grayshotts and Bill are invited to the wedding. So is Faith's ex-husband John, who is coming from America for the celebrations. The kids think it only natural that he should stay in his old home with them. Faith is less certain as to how John and Bill will get on with each other.

On Friday the thirteenth superstitious Faith is convinced that something will go wrong, either for Bill, who is waiting on the board's decision to make him a permanent editor of 'Vista' or for Joe, who is taking his driving test though in the events things go swimmingly for them both. The real horror is reserved for Faith herself when she encounters Liza, who has gone into labour and needs help in delivering the baby.