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Weekly Reviews > Episodes 2772-2776 by Mark

Originally broadcast in 1997. UK Gold: Monday 23rd June - Friday 27th June 2003
Writers: John Upton, Ian Coughlan, Michael O'Rourke, Luke Devenish, Susan Bower. Directors: Nicholas Bufalo, Chris Adshead.

A fun packed week on Ramsay Street where unwanted house guests, scrabble and broken doors caused all sorts of problems...

The No. 30 girls finally succeeded in getting rid of the housemate from hell this week after Catherine devised an ingenious plan to provoke Vince into moving out. Having had to endure one too many of Vince's sexist comments, Catherine persuaded Jo and Sarah to back her up and tell Vince out straight that they wanted him out. But when it came to the crunch, Sarah and Jo balked and only Catherine had the courage to be open and honest with Vince. This led Vince to believe that it was only Cath who wanted him out, and he announced his intention to stay until Luke gets back from Malaysia. Coincidentally enough, Luke happened to ring two scenes later and told Vince he wouldn't be home for a while because he was aiding Danni in her recovery. With this meaning the girls were going to be lumbered with Vince for the foreseeable future, Catherine took matters into her own hands and created a jealous ex-boyfriend for herself and claimed he was being released from prison and coming to see her. Vince started to panic when Catherine implied he was a very jealous and dangerous man, so much so that he wasn't long about packing his bags and leaving - "for the girl's own safety". It seemed Vince felt it best for him to protect the girls from making Cath's violent ex even more jealous by the presence of a 'good-looking bloke' like himself at No. 30 by moving out. What a guy.

The Vince DeBolfo scenes were extremely enjoyable to watch in this block of episodes, with Radha Mitchell's performances being particularly entertaining. Nicola Charles also showed signs of settling into her role and surroundings a lot more during this storyline, and even Emma Harrison managed to pull it off. Some nice, harmless humour and a pleasure to watch - even in spite of Catherine's alarming lack of concern for her almost-killed boyfriend Malcolm.

Having agreed to put their differences behind them once and for all, Lou and Harold prepared for a card game at No. 22 with Madge and Marlene in an attempt at clearing the air and symbolising the beginning of a new era for the former enemies. But while Lou and Harold enjoyed the game immensely and got on like a house on fire, Madge and Marlene ended up at loggerheads after Marlene inadvertently accused Madge of cheating and all hell broke loose. After the dust had settled and a few days had passed, Lou and Harold planned a game of scrabble to try and clear the air between Madge and Marlene. However, while the women ended up forgiving and forgetting half way through the game, Lou and Harold were the players who ended up falling out this time and their feuding continued when both men decided they wanted to buy the same old bus - Harold for the Salvation Army and Lou for his latest money-making scheme.

Viewers were treated to some classic Madge moments throughout the card and scrabble games, with Anne Charleston recapturing perfectly the fiery, stubborn and pig headed Madge of old we all know and love. Reminiscent of her days engaging in slanging matches with Mrs. Mangel and Dorothy Burke or defending the name of the Ramsay family to anyone who dared criticise them, Madge was on top form losing her rag with Marlene, storming off home with a flustering Harold in hot pursuit and dismissing his suggestion of calming down with a herbal tea and demanding a herbal brandy instead! Pure gold.

The romance between Ruth and Philip continued to meet with disapproval from Lance, although Hannah and Anne seemed perfectly happy for the pair to get together. Lance wouldn't budge, however, and fixed Philip with a steely gaze as Phil popped over to No. 32 to mend the kitchen door for Ruth. It all got a bit too much for poor Philip, however, and he ended up losing his temper with the door and taking it completely off its hinges. Lance responded to Phil's handy work by telling Ruth he was a jerk, but Ruth was not giving up on Philip just yet.

Billy and Anne got closer as they both agreed to forget the Christmas present fiasco, and Anne accompanied Billy as he went to partake in a bungee jump in an attempt at proving he was more than Toadie's sidekick. However, Billy found himself in hot water with his parents when they discovered what he had done, and he found solace at Anne's where they spent an enjoyable evening watching videos. But Billy put his foot in it when he practically accused Anne of being frigid and assuring her that the fact she hadn't had a boyfriend before didn't worry him. This information had come from Lance, who thought he was helping the couple get together once again, and Anne freaked at her brother and would-be boyfriend, meaning it was to be a while yet before Anne and Billy would get together.

The Billy and Anne relationship is by now on the verges of happening, and it's almost frustrating for the viewer to see these two characters who desperately want to be together continue to encounter countless obstacles on the path to true love. But Brooke Satchwell and Jesse Spencer bring so much warmth and chemistry to their scenes together that they succeed in getting the viewer on side and root for them to get it on. Not long now.. and before we know it, they'll be saying "Together Forever".