As her friends threw her a party to celebrate her new business venture, Serena finally got the chance to patch things up with her parents. As David decided to go to the party, he reminded Lil that she was pushing her daughter away, even comparing her to Svetlanka. Finally, Lil turned up and gave Serena a ring – a family heirloom – and mother and daughter shared a hug. As one problem drew to a close, another began as Connor returned from Lorne with news that Maddy needed an ear operation and if he didn’t raise the $50,000 for her to go private, she would spend six months in pain waiting. Elsewhere, it was the day of the big fight for Dylan and Mike. Boyd gave his training partner some last-minute advice, telling him to take a leaf out of Mohammed Ali's book and dodge Mike’s punches until he wore himself out. Surprisingly, the plan worked perfectly, and Sky was even impressed when Dylan didn’t throw a punch, simply warning an exhausted Mike to leave him alone for good. Another contest took place at Lassiter’s in the shape of Lou and Harold’s waiter race. After being beaten by Harold, Lou was in a foul mood but still didn’t react kindly as his friend tried to do him a favour by asking Susan if she’d take him in.

Alex continued to struggle with the secret that he only had months to live, only confiding in a hospital counsellor. But Alex made it clear that he wasn’t simply going to give up and that he would try any method he could to fight the cancer. However, when Rachel spotted her dad with a ring in the garden, it wasn’t long before the news had got back to Susan that Alex was about to propose. Unfortunately, Alex had other ideas, and, as Susan struggled to decide what answer she would give, he announced that the relationship was over. A chat with Lyn (who else?) left Susan believing that the ring had been for another woman, and she went to confront him. Deciding that it was the easiest excuse, Alex claimed that, yes, there was someone else. However, it wasn’t long before Rachel was plotting to bring her dad and Susan back together, as she went off to see Bree, then called her dad to pick her up from number 28. After being left alone by the kids, Alex admitted that there was nobody else, and he suddenly proposed. A shocked Susan admitted that she needed time to think, and Alex certainly gave her that, taking the kids off on a camping trip for three days.

Janae finally managed to get her hands on her dad’s number this week, courtesy of her nana, but before she could call, Janelle managed to ruin things. A mysterious late-night call saw Janelle on the phone to her estranged husband, warning him that if he tried to get back in with the kids, she’d tell them his dirty little secret. And so, the following day, Janae was rejected when she snuck over to number 32 to phone her dad and ask if she could stay with him. As Janae sought comfort from her mum, Janelle was relieved to have the issue resolved, but it wasn’t long before the Timmins family were in crisis once again. With plenty of encouragement from Joe, Lyn decided that enough was enough and told the Timminses to move out. Although it looked like she might cave in and let them stay, Joe forced her to stick to her guns and, by the end of the week, Janelle and the kids were staying in a rented bus at West Waratah Caravan Park.

Finally this week, after placing a few secretive phone calls, Ned announced that he was going to make a permanent move from Oakey to Erinsborough, whilst Max struggled to cope with Steph’s pregnant cravings for anything sweet. Meanwhile, Joe continued to avoid work in order to enter Bouncer 5 into his first, disastrous race, whilst Sky was back to her old self when she messed with the menus at Grease Monkeys, in order to protest about their use of battery chickens in their food.