Having set up a new, temporary home in a caravan park owned by Taj’s uncle, Stuart found himself the target of a young thief. Stuart wasn’t so bothered about losing food, but when the lad stole his comics, Stuart chased after him. Although defensive at first, the boy ended up chatting to Stuart, revealing his name as Clarkey and that he’d run away from home a year ago. After chatting some more the following day, Stuart suddenly made a connection when Clarkey mentioned that he’d grown up in Erinsborough and his mother had died. He realised that the boy was Jamie Clarke, son of Des and Daphne and the person Karl and Susan had been searching for. They headed to number 26 with Jamie’s birth certificate, but it wasn’t quite so simple for Jamie to claim his $80,000. Since he was under 18, he’d need consent from his father, who he wasn’t prepared to speak to. Later on, Jamie revealed to Stu that Des had suffered a breakdown after he lost his job and girlfriend and had started taking it out on his son. It seemed that Des had been admitted to a psychiatric hospital, while Jamie had ended up in a hostel, where he’d been regularly beaten up. The bond between Stuart and Jamie was quickly destroyed, however, when Jamie found the newspaper article about Life Mechanics and accused Stuart of using him to get his hands on the inheritance…

This storyline was obviously never intended to be a trailblazer and so, it’s worked very nicely, bubbling under the surface for the past few months and bringing back an old face to the show. Regardless of whether you’ve been watching for 8 weeks or 18 years, the storyline still works and mentions of Des and Daphne on the show can certainly do no harm. As well as this, Jamie is helping to move Stuart’s story forward, which can only be a good thing.

The Kennedy marriage came very close to breaking this week, as Susan suddenly found the strength to admit what many others had already noticed; Karl is an alcoholic. After finding out that Lyn and Joe were already suspicious, Karl confided in Izzy again, who told him he had to do whatever it would take to make himself happy. Meanwhile, Susan was unable to contact Karl and found out that he hadn’t been attending his counselling sessions. She confronted him and asked him to be honest and tell her if he had a problem, so he finally admitted that he did. He announced that he was unhappy with his life and his marriage, leaving Susan devastated. After an evening of soul searching, Susan asked Karl whether he was going to leave her and he assured her that he wouldn’t, so she asked him if he would go with her to marriage guidance counselling. After agreeing to this, Susan felt a lot better and arranged for all the family to be at Libby’s place for a Christmas surprise.

Despite the dialogue in some of these scenes seeming to be going round in circles, the fantastic acting from Jackie Woodburne and Alan Fletcher more than made up for it. Unfortunately though, regardless of Susan’s efforts, it looks like the Kennedy marriage may be beyond saving.

Also this week, the school formal finally arrived. Unfortunately, Sky ended up being attacked while in a portaloo and humiliated in front of the entire school. Although this incident ultimately brought her and Boyd closer together, it seemed to highlight Serena’s cruel side, as she failed to help her cousin. Meanwhile, David tried to get everyone in the Christmas spirit by asking them to put up lights on their houses, while Valda was upset by Lou’s relationship with Trixie. The VCE results also arrived, with Taj facing the news that he’s scored in the top 3% of the school. However, he later admitted to a suspicious Toadie that he’d cheated in the exam…

Notes: Jamie's storyline was written for the BBC's Taking Care season, highlighting the issues surrounding children in care homes.