With Izzy having moved in with Karl, the relationship moved up a gear this week as they hosted their first dinner party as a couple. The lucky recipients were none other than Karl’s old friend Standford and his wife, Mandy. Of course, Standford’s continuous flirting with other women had turned Mandy into quite a bitter and cynical woman, but Izzy somehow managed to win her approval and the night was quite a success. However, by the end of the evening, Izzy was feeling unwell again, and this time, Karl mentioned the word pregnancy. Izzy pretended to be shocked by this, before admitting that it was a possibility and agreeing to a test. Already prepared with her excuses, Izzy was shocked when the test was negative, only for them to realise soon after that it had changed to positive. Karl immediately put his foot in it by asking Izzy if she was sure about who the father was. He managed to rectify the situation however, and the couple agreed to keep the baby. Izzy soon got carried away when Max and Steph came over for dinner, and she made the big announcement to them. They could barely hide their horror at the situation and later on, Steph told Max that she found the whole situation just a little too perfect for Izzy, especially when she’d only recently split up with Gus. Max was forced to defend his sister, and told Steph to stop thinking like that or it would have a negative effect on their own relationship. This storyline continues to spread through the street, and some fantastic writing and acting are really showing what the show is capable of when at its best.

Meanwhile, Susan’s relationship with Tom also stepped up a gear, leaving both parties confused as to where they stood with each other. Although they managed to successfully gloss over last week’s incident with Tom talking in his sleep, things got more complicated when Lyn continued to stick her oar into their affairs. Lyn was forced to explain to Susan that this wasn’t the first time Tom had been confused over his faith, and he’d even once had a crush on Lyn herself. She tried to warn Susan about getting too close to Tom and destroying his career. Having also spoken to Lyn, Tom was angry at Susan for breaking his confidence over his personal worries, and Susan decided to avoid Tom for a while. However, unable to keep her feelings to herself, she went to the church to see him, and explained that she didn’t want to ruin his life as a priest, but was unable to only look upon him as a friend. Meanwhile, Libby’s love life also took an unexpected turn this week. When the Kennedy women were unable to watch their favourite Brazilian soap opera on channel 44 due to electrical problems, they were forced to call out an electrician. However, the last person Libby was expecting to turn up on her doorstep was her old flame, Darren Stark. After 10 years in Ramsay Street, it’s brilliant to see that there’s still so much potential in Karl, Susan and Libby Kennedy. On a personal note, it’s also great to have one of my favourite couples, Libby and Darren, reunited.

Toadie was finally released from hospital this week, but it was hardly the happy event that he was hoping for. Sindi was still acting very strangely around her boyfriend and continued to avoid being alone with him. When he mentioned one of his old shirts that Dee used to wear, Sindi had finally had enough and walked out of the house. Toadie spoke to Connor and Stu about the situation, and they offered him conflicting advice. While Stuart said that Sindi was being selfish for expecting Toadie never to mention Dee, Connor sympathised with her finding the situation tough. In the end, Toadie went to speak to Sindi at number 28, where she told him about the incident where he woke from the coma and said Dee’s name. Toadie told her that he couldn’t just forget about his dead wife, while Sindi said that she wasn’t prepared to compete with his memories of her. It seemed that, having reached a stalemate, they had no other choice but to split up. Another couple still facing problems this week was Liljana and David. His behaviour was still giving her cause for concern, and a mysterious meeting with a woman named Crystal in the pub seemed to confirm Lil’s worst fears. Harold was doing nothing to allay her fears either, as he believed his son was simply acting oddly to pay Lil back for her flirting with Steiger. While the Sindi and Toadie storyline is being nicely written and acted, it seems that the characters need something a little more dramatic to get their teeth into. Meanwhile, the comedy sub-plot with the Bishops has also gone on a little too long, as it’s already perfectly clear to the viewers that David isn’t having an affair at all.

It was Madge’s birthday this week, and Harold and Lou took a little time to remember and toast the woman over whom they’d fought for several decades. By coincidence, that same day Harold bumped into a lady in the pub, and they were forced to sit together when Lou had a large booking taking up most of the tables. The woman, June Merritt, seemed almost too perfect for Harold, being recently widowed and a keen gardener. And with the timing also so good, Harold began to wonder if perhaps he had been set up. Glancing over at the bar, and seeing Lou grinning at him, Harold became annoyed and rude towards June, before storming out of the pub. After an explanation from Lou, Harold realised that he’d been a little hasty, and began to wonder if he’d ever find a replacement for dear old Madge.

Also this week, Jack continued to spend his nights clubbing, and met an interesting new woman named Mac. As he told his mum about this new girl, she wondered if perhaps this time he could avoid falling in love straight away, and made a bet with him that he and Mac could stick to being friends. Boyd managed to admit to his dad that he was worried about getting behind the wheel following his accident last year in Toadie’s car. Max was sympathetic and offered to give Boyd a few secret driving lessons to help him regain his confidence. And finally, Stuart finally made it as a policeman and his friends all turned up to see him graduate. But, of course, Scott couldn’t simply sit in the crowd, and he managed to cause chaos when he flashed…