Michael Arnold 2016
Occupation: Mediator

When Steph Scully, entered a dispute with her ex-husband Max and his new wife, lawyer Philippa, over their son Charlie, they began mediation sessions with Michael Arnold. Steph already felt that she was on the back foot, as Michael and Philippa had friends and colleagues in common, and this, coupled with feeling unwell due to a heatwave and having run out of her anti-psychotic medication, meant that the meeting went badly. Steph became paranoid and suggested that they should let Charlie decide his own fate, and Philippa took this as a sign that she wasn't thinking clearly and still couldn't be trusted to look after her son. With Philippa then pressing ahead with her plans to formally adopt Charlie, Steph worried that she might never see her son again. After a date for the custody hearing was set, Steph decided to speak to Max and Philippa about giving mediation another try, and this time things went better. Philippa called in Lucas Fitzgerald, whose baby son Steph had kidnapped during one of her episodes a few years earlier, but instead of making things worse for Steph, he said that she still deserved to see her son. After listening to what Lucas had to say, Philippa also had a change of heart - she and Max dropped the adoption plans and agreed that Charlie could continue to visit his mum.