Simon discovers that his daughter Sam is in love with a 16-year-old boy called Jeremy. He is worried where this may lead and tries to confront Sam about the dangers of a young love affair. Simon, however, finds this impossible. He also hears news that Derek's wife Muriel may have another addition to their already large family. Simon then receives a phone call from Jeremy asking to speak to him about something that has happened between him and Samantha. Simon is worried but then later discovers that Jeremy is worried about telling Sam that he has to go to Hong Kong for a few years with his family. He doesn't know how to tell Sam incase she is really upset. Simon urges Jeremy to tell her the news, which he does and Sam is distressed at first but then comes to accept the inevitable. Derek then learns that his wife is, indeed, pregnant. Simon suggests that it is Derek who needs advice not Samantha.
Nell's friend Pinky Harrington wants to propose to Nell and asks Simon and Samantha their advice. They are pleased and push him to ask her. However, later that day Nell returns home with a man from her past Major D'Arcy Pendleton. She decides to take a week off work to spend as much time with him as possible despite the warnings from Pinky, Simon and Samantha all say he will hurt her.Derek is anxious about his teenaged son's interest in dressmaking, when he realises it's not the dresses it's the teacher he's after.
Simon discovers that Major is making plans for a wedding and has booked a honeymoon for a Mr and Mrs D'Arcy Pendleton. Simon is concerned when he finds out that Major already has a wife in Canada and goes to warn Nell. But at the church they discover that it wasn't Major's wedding he was planning but his fathers! His 90 year old father and new young bride are married and go off on the honeymoon that Major only prepared for them. When Major returns to Canada, Pinky proposes t
The Eye-catchers Agency wins a glamorous fashion account, and Simon insists that he must handle it because Derek's appearance is not acceptable or suitable for the account. Liz offers to help him update his appearance. Also, Nell offers to help Simon out financially in the business but Simon tells her that he has made money and no longer needs her support. She then offers to help around the office, but Simon sends her away. She then announces that she is no longer needed in the family and she will move to Marbella. Sam, desperate at the prospect of losing Nell, begs Simon to apologize but he refuses.
The next day, Simon and Nell receive and urgent message from Isobel saying that Samantha has left home until Simon and Nell stop their quarrel. Both Simon and Nell feel guilty about their disagreement and apologize to one another, bringing Samantha back, from her room! Liz and Derek return to the house to show off Derek's new look. He is delighted when Simon offers him the Eye-catchers Fas
Samantha acquires a pet hamster, which she calls Uncle Derek because in some ways it resembles Derek; in the circumstances, Derek is not told of his namesake. Simon is busy drawing up insurance documents so that, in the event of either himself or Derek dying, the other partner would be enabled to take over their joint Eye-catchers business. Derek is quite agreeable to this arrangement, but his friend Fergus overhears Simon and Samantha that Uncle Derek is very ill and will not live long. Fergus, who presumes it is the real Derek, rushes to commiserate Derek. Derek, who is suffering from back pain and having several tests, hears Fergus's news and believes that Simon is trying to take over his side of the business.
Derek believes he will soon die and decides, because of Simon's cheerful mood considering the fatal death that his partner will soon face, to sign over his side of the business to Fergus knowing that Simon will hate Fergus being his partner. He then discovers that Samantha's h
The Eye-catchers agency has business one weekend in Zurich and Simon decides that he will make the trip. Derek is indignant that it is always Simon who makes the overseas business trips, while he himself goes on all the routine trips in the UK. Samantha comes to the office one evening to see Simon, but he is too busy to talk to her. Samantha points out that Simon's business interests are taking over his life and he never has time for her now. Simon decides that he will stay at home that weekend and send Derek to Zurich. Derek is delighted by the opportunity to spend the weekend abroad, but on Saturday morning he telephones Simon saying he has missed the flight. He had planned to take a girlfriend with him, but was so overridden with guilt about his wife that he hid in the airport until the flight had taken off, but he can't go home because he has already pretended to be in Zurich.
Derek stays the weekend with Simon and Samantha. He tries forlornly to seduce Isobel and wakes the househo
Derek lends some expensive Eye-catchers equipment to his feckless friend Fergus Appleby. Simon is furious when Fergus returns the equipment smashed beyond repair. Simon is worried about how the agency can replace the equipment, but next day he receives a letter informing him that an aged aunt has died and left him #20,000 in her Will to invest in his business: the aunt's only other living relatives are a family called Appleby from Cheltenham, but as they cannot be traced the money is all to go to Simon. Samantha suggests that Fergus Appleby might be one of the missing families. Simon is horrified by the prospect of having Fergus as a cousin or of sharing the inheritance with him, but Samantha insists on pursuing the matter and discovers that Fergus family home was in Cheltenham.Fergus is delighted when he hears the news and Simon has to offer him a part in the Eye-catchers firm. He then discovers from his parents that he is not a true Appleby and is not entitled to the inheritance. Fer
Derek and Simon are confronted with a dilemma, that their two daughters Sam and Emma both want to go on the school exchange trip to France. Derek tells Simon that he once went to France with his family and spent #500 in bargains so he is determined not to let Emma go. He says that if Sam is allowed, Emma will be jealous and upset, so she must not go either. Simon tells Sam that she cannot go to France, but Nell believes that she should not be held back because of Derek's financial worries. Nell offers to pay for Sam herself.
Nell, Derek, Simon, Sam and Isobel all go to the social evening at the school to meet the French families involved in the school trip. Derek and Simon find some attractive French women and Isobel meets a handsome Frenchman. Nell finds a nice old lady called MME Morrizot who is a suitable person for Sam to stay with. Simon likes Mme Morrizot but is horrified to discover that she does not have a daughter for Sam to befriend, but a good-looking 16-year-old son. Sam an
One of the younger teachers from Samantha's school, Alan Pinner, strikes up a friendship with Isobel and comes to take her out for the evening. Simon, meeting Alan at the house, at first thinks that Alan has come to take Samantha out. Disapproving strongly, he is very cool with Alan and only later realises his mistake. Alan takes Isobel to an Indian restaurant and tells her that he is going to live in Africa soon; their next evening together will be their last meeting for many months and he wants Isobel to come back to his flat for a single night of love. Isobel is tempted and worried by Alan's suggestion. She tells Samantha of her problem and Samantha asks Simon for his views on ""a single night of love"". Thinking that Samantha is referring to her own relationship with her 16-year-old boyfriend Jonathon, Simon vehemently opposes the idea of it. When Jonathon comes to see Samantha, Simon is very cool to him.
Later Simon realises that Samantha had been seeking advice on the love problem
Samantha and Isobel are worried that Simon is falling more in love with his latest girlfriend Ellen and may marry her. Samantha becomes rude to Ellen and Isobel threatens to leave if he remarries. Nell assures Simon that she would not oppose him remarrying. Simon tells Nell with confidence that he is not considering marriage with Ellen and when he meets Ellen later, he laughingly tells her of his family's suspicions. Once Simon and Ellen begin to talk of marriage, he realises that he does want to marry her. Simon tells Nell he is engaged. She warns him that Samantha may not accept the news of a newcomer to the family and he should break the news gently.
As he goes off to tell Samantha, Nell meets Ellen in the Eye-catchers office and is surprised by her appearance. Ellen does not understand at first until she looks through some old photos with Derek and sees a picture of Simon's first wife Ruth and realises that she herself closely resembles his dead wife. She tells Simon that she is af
Simon, Sam and Nell are all sorry to hear that Liz will be leaving the Eye-catchers firm to pursue her acting career now that she has landed an acting job for a commercial in Tenerife. Derek, however, is relieved as he always had doubts about her abilities as a secretary. Liz's position is filled quickly by an old school friend of Nell's called Winifred who has come to stay with her after the collapse in her marriage. Simon is pleased with her work but is depressed by her solemn outlook.
Liz arrives back in the office to say that her acting job involved too much personal attention from the Director. She wants her job back but Simon has already given it to Winifred. They then plot a way to get rid of Winifred by contacting her husband, who runs a double glazing firm, to come to the office and give them a quote for their windows. When he turns up and sees Winifred their emotions overcome them and they are reconciled. Winifred goes home with him and Liz gets her job back. Simon then gets
Isobel is suffering from toothache but she is to scared to go see a doctor. None the less, Nell makes an appointment for her to see a dentist near the Eye-catchers office. After her appointment, Isobel emerges bright and happy as the pain has gone and the dentist said she has nice teeth. She then makes an appointment for Simon and Derek to go. An intimidating lady called Mrs Grant comes to see Simon in the office about Samantha's relationship with her son. She wants him to stop them seeing each other because she is showing him bad ways, punk ways. When Samantha hears that Mrs Grant has complained she decides to tell him the truth about their relationship but only whilst he is in the waiting room for the dentist and is distracted.
Samantha confesses to Simon that she has been pretending to go out with Mrs Grant's well-behaved son because she thought Simon would approve but she is actually seeing a punk called Eddie; Kevin has been pretending to his mother that he is seeing Samantha, but
Simon comes to Neil's house to tell her in confidence that he has been offered a very good job by a large company, who also want to take over the Eye-catchers agency; they do not want to employ Derek. Neil is shocked that Simon should consider getting rid of Derek, who is an old friend as well as a partner. Unaware of the offer Simon has received, Derek is hoping to ask for a rise. Urged on by his wife Muriel, he calls in at Simon's home that evening to discuss the pay. He is quite relieved to find that Simon is not home and he settles down to play Samantha at Chess. Samantha admits to Simon that she's going to ask to a rise in pocket money.
Simon is taken aback by Samantha wanting the same thing as him. Isobel promises to broach the subject of Samantha's pocket money with Simon, but Simon misunderstands what Isobel is saying, and gives her a rise in her wages. However when Samantha tells Simon she wants a paper round, Simon agrees. At the office Derek steels himself to ask Simon for a
Simon and Samantha are becoming increasingly worried about Nell, who seems to be pre-occupied with thoughts of death. Derek is also distracted with anxiety about his wife Muriel who is due to give birth to their child. Derek is sure it will be a boy and intends to call it Adrian. Although it is not his first experience with fatherhood. He still panics when Muriel phones him to take her to the hospital.Muriel is then sent home, as it was a false alarm. Later that day Nell tells Simon about her will and funeral arrangements, to Simon's pleas, that she has many years left.
That weekend, Simon and Samantha are surprised to see Derek when he comes to tell them that Muriel is in the car ready to give birth, for real. He came to show them how calm he was, but then starts to panic then the car won't start. Nell then comes home to find Simon, Samantha, Derek and Isobel running about the house panicking while Muriel is upstairs about to have the baby. Nell takes control of the situation and help