Barbara

- Season 2

(2000)

The new baby is giving Martin sleepless nights and he falls asleep on air,getting him the sack. In frustration he punches an irritating clown at a children's party but is reinstated as all his would-be replacements are terrible. Doreen gets an indecent proposal and Neil is embarrassed by his aggressive,beer-swilling girlfriend whilst Barbara is persuaded by Ted to join him in a parachute jump and literally ends up with one foot in the grave.

When Barbara does her back in she does not take kindly to Ted hiring beefy Mrs Gibbs to do her cleaning and goes behind Neil's back to persuade his masseuse ex-girlfriend Kelly to give her a healing rub-down. Neil is not pleased and nor is Mrs Gibbs when Barbara refuses to pay for the aerial shots Mrs Gibbs' son took of the Liversidge house. Martin discovers that he has a stalker,who turns out to be a pensioner, whilst Jean overdoes the medication and sprouts facial hair.

Ted's mother Queenie,who is even ruder and more outspoken than Barbara - whom she dislikes - comes to visit and makes it clear she wants to stay but changes her mind after Barbara has accidentally broken her nose, though it makes her more human. Mike,the anchor-man at Martin's TV station moves in with Linda and Martin and makes a pass at Linda,apologizing to Martin on air - which leads to a fight. Ted gives two robbers a lift to the airport without realising who they are - until the police arrive at the house

Linda and Martin's baby's christening is not the most smooth running of affairs. Firstly Martin's divorced parents have a violent argument at Barbara's after the father has acquired a new young Thai bride. At the church Ted is shirtless, having been thrown up on by a hung-over Neil, who will repeat the trick in the font and Barbara is suffering from the effects of bad hairdressing. Martin himself only just makes it having got wedged in a child's ride, hiding from an obsessive fan. All it needs is for something to trigger off Phil's musical underpants.

Barbara resigns after being told that patients have complained of her rudeness but, having gone for interview at another practice with an equally acerbic receptionist, grovels for her old job back - and finds Doreen can also be rude. Ted becomes the Phone a Friend for a colleague on 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire?' but, after having to drive a man whose tyres Barbara has slashed by mistake to Scotland, nods off when the call comes. Martin trying to emulate the dashing young investigative reporter next door, tries an aggressive approach to his interviews - with messy ...

Martin and Linda are not happy when Barbara offers to help mind the baby when Linda returns to work. Barbara is not happy when they tell her but following a domestic accident which she has caused it seems they might have a point. Ted is on his way to the local football ground in costume as their mascot Freddie the Fox when his car breaks down and he is pursued by a hunt whilst Phil's medication has bizarre side effects and Neil's efforts to have afternoon delight with an ex-con's wife are constantly thwarted.

With Doreen away, Jean steps in to help Barbara at the surgery and is a great hit with the patients, organising sing-songs and games but unfortunately she is so popular she attracts people who are not sick and the waiting room gets so crowded Barbara has to sack her. Cora, Linda's unstable boss, starts to date Neil and becomes so obsessed with his body Linda takes drastic action to split them up whilst Martin pays the price for challenging a group of Germans to a darts match with the losers having to pay a forfeit.

Ted makes a new friend in the lonely but pushy and irritating Vernon who shares Ted's interest in metal detection but is constantly visiting the house,staying overnight and even crashing Martin and Linda's dinner party. But when he declares his love for Barbara enough is enough and out he goes. Linda and Martin look after his boss's dog but it runs off - and Vernon adopts it,calling it Barbara. Phil meanwhile has a dispute with an undertaker whose funeral procession he has halted at the school crossing.

Jean is get married to Phil but Barbara is not happy - this time because Ted's old flame Yvonne is back in town and he is spending a lot of time with her. Following a hen night outing where stripper Hercules turns out to be Neil and the departure of Yvonne the great day dawns though Martin and Linda only just make it after attending a grand opening at a supermarket - to which nobody turns up. Jean makes a spectacular entrance though and eventually makes it down the aisle,on a hospital trolley.

Ted and Barbara spend a day returning sheep dumped on them to the countryside but for Ted the real nightmare is dreaming that he is in bed with first Jean and then Doreen. Martin is afraid that Linda thinks he is a joke because his 'scoop' stories are so mundane but after he has given the kiss of life to a cocky decorator who has collapsed in the surgery waiting room he is declared a hero whilst Phil keeps doing his back in in the most embarrassing places.