Faith in the Future

- Season 3

(1998)

It is Faith's birthday and she is concerned that nobody will remember. However Hannah,now training to be a counsellor,organizes a surprise party for her and gets Paul,Caroline and Jools involved. After work Faith goes to the pub and is disappointed that none of her work colleagues have turned up for a birthday drink with her. However Paul shows up and drives her home for the party. Unfortunately she gets a very unwelcome surprise as a tree has fallen into the flat.

Faith moves in as a lodger to Paul but disrupts his ordered life-style whilst Hannah camps out in the damaged flat and,as she tells her course tutor Harry,she is not amused by the flattery bestowed on her by Mark,the builder come to assess the damage. She is even less happy when Caroline,having left Dave again,decides to move in with her and Jools arrives to saw up the tree and create sculptures - which he unsuccessfully tries to sell. Faith also returns but is rather taken by Mark's comments about her.

Faith is amused when Paul tries to cultivate a younger image before confessing that he is about to become a grandfather. Hannah finds herself softening towards Mark and hides her disappointment when it turns out that the bunch of flowers he brought to the house are for Faith and not her. After attending a party at Jools' flat Hannah wakes up on the bed next to him and is concerned that they had sex,especially when Harry suggests she took Jools as a lover substitute after rejection by Mark. She is thus very happy when Caroline reveals that nothing happened between them...

Faith decides to give up sex and drink but is tempted when Mark pays her more compliments. She tells Paul,who is off to France as an expectant grandfather. Caroline and Hannah go to see Jools' band but when the power goes off Jools proves to be a successful stand-up comic and is given a gig as a comedian. He wants Hannah to go and support him but she goes off on a training weekend with Harry and ends up in his hotel room for a night-cap.

Hannah returns from her fling with Harry to find Jools has used her as material in his, highly successful, stand-up routine though she is not pleased. Faith, however, is delighted to go on a date with Mark and to start a courtship. Next day she receives a letter from Zoe, the daughter she had as a teenager and gave up for adoption and who is now anxious to meet her. Hannah is annoyed not to have been told about her before but agrees Faith should see her and so they both welcome the young lady who rings the bell - and who turns out to be a sales rep and not Zoe, who is...

The real Zoe finally arrives and turns out to be a strait-laced actuary but she and Faith get on extremely well, Faith even interrupting her romantic evening with Mark when Zoe drops in unexpectedly. Feeling left out Hannah becomes extremely jealous and sarcastic and, though she is now dating Harry turns to Jools for consolation.

Mark comes round to whisk Faith away for a romantic weekend but, anticipating a family dinner with her daughters, she puts him off again and he walks out of her life. Paul returns from France with news of a wedding - though not to Faith his ex-wife through Faith does attend the ceremony in a rather large hat. With Zoe planning to move to Scotland Faith anticipates that she will be sharing the flat with Hannah, who has completed her course, but, having caught Harry cheating on her Hannah is off to India with Jools, leaving Faith to - hopefully - relish her independence...