Him & Her

- Season 3

(2012)

Becky is hung over and throwing up after a night on the drink so Steve is having to stall giving her an engagement ring and bottle of wine. A pregnant Laura and Paul,sporting a new moustache,arrive,announcing they will call their baby Frank after Anne Frank. Dan and Shelly,a secret couple,also appear but Becky is feeling too sick to join them all for a picnic in the park and come evening Steve has still not given her the ring. Two new neighbours,Jonathan and Gina,critical of Becky and Steve,meet on the stairs and are seemingly having an affair.

Laura arrives,full of wedding talk, giving Becky and Shelly hideous bridesmaids' dresses to try on. Paul turns up with recently located half-brother Ian,whom both he and Laura dominate,prevailing upon Steve to cook him a breakfast. This sets off the smoke alarm and gives Jonathan and Gina more reason to dislike Steve and Becky. Steve is taken aback by Laura's vicious tirade when he tells he intends to marry her sister and empathizes with Ian when he tells Laura and Paul to get off his back and leave him alone.

Steve's mother Janet turns up,closely followed by her boyfriend Mike,who accuses her of an affair - which she strenuously denies. Laura and Paul arrive to support her. Shelly then drops off her little boy for Becky and Steve to baby-sit. Janet and Mike reconcile and everybody sits down to watch 'Children in Need'. They summon a pizza delivery boy - whose presence gives the lie to Janet's protestations.

Steve and Becky have been burgled and the flat trashed - though at least the photo of Laura and Paul got smashed up. Becky's parents come round so that her mother Jill can tidy up. Jill cleans for Laura,who is very rude to her though Jill does accidentally throw out Steve's money-box. Nigel is very smarmy,trying to chat up Shelly,to the annoyance of Dan,who takes diversionary action. Furthermore Nigel makes it clear to Steve that he has no wish for him to marry Becky.

A flashback to the day after Becky and Steve met in a pub and he asks her round to his flat for the afternoon. She brings wine but he is nervous,trying to impress by talking about the Middle East situation and offering expensive potato crisps. He relaxes somewhat after she accidentally breaks his sink. They consider going out to a gallery or for a coffee but decide to stay in and watch television - something they will be doing many times over.

On Becky and Steve's first anniversary he is anxious to propose but is interrupted by Shelly seeking help for a drunken,foul-mouthed Laura who,after throwing herself at Steve,claims Paul has been unfaithful. Paul turns up to deny it,bringing his friend Graham to provide an alibi though Laura is not convinced. Then,to everybody's surprise,the usually timid Shelly launches a tirade against Laura and her selfishness. After everybody has left Steve reads his proposal poem to Becky. Will she accept?

On Christmas Day the newly-engaged Becky and Steve entertain Paul and the typically selfish Laura,who wants to hog the show with her karaoke machine. She also tactlessly tells Shelly's son Kieran - who arrives with his mother,stolen champagne and Dan - that there is no Santa Claus. A surprise visitor is Steve's father Pete,who not only gets on well with everybody but gives Steve a present of his favourite childhood book.