The Upper Hand

- Season 6

(1995)

When he cannot pay a restaurant bill and needs Caroline to help out Charlie feels he is a kept man in the eyes of her friends so,to impress,he buys her a painting at a charity auction even though he cannot afford it. To make up the money he takes work as a topless waiter but his initial embarrassment at being groped by women gets worse when Jo is one of his customers. Ultimately he has to swallow his pride and agree to Caroline lending him the money for her painting.

When Charlie sees his smug,competitive tennis partner Fred make a pass at Caroline he is angry and plays him hard on the court. Fred drops down dead and Charlie feels guilty so that when Fred's identical twin,the seemingly nice Ted,arrives but starts to take advantage of Charlie's guilt,the resentment starts over again. A trip to see the Catholic priest puts things in perspective - though not until after Charlie has also thrashed Ted on the tennis court.

Caroline's grandmother comes to visit. An old-fashioned snob,she makes it clear that she feels Caroline is marrying beneath her but then appears to have a change of heart. But this a ruse as she persuades the couple to sign a pre-nuptial agreement which she knows will have them at each others' throats and cancelling the wedding. Fortunately Laura,long cowed by her formidable mother,knows what is happening and speaks out to save the situation.

When Laura causes another fire in her flat and has to move in with the rest of the family her demands soon alienate everybody - particularly Caroline. Then Laura complains of pains and is rushed to hospital for a gall bladder operation. The night before the op she imagines her late husband has come to see her and their resultant conversation puts everything right between her and Laura.

Charlie is pleased to meet Jo's boyfriend Dan when he learns that the boy is a medical student but hearing that Dan wants to pack in his studies to be a puppeteer and to marry Jo cause a change of attitude. Dan's parents arrive giving their blessing to the union until they too disapprove of their son's career decision. This causes an argument with Caroline and Charlie,during which Dan and Jo slip away to get married in secret.

Working out that Jo and Dan have driven to Gretna Green Charlie and Caroline set off after them with Dan's parents,Peggy and Jim,both of whom are very bad passengers,and to cap it all the car runs out of petrol. Fortunately Laura is following behind with Tom and Auntie Pat and everybody arrives at the church just as the wedding is about to take place. One by one all the older parties agree the wedding should take place except Charlie - until Jo persuades him that really all he wants is to see her happy. Charlie thus becomes the father of the bride.

Jo and Dan return from their honeymoon homeless as there is no provision for married couples at their college hall of residence. Caroline lets them stay and,whilst Charlie is initially unhappy with the arrangement,he starts to bond with Dan after finding Dan has made a puppet version of him,Little Charlie. This leads to friction between Dan and Jo and Charlie and Caroline until Caroline provides a solution - the young couple can have Laura's flat whilst she moves into Jo's old room for the time being.

Wealthy club owner Nigel Samworth turns up,saying that he grew up in the house and is prepared to pay a huge sum to buy it. Charlie and Caroline go house-hunting and come up with their dream home,beating a very competitive family to gain the owner's approval as prospective buyers. However when they hear what Nigel plans to do when he buys their house they soon change their minds.

Caroline's agency is going through a lean time and she borrows money from the house-keeping,which leads Charlie to start an austerity drive, rationing electricity and buying in bulk from the Cash & Carry. He also confiscates Caroline's credit cards when she buys clothes on the sly. A hoped-for deal with top customer Hamilton falls through but Charlie tells Caroline that things will improve and they still have each other.

Tom has a crush on Patricia,an older girl whom the family think is weird,and when Charlie and Caroline are at a funeral he takes Patricia out in Charlie's jeep,hitting a gate-post and denting the vehicle. When the police arrive Laura,Jo and Dan all take it in turns to take the blame before Tom owns up. Caroline is angry with Tom but Charlie admires the team loyalty shown by the others.

When rain water,leaking in from a hole in Caroline's bedroom window,starts dripping downstairs,Charlie suggests that Caroline's entire bedroom be renovated and Dan's father,professional builder Jim,takes on the job. However Charlie interferes so much that it leads to a row and Charlie sacking Jim. He then takes on the work himself,helped by the boys,but the results are a disaster and Caroline reinstates Jim,the proviso being that Charlie keeps out of his way.

After knocking himself out with cleaning ammonia fumes Charlie wakes up to find he is still a successful and injury-free footballer,enjoying the high life and with a sycophantic staff - to say nothing of the shade of his dead manager whom only Charlie can see. Caroline does come into his life but only on a business basis to discuss an advertising deal and is shocked by his familiarity with her. Fortunately it is only a dream.

Charlie is preparing for the wedding and sending out invitations but his lips keep swelling up and a visit to the doctor shows that it is not due to any allergic reaction. Finally he works out that it happens every time he talks about the up-coming wedding ceremony and is concerned that it is a sub-conscious sign that he does not want to go through with it. Fortunately he is reassured after a heart-to-heart with Caroline.

Caroline and Charlie decide to bring the wedding forward to tie in with her being at her most fertile as they aim to try for a family of their own. Everybody else,however,assumes that it is because she is already pregnant. Caroline's ex-husband Michael turns up,anxious to get her back and trying to poison her against Charlie but Laura soon sees him off. With Nick released from prison for the day everybody gathers at the church for the happy event but unfortunately it has just caught fire and so the ceremony is conducted out of doors - and then a storm breaks. True ...