It's Kev's birthday, but he is in no mood to celebrate when he discovers his mother has committed suicide. Worse still, he is reunited with his violent, alcoholic ex-wife, Roxy (Jill Halfpenny), at the funeral, and she and Veronica end up fighting in The Jockey. When Veronica finds Kev in bed with Roxy the next morning, she refuses to believe his plea of innocence and makes plans to leave Chatsworth. However, Veronica's departure may be the least of Kev's worries when he discovers he may have fathered a child with Roxy. Meanwhile, Lip gets his first taste of fatherhood when baby Katie is left in his care for the weekend. Meanwhile, Carol begins dating a nudist.

Marty discovers Sue is deep in debt and takes a great bargain to help his girlfriend, enduring the wrath of Carol. When an old face delivers a shocking secret, Sue runs from her troubles, and Marty reverts to his old ways. Meanwhile, Frank becomes a medical guinea pig and is left devastated when he discovers the drugs he has been taking leave him unable to get drunk, unearthing a new, realistic side of himself, which threatens his relationship with Sheila. Elsewhere, Debbie falls in with a crowd of people her own age, and, realising what she has been missing out on, quits her job of running the Gallagher household, leaving Lip, Ian and hapless Carl in charge, while Kev is forced to confront his fear of flying when Veronica plans a holiday abroad.