The townsfolk are still coming to terms with Sally's death, while Danny and Cady move into Kim's house to make space for the Boothes - leading to a declaration of love. Cathy Saunders' adoption application places Anna on the horns of a dilemma when she realises her friend is addicted to painkillers, and the factory helps out with the children's art fair - albeit in an unusual way

Danny and Kim vow to keep their romance secret, Sally helps emphysema sufferer Jack turn his life around and Nathan's leaving party is disrupted when Megan goes into labour. However, the men celebrate the new arrival in the Skelthwaite Arms, but a power cut leads to a disastrous start to the baby's life.

The locals are preoccupied with personal problems as Sally worries about her marriage, and Harding fears he is being undermined both at the factory and at home. Anna and David suspect Simon Goddard's activities in the town are not all they seem and a friendship is threatened by a former soldier's return.

Simon Goddard's return from Australia worries the locals, but the former factory owner declares he is only visiting his daughter Amy. Kim enjoys the company of Alistair and his family, leaving Danny green with envy. Joe and Alice prepare to come clean about their relationship - until a bad-tempered Harding makes them change their mind.

Sally has time to reflect on recent events, with Megan staying at Luke's and Billy preoccupied with work, but she is soon kept busy when she spots suspicious bruises on the son of a former school friend. Danny reluctantly goes on a date with old flame Teresa, but is left confused when Kim provides the romance, and Joe tells Alice he wants to take things slowly as he finally shows signs of maturity.

Sally bans Megan from seeing Luke and makes her feelings about her daughter's pregnancy very clear, which only serves to bring the teenagers closer together. A team-building exercise for the factory workers reaches a dramatic climax and the nurses help a woman suffering from alopecia come clean about her relationship with a younger man.

Sally is shocked by news of Megan's pregnancy and her mood is soured further by the discovery that Kim already knows about it. Work matters prove just as complicated when the nurses help a teenager in need of a kidney transplant whose health is further threatened by tensions between potential organ donors in her family.

Stubborn postmistress Evie does her best to make Kim feel unwelcome, but a secret from her past soon explains the shopkeeper's icy attitude. Billy is shocked when he gets the job at the factory, Luke and Megan come to terms with their news, and Nathan lands himself in trouble.

Denise Van Outen joins the cast as new district nurse Kim, a single parent with a shady past who doesn't take kindly to anyone prying into her affairs. Beth begins to have second thoughts as she and Tom prepare to leave the village, especially when friend Hattie reveals she has terminal cancer, and Ozias Harding takes up the reins at the factory once more

Danny Flint finds his bachelor lifestyle cut short by his sister's death, leaving him in charge of nine-year-old niece Cady. Meanwhile, Beth's efforts to balance motherhood and a nursing career pose a dilemma, and Anna and David finally tie the knot.