Penelope Wilton, Sophie Rundle, Angela Griffin and Sharon Rooney are to star as four women striving to find happiness and fulfilment in new ITV drama Brief Encounters.

Steph is top of her game, sales woman of the month – winning a top of the range fridge freezer. Dawn, Pauline, Nita, Hellie and Widowed Linda are all round admiring it. The next morning, in her still empty bed, Steph contemplates life without Terry…

Guilt ridden Kieren is distant from the chaos of the kids playing up before school. Nita is concerned – she knows something’s up. It’s been 3 weeks since the robbery/hit and run, and Dawn and Pauline visit Brian who is recovering in hospital. Brian shows Pauline the ring he meant to give her before the accident.

A confident Steph walks out of the hairdressers with a new hair-do and bumps into Johnny, who invites her over to help him decorate. Back at Spake’s Butchers, Pauline arrives to find out that Brian is behind on their payments to the meat supplier and Pauline is left with a dilemma.

When Stanley asks Dawn when she’s coming home, Dawn tells Stanley she and Russell are saving for their own place where he can come and visit. But Stanley is having none of it. It’s a dismal atmosphere at the Matlock’s with Hellie’s father annoyed she has abandoned uni-versity. It becomes clear Bunny and Hellie have kept back some vital information from him about why she left.

A confused Dean overhears a conversation between Nita and Steph talking about Johnny. When Terry returns to take Dean out for the day Dean lets slip Mum has a date with a po-liceman. Later, when Steph arrives at Johnny’s ready for decorating Terry has followed her…

As they get to work painting Johnny’s flat he proves good at avoiding Steph’s questions about his past. Nita is at home when she finds the money stolen from the bookmakers un-derneath the sink – she is furious at Kieren, but he tells her it’s Dougie’s money. Nita’s had enough – either Kieren gets rid of Dougie and the money or she will. Pauline makes a deci-sion about how deal with the late payments but she’s upset about it. Finding a quiet mo-ment on their own in Spake’s van, Dawn has a lightbulb moment – she works out a way she can help.

Johnny walks Steph home where she is met by Joan, clearly annoyed at what she thinks she’s just seen. She tells Steph to stop this nonsense – marriage is about more than the odd indiscretion, after all, and Joan could have left Steph’s father on more than one occasion. Joan leaves, but her words have had an impact on Steph.

Steph is in her own world preparing for a party as Terry tentatively walks in, they reminisce about old times leading Terry to ask if there is someone else – he’s desperate to fix things, and is moving back to stay with Barry, to try to get a new job.

Episode 3 Video Preview

Kieren tells Dougie that Nita found the cash and thinks it’s his. Dawn finds out that Stanley is falling asleep in class and coming to school dirty and hungry; whilst over at Johnny’s, Steph nervously approaches the front door in the hopes of stopping their flirtation before it gets out of control.

Steph and Hellie are talking about Johnny; Hellie is visibly hurt and admits that we can’t choose who we love. Steph thinks of Dean – should her choices in life be about what she wants? Pauline is mortified when she comes into the house and sees Dawn has assembled the women to help cheer her up. Pauline breaks down as her secret emotions about her fi-nancial situation rush to the surface.

Pauline vents her frustration at Brian’s accident, sharing with the group the police belief that the hit and run was linked to the robbery at the bookies’. Nita, putting this information together, believes Dougie to be responsible for Brian’s misfortune.

Down at the pub Terry, after a few pints, stares at Johnny with contempt. He tells Barry about Johnny and Steph. He wants to confront Johnny but Barry talks him out of making a rash decision. Terry takes his advice but is nevertheless determined to win Steph back.

Nita tells Kieren that she will tell Pauline the identity of the man responsible for the hit and run. Before she can go back inside however, Kieren finally admits the truth to her that he is the one who committed the hit and run, Nita is devastated.

As a nervous Pauline prepares to host her own party she is suddenly interrupted by a dis-traught Dawn, she has to go and sort out an issue at her Dad’s. Pauline arrives at the ad-dress; is terrified but rallies when her demonstration wows the assembled ladies.

Steph makes a decision – her relationship with which man is best for her and Dean?

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