Cold caller
Ted gets a visit from daughter Judith
So, Joyce Murray has popped her clogs. She didn’t have much of an Albert Square adventure, did she? She was there for less than 12 months, and most of that time she was stressing about her noisy neighbours, worrying about guntoting hubby Ted, or waiting for son Alan to call from Australia – which he never did.
Ted’s devastated, but young Bernadette is a tower of support. She offers to help him start the funeral arrangements, and urges him to call his children when Ted admits he’s not yet told them the news. Ted does as she says, and his daughter Judith soon arrives on the scene – who, to be frank, sounds like a right cow.
She arrives without the grandchildren, much to Ted’s disappointment, and has about as much warmth as a fridge freezer. She’s upset to learn that her father kept Joyce’s death to himself for a few days, but refuses to let him comfort her, and accuses him of being a bad husband.
Things calm down enough for Ted to persuade Judith to go to the caff with him, but when Bernadette turns up, the proverbial hits the fan. She and Ted end up playing chess, and as Judith sees how fond Ted is of the teen, she snaps that he never bothered with his own kids, and accuses the pensioner of trying to ruin her wedding. Storming off, she then makes a phone call…
Judith makes no attempt to build bridges, and later goes against her dad’s wishes over a burial outfit. Bernie tries to appeal to her, but she’s having none of it. Can Ted stand up to his devious daughter?