Heartstopper! We’re marrying at Christmas!
Rocky’s about to come clean when he keels over...
He may be related to Nick Cotton, but conning folk out of money comes about as naturally to Dotty’s Uncle Tom as eating quinoa does to Karen Taylor.
And when the pressure of his and his niece’s scam gets too much for him to bear, he decides to ’fess up... only to be stopped in his tracks by a shock collapse.
Tom, in case you need reminding, is posing as Sonia’s long-lost dad, Rocky, in a bid to sweet talk her into handing over Dotty’s inheritance from Dot. Dotty’s desperation for the cash has intensified now she’s reconnecting with mum Sandy – the woman is a drug addict and Dotty wants to pay for her to go into rehab.
‘Rocky’ already has enough on his plate with his court appearance for keying Ethan’s car when Dotty breaks the news that her mum has returned to the Square. Wanting money for Sandy’s rehab, like, now, she instructs her uncle to scam more wonga out of Peter Beale for his sham vegan-food company.
‘Dotty is obviously much younger, but she has a power over Tom, and he’s frustrated with her manipulating him,’ says Brian Conley, who plays the duplicitous ‘dad’.
‘He knows she can dish the dirt to everyone.’
It’s the final straw when Sandy appears. Being
‘faaarmily’, she has the potential to blow his cover at any second. So deciding enough’s enough, ‘Rocky’ tells Dotty he’s leaving Walford.
‘He’s been lying for so long, and he doesn’t know how to cope with it,’ adds Brian.
It’s all systems go the following day, but as ‘Rocky’ puts the finishing touches to his exit plan, he’s interrupted by Kathy, who asks him to give her a hand at Walford East.
The lovable scoundrel heads to the restaurant... only to find that she and Son have thrown a surprise party for his 60th. He feels terrible, and tells Dotty he’s going to come clean.
After the bash, he writes the pair goodbye notes, but as he’s about to do a flit, he’s struck down with what looks like a heart attack.
Dotty’s stunned when she later spots her relative being carted off in an ambulance.
Will ‘Rocky’ pull through? And what has become of his letters?
Denise isn’t happy to discover Chelsea is getting married to Gray on the same date she’s getting hitched to Jack – Christmas Day.
It’s not that she fears being upstaged by her daughter; rather that she’s worried Chelsea is rushing into things. Gray suggests they postpone, secretly worried about how he’s going to foot the bill, but Chels says no.
The pressure then mounts when Chelsea insists they buy a bigger car to suit a family of five, but he soon has an idea. What does he have in mind?