Thu, Sep 22, 1983
Five years earlier, high-flying secretary Penny Warrender was due to marry bookie Vince Pinner, but he jilted her at the altar. Penny has since had a disastrous marriage to Graham and is separated whilst Vince is still single. By chance both are in the same pub with their new dates, neither of which are suitable, and Penny and Vince meet up by the cigarette machine. She is still angry, he attempts to calm her down. They realize that they could get back together, though maybe as Just Good Friends.
Tue, Dec 25, 1984
In a feature length episode Penny recalls how she first met Vince when he was selling ice creams from a van, their subsequent courtship and the events that led up to his jilting her on her wedding day and her decision to marry respectable but controlling Graham. Consequently she comes down on the side of believing that she and Vince have no future together.
Thu, Dec 25, 1986
Penny and Vince are planning to get married again but are being held to ransom by Gina. Not only has she 'arranged' for Penny to go back to work in Paris but is refusing to employ Norman or import Les's wines unless they call off the wedding. So the couple are forced to announce the postponement of the ceremony. However they are not around to attend the party to celebrate Gina's change of heart and ensuing security for their parents - chiefly because they are both in Paris, tying the knot in secret.
Thu, Oct 20, 1983
Penny hopes Vince will ring her so that she can tell him she never wants to see him again but when he fails to call she goes to his betting shop on the pretext of nervously placing a bet. Vince suggests a night out and collects her in his car where, encouraged by her friend Elaine on how to take revenge on a cheating lover she destroys his credit cards - unaware that his friends are in the back seat watching. At least her bet turns out to be a winner and Vince flatters her by remembering their first date.
Thu, Sep 29, 1983
Vince realizes how much he wants to get back with Penny and decides to brave a visit to her house to supposedly return her handkerchief, knowing that he will not exactly be welcome with her parents. This is an understatement as he has to run the gauntlet with Penny's imperious mother Daphne, who lets him know how she has always felt about him and how she has always believed that Penny was too good for him.
Wed, Nov 9, 1983
To her mother's annoyance Penny moves into the newly decorated flat with Vince but disaster soon strikes as, due to Penny not locking the door, the flat is burgled and vandalized. A horrified Penny tells Vince she has finished with him and moves back with her parents but when they are away for the weekend Vince turns up with good news and she has him back as they spend the night together.
Thu, Oct 6, 1983
Penny and Vince meet in the park and he invites her to dinner at his flat - purely as a friend. The food is awful but the pair get on, Penny describing how her marriage broke down, but she resists Vince's attempts to get her to stay the night. She does start to soften when he whispers sweet nothings but leaves when she realizes he has stolen them from song lyrics - though she does give him her work number.
Thu, Dec 11, 1986
Some months have elapsed and Gina is attempting to obtain details of Vince's new wine importing business, run in conjunction with Les's Portuguese vineyard, as part of her divorce settlement. Back in London Penny meets up with Vince, who employs Norman as his head of sales though Daphne does not share her husband's delight since Vince caused her to faint in the street. Penny is also unhappy when Vince crashes his car into hers but then he does make up for it by proposing.
Thu, Nov 13, 1986
Two years have passed. Penny, now in a good job in Paris, meets Vince, who has taken over his father's scrap business, at the top of the Eiffel tower as agreed on their last meeting. They return to her flat where inevitably one thing leads to another. Back in England Norman has been made redundant and Daphne is doing her best to keep the news from Vince's mother Rita.
Thu, Oct 27, 1983
Penny's mother Daphne is not pleased when Vince arrives at the birthday tea she and husband Norman have organized for Penny - and even more annoyed when Penny tells her that she and Vince are moving into a flat together. But it is Penny's turn to be angry when the flat in question is in a terrible state and Vince suggests she sells her car to pay for its renovation.