aaaaaaaargh i missed the last episode!!!

'fraid so...and the last episode was great too. I'm very disappointed that this is over, and no sign of the BBC confirming a second series. There are serious loose ends too, particularly between Ashika and Scott.

(Spoilers...for those who missed the last episode) In the final episode, Ashika comes back from London (where she turned down James's marriage proposal)straight to Scott's hotel room, where they indulge in a spot of tonsil hockey, followed by love-making, followed by conversation, about having a "proper" relationship, dating, hanging out together and so on. Ashika is concerned that Scott would be embarassed to be seen with a Tory MP. He says, he would, but its not going to happen. However, Ashika is leading in the polls, and the BNP are making inroads into the labour vote over the planning permission for the mosque. Gloria warns Ashika that she's afraid that the Labour party will resort to dirty tricks in this last week of the campaign, and perhaps even try the race card. Back in London, Danny meets the other Labour MP caught up in the Jo Porter "scandal" and he tries to persuade Danny to convince her to resign. Danny is non-committal, but meets Jo later, and is slightly ambiguous - may be hinting that resignation is the way to go, but not entirely clear, though Jo thinks that is what he's saying. Kirtsy is flirty with Adrian (the guy who has power to give her a job). Atmosphere between Danny and Kirsty is very tense. She accuses him of sulking. He denies it, and he brings up the whole sleeping with Scott business. She says she's sorry, but also says she's meeting Adrian that night, much to Danny's disgust. Scott and Ashika meet again in secret - this time a park bench at night. Ashika tells Scott that Gloria is suspicious of their relationship, and that they need to be careful. She also expresses Gloria's concerns about what the Labour Camp might do in the last days. Scott says they wouldn't, but then slightly joking says he'd warn her first, before repeating again that they wouldn't - wouldn't have to. They hug, and everything seems great. Meanwhile, George is reviewing the pictures of James and Ashika (which seemed fairly harmless to me). George's instinct is to release the pictures to the press after the bye-election, but Richard (George's staff guy, who threatened Ashika earlier after George gave him a dressing down for racist remarks, persuades him to release them before the election, as an Ashika victory is not particularly welcome to the traditionalist tory wing of the party. George gets the CD containing the pictures anonymously delivered to Scott...Scott seems a bit confused about the pictures - perhaps considers them inconclusive. He has worked out that the photos were taken on the day she told him that she was going to meet the party hierarchy in London, and arrived at his room the next morning.

Scott almost immediately goes around to the Tory HQ, and asks for Ashika, but Gloria tells him quite rudely that she's not there. He seems to change his mind about telling Ashika about the pictures, and when Gloria asks if she'll have ashika call him, he says no.

Back in London, Kirtsy, post her date with Adrian, is cheerful untill she receives an email from Adrian titled "Thanks for last night" Kirsty opens the mail, and is disappointed that Adrian is telling her "thanks, but I've given the jog to someone else...she finds him in the corridor, and tells him what she thinks of him. He seems very unconcerned!

Danny reads one of the tabloids, and discovers that Jo's husband has sold his story to the paper...basically what a bad wife and mother Jo's been...blah blah. Danny calls Kirsty, who comes round to Danny's house, and they have a chat...Kirsty tells Danny that Adrian gave the job to someone else. He tells her that she can be a bit stupid at times. She apologises again for the Scott business, and he says that Scott needs to apologise more than her. She says "Don't be too hard on him." Danny tracks jo down (in the pub) and brings her home, and cooks for her and Kirsty. Leaves Kirsty to mind Jo for the next few days, while he goes oop nawth to Sedley. Jo has to prepare for a critical debate against James Northcote, and Northcote is everywhere in the media saying her personal life is interfering with her ability to do her job, and she should resign. Danny arrives at Scott's hotel room in Sedley. Scott is preoccupied, but notices that something isn't quite right between them, though doesn't know what. Danny says everything is ok. Scott shows the pictures to danny, and asks what he should do with them. Danny is very clear...Scott must give them to the press...Scott says he can't, because he promised... Danny now realises that Scott is having an affair with "the tory candidate" accuses him of conflict of interest, and asks where his loyalty is...Scott says he is being loyal...(to Ashika obviously). Danny says "it'll be some other bird tomorrow!" Scott says "It won't!"...Scott makes Danny promise he won't tell anyone about the pictures, and danny agrees.

Meanwhile, Ashika has been trying to call scott, but he isn't answering her calls, as he seems to be trying to get his head together. In desperation Ashika turns up at Labour HQ, where she's surprised to see Sophie Montgomery hanging out with Scott...she asks to see him privately. They go outside, and talk, but Scott is distant. He doesn't tell her about the disc. Later that night with two days to go to the election, he's at Labour's HQ with Danny, both quietly working, though Scott has the disc in his hand again, and seems to be thinking what he should do with it. He opens the CD case, and looks at it for a moment before he throws it in the bin. A moment later, he takes it out of the bin again, opens the cd case, lifts out the disc, and sees that it is a fawlty towers DVD...He asks Danny to step outside quietly. Outside, he challenges Danny "Tell me you haven't!" Danny says, "I have." Scott asks where, and he said to the Gazette. Scott has Danny pressed up against a wall, and looks like he might strangle him. He asks Danny "Why" and Danny says its because he didn't want a Tory in his dad's seat, and because it was James Northcote. Scott reminds him that he promised. Danny says Scott made it easy for him to break that promise. Scott doesn't know what Danny is on about. Danny reminds him of what he lied about recently "what happened that you promised hadn't happened." Scott realises Danny knows about Kirsty. He says "It was nothing" This makes Danny even angrier...Scott tells him that Kirtsy is a grown woman capable of making her own mind up, but says he has regretted it from the start. "I'm sorry that I hurt you," he said. Danny replies, "Yeah, well now I've hurt you!"

Next day the paper publish the story about Ashika and James, and promise the pictures the following day - polling day. Ashika denies that there "is an affair" and refuses to answer when asked if there "was an affair". Matt has arrived from London, and he tells her that the pictures were given to the press by local labour party. She's in disbelief, and says to Matt "but he promised." Matt doesn't know what she's talking about, but later its clear she tells him everything (off camera) Back at labour HQ, Danny calls in to tell Scott he's going back to London. Scott agrees that this is for the best. Danny claims that he did the right thing...Scott doesn't agree, and says quietly, he wanted to talk to her first...Danny says "she's a tory." and that they are diseased scum. Scott says Ashika was nice, and Danny says she might be, but he didn't want her voting for health cuts. "So that's our job now," Scott says, and Danny leaves. Back in London, Jo performs fantastically well in the debate with James, by turning his "personal problems" on him...basically wipes the floor with him.

In sedley, the polls have closed, and Scott and Ashika meet at the count centre for the first time since the pictures are published. Sophie Montgomery looks on.
Ashika: *beep* a tory this week, Scott?
Scott: Did you?
Ashika: So that's what this was about... revenge? I should have known how tawdry your values really were!
Scott: If you knew anything about my values, you'd know I didn't leak those photos.
They argue, awkwardly in a room ful of people, trying not to be heard. She accuses him again. he denies it.
She says, "that's why you became so distant, and took up again with your blonde slag *beep* buddy again."

He turns the argument back on her and asks if the meeting with the party hierarchy had gone on til after midnight at a private flat,
She says..."I had to say that."
"Why?"
"Because it was complicated...and it was nothing to do with you."
"Nothing to do with me? Scott says looking very hurt...you leave him, and hop into bed with me! Is that what you call doing things properly?"

She says, "If you believe that, we're done here."
He says "Like you believe me, you mean?" She repeats the accusation
"You leaked the pictures, and you didn't warn me like you promised." Scott doesn't argue anymore...just looks at her looking desperately sad for a moment, and she walks off. [Note: I think maybe it is the fact that he promised to warn her, but didn't, that makes him stop denying his role in the whole thing...he can't quite say that he didn't have anything to do with the pictures being leaked, and he could have warned her, even if it was last minute, after he found out what Danny had done...perhaps he hoped she wouldn't connect the leak of the pictures to him, and thought it better to say nothing. Or perhaps Scott was so guilty about what had happened with Kirsty - Scott and Danny have been so close through the series- that maybe he felt Danny was entitled to his revenge, and that he needed to sacrifice the relationship with Ashika to redeem himself in his brother's eyes]


Sorry about this, though there's not that much more, I'll have to continue this another time...