Season 9 Episode 1 Episode 357 Sky One Transmission Date: Sunday 16th October 2005 Directed By Emma Bodger

Lynda "There are no others" Lynda, Felix Ashleigh Sully Casper

GS: Angie Duxbury (Pippa Nixon) Marlon Baldon (David Gyasi) Annabelle Davies (Alexis Peterman) Paul Davies (David Michaels) D.I. Parker (Ken Bradshaw) Ian Holloway (as himself) Ryan tries desperately to reach the burning coach but is held back by the police. Lynda’s release is being finalised at the prison, where she sees the TV coverage of Harchester’s coach explosion. Soon Lynda is driving to Cardiff, and hears a body found has been identified as Karl Fletcher. Lynda is so upset she has to stop the car and take in the news. Casper Rose is on his way to a party at his lover Annabelle's home. Another woman catches his attention, and later distracted by the Cardiff news, Cass remembers Ashleigh and realises she has already left. Eugene Rose is helping his brother-in-law Marlon commit a burglary. The two split up as they are chased by the cops. Liam MacKay and his agent/fiancée Chloe Tyler are meeting QPR manager Ian Holloway who arrives and informs them of the "bomb" on the Harchester coach. Eugene, also a client of Chloe’s, then turns up. The death toll continues to rise, with Frank and Curtis identified. Lynda arrives at the hospital to be with Danny, Ryan and Tyson, where Lee has just died. When she asks where the others are Sully replies there are no others. Two months on from the explosion, Lynda returns to the Lair with a letter from new Dragon’s manager Felix Hahn, offering her the position of Chief Executive. She asks whether Felix knows who the new owners are, and he says they don't want to interfere and he has been given £80M to spend. Inside, Amy Kerrigan introduces herself to Lynda, saying she will be her executive assistant. Felix shows Lynda a video of Casper and Eugene, but as there is now a rift between the brothers says they must keep negotiations secret on each side. Lynda is still unsure about being a part of the club again, but Felix reminds her that the town needs hope, from Lynda Block. Chloe is shocked to find Eugene and his wife Scarlett are harbouring her brother Marlon. Casper arrives for his medical and is surprised to find Ashleigh working as fitness coach. She has no memory of meeting him however. Lynda opens a handwritten letter from Dragons Corp personally welcoming her back. Marlon tells Eugene he'll go away until this mess blows over, so Eugene won't miss out on the Harchester deal. Desperate for Cass to sign Lynda and Felix play right into his plan, and before long Ashleigh is on her way to Annabelle’s house with the contract. Eugene, Chloe and Scarlett are on their way to the club when they encounter D.I. Parker and told how Marlon was apprehended at the airport. Sully, Ryan and Tyson are with Lynda preparing for the memorial. Ryan is absorbed by the circle of photographs of his dead team mates. Chloe gives Eugene a false alibi for the night of the burglary. Annabelle panics that her husband has arrived home unexpectedly. Paul Davies walks in as Casper is throwing his clothes on. As Cass pretends he and Ashleigh are a couple, Ash plays along and announces they were interested in buying the house! Outside Cass tells Ashleigh he will sign the contract if he gets a kiss from her, and plants one on her lips. Lynda remarks on Chloe’s engagement ring, and Chloe realises she must warn Liam of the impending police visit. On the landing she overhears Casper and Ashleigh on how Cass is now a Harchester player. Realising what is going on, she tells Liam to get to Harchester before registration closes. Not knowing what Chloe has told the police, Liam says Eugene arrived at the restaurant much later than he and Chloe. Chloe demands Eugene not sign the contract, before informing Lynda she knows Casper is downstairs. To Lynda’s surprise Chloe is prepared to keep the secret, as long as she does something for her, phoning Crewe and saying Lynda wants to buy Liam! Outside in the stands, friends and family of the dead players wait for the memorial. Sully gets up to make his speech, and says what happened on the day of the Play-Off final will stay with all who is present for the rest of their lives. Chloe and Lynda are in a rush to get Liam’s contract faxed so the Eugene deal can take place, and pressurise him into signing. Chloe then rings through to Eugene and tells him to sign, to Felix's relief. Outside Ryan is making his speech, and breaks down for a moment as he recalls how scared he was of Viv, and how they couldn't identity his body. Entering at that moment, Chloe sees that Casper is sitting with the others and tries to stall Eugene seeing him, knowing it will all kick-off. Eugene wants to pay his respects to Curtis and brushes through, only to lock eyes with Casper! Eugene yells what is Cass doing here and moves to confront him as Scarlett yells for him not to. Notes: First appearances of Casper Rose (Robert Kazinsky), Eugene Rose (Junior Nunoo), Liam Mackay (Duncan Pow), Ashleigh King (Naomi Ryan), Chloe Tyler (Julie Healy), Felix Hahn (Joachim Raaf), Amy Kerrigan (Lucinda Kennard) and Scarlett Rose (Lauren Gold). Lynda Block (Alison King) returns after a two year absence, last seen in 7.2 (#294) Long Live The King. Best Known For: Following the regular role of Sean Slater in "EastEnders" from 2006-09, with guest returns between 2019-22, Rob Kazinsky starred in US TV series "Brothers & Sisters" (2011), "True Blood" (2013), "Second Chance" (2016) and "Fungeons & Flagons" (2018-19). His film credits include "Red Tails" (2012), "Warcraft" (2016) and "Captain Marvel" (2019) Junior Nunoo had roles on "Family Affairs" (2003), "Doctors" (2008) and his film credits include "The Knot" which he also produced (2012) and "All Things To All Men" (2013). His producing credits include "Sofia's Diary UK" (2009) and "Cordless Show" (2009-10) Duncan Pow went straight onto the regular role of Linden Cullen in "Holby City" (2008-10) followed by "24: Live Another Day" (2014), "Playground" (2017), "The Salisbury Poisionings" (2020) and "Andor" (2022). He also notably played Sergeant Melshi in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" (2016) Naomi Ryan appeared as regulars Bobbi Lewis in "Coronation Street" from 2000-02, followed by LeAnn Evans on “Mile High” for its 2003-05 duration. Other TV includes "Echo Beach" (2008), "The Bill" (2009), "Mr Selfridge" (2015) and "Guilt" (2016). Her film roles include Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy", real-life based "Honeytrap" (both 2014) and "Hard Time Bus" (2015) Like Julie Healy, Lauren Gold had a successful modeling career and made a memorable appearance in Robbie Williams “Rock DJ” music video in 2000. The Best: The blonde-wigged tipsy Ashleigh knocking she and Casper into Annabelle’s pool. The only swimming pool we ever see despite a feature shot on the new opening titles. Like the Season 7 premiere, introductions to the new characters are all shown as separate stories in a “24” style storytelling. Continuity: Gathered with Ryan and Tys at the hospital, Danny wonders where Viv is, telling Ryan he was just walking ahead of them when the explosion happened. Lynda refers Felix to how it was down to the club that she was in prison in the first place [4.26 #228]. Eugene tells of how Curtis took him under his wing back in the day. With this link, and Lynda being forced to call for Danny at the hospital (a character she tediously knew) Curtis feels really missed in this episode. Additional Info: Aired in a double 19:00-21:00 timeslot following “Stranger Than Fiction”, a documentary based on comparing the show’s “far-fetched” storylines with real-life similar events in the sporting world. Upon her release, Lynda says she has served two years, eleven months and twenty-one days. In order, the sixteen photographs at the memorial are Munoz, Colton, Caine, Stone, Caskey, Alexander, Hammond, Presley, Wright (who isn't dead - Barker should take his number), Fletcher (dead before the explosion), Taylor, Boyle, O'Brien, Lawler, Piper and De Mercado. <<SE08 EP32 |  Season 9 Main Page | SE09 EP02>>