Twist. Pop. Glug, glug, glug. That's the usual noise emanating from Chez Mand at breakfast, lunch and dinnertimes. But when Belle spots her thirsty ma reaching for the bottle, she manages to persuade her to keep the cork in it. The next day, though, it's a different matter. After Kelli secretly pops the bottle into their picnic hamper, Mandy is left with no choice but to crack it open - especially after she spots Peter cavorting in the distance with Constable "Fitzy" Fitzgerald. Ryan heads off to have a swim in the ocean as Amanda starts knocking it back like a Blackpool hen night. Of course, two slugs of grown-up fruit juice later and Ryan is nowhere to be seen. Hic! Has she inadvertently drowned more than just her sorrows?Cops and dobbersSally comes downstairs and is shocked to find Cassie and Lily being cornered in the kitchen by Coil. He demands Sally's car keys, but Sal decides to make him work for them. She chucks them on the floor just as Ric and Brad appear grab hold of him while they wait for the police to arrive. (This is becoming an embarrassingly frequent occurrence for all parties.) Coil pleads to Lily as the police drag him away, but she insists she doesn't deserve the abuse before turning her back on him and walks away. Quite remarkable, really, when just a few episodes ago Lils was so meek that she made Tasha look like Anne Widdecombe. Anyway, all's well that ends well. Or is it? Of course not. Dan soon arrives to put the kibosh on Cassie's triumphant mood by telling her that she's no longer allowed to be involved in the helpline. By getting too involved with Lily, she breached the rules. We guess she'll just have to spend more time on the sun bed instead.
More grief for the Mand
After some frantic searching, Belle appears with a soggy Ryan by her side. The poor lamb is shaken after being rescued by one of the lifeguards up the other end of the beach. Belle, meanwhile, is unimpressed when she discovers that her ma was hitting the bottle instead of paying attention to what her sprog was up to.
Later that day, Amanda remembers she has to go to her drink driving course and, once again, lets Ryan down. Once his mother is out of sight, Ryan begs Belle to take him to Dan's place - and she reluctantly agrees.
Of course, when she returns, Amanda starts accusing Belle of being a traitor, but Belle bites back insisting she should start being a better mum.
She then goes on to say that she's moving out and, in the heat of the moment, Amanda says that's just fine. Slowly but surely, Amanda's world is falling down around her. And it's all her little sister's fault.