Clocking Off

Some men just disappear. They kiss their wives and children goodbye, saying theyll be home for tea and are never seen again. Stuart Leach is one such man. Thirteen months ago he set off from home to his job at Mackintosh Textiles and never returned. Until now... And now that hes back, he cannot remember where he has been. In fact, as far as Stuart is concerned it is as if the last year does not exist. He has lost his memory, or so he claims. His wife, Sue (Alison Swann), and brothers - Martin and Kev - want some answers. Although happy that he is alive, Martin is not exactly pleased to see his brother back. Perhaps time may have stood still for Stuart, but while he was away, Martin and Sue had to deal with his disappearance, became close started sleeping together. Suddenly all Martins hopes for a relationship with Sue are threatened. Martin is desperate to find out exactly what did happen to Stuart in the last year. How did he come by the knife wound on his back? Who was he trying t

KTs life is about to be turned upside-down. At the bottom of the factorys hierarchy, KT works the shopfloor and lives with his grandparents at home. The last thing he expects is to be seduced by Katherine, the glamorous wife of factory owner Mack. For KT, it is straightforward. He has fallen in love, pure and simple. Katherines motives, on the other hand, are rather more complicated... Young and attractive, Katherine appears to be the perfect partner for a successful, self-made businessman like Mack. Powerful, charismatic Mack is absolutely besotted with his wife. She is his most cherished possession; the only thing that matters more to him than his business. Katherine, however, does not feel the same way. On the outside, she has a fairytale life - a lady of leisure, with time on her hands to shop and lunch. In truth, she feels stifled and isolated as her inability to just walk out drives her further into this complicated entanglement. By sleeping with Macks youngest and most vulne

Trudy, Macks secretary, has spent her whole life looking after other people: her father, Mack, the employees at the factory. So busy has she been sorting out other peoples problems that her own life has been on hold. And then her father dies - and suddenly Trudy doesnt have a role to play. In the midst of her bereavement, she is suddenly facing the hardest question in the world - what I am going to do with the rest of my life? What do people tell you when youre bereaved - dont make any quick decisions that you might regret. But Trudy is not listening, she needs to make a change in her life. Actually, what she decides is to make two major changes. She takes three weeks off work and checks herself into a private clinic to have her breasts enlarged. Anyone would tell her that this is the worst time in the world to have cosmetic surgery. But Trudy has not told anyone. Not a soul. The trauma of surgery leads Trudy to face the pain of her bereavement and the senselessness of her life. D

Ever wondered what goes on behind the neighbours doors? Sometimes its best not to delve into other peoples lives, as Kev Leach finds out. Kev is pretty happy with his life - steady job, cute hairdresser girlfriend, Babs, own home and nights out with the boys. Then his work-mate, Brian Pringle, a machine engineer at Mackintosh, moves in across the road following his divorce. At first, things run smoothly - the pair share the petrol on the factory run and go for a quick pint after work. But then Kev gets nosy. Through his video camera, usually reserved for taping his more intimate moments with Babs, he takes a peek at Brian surfing the net. What Kev sees, or thinks he sees, is so unexpected, so awful that he can hardly process the information. Is he living across the road from a paedophile? Well, he might be, and then again he might not. The problem for Kev is that however much he thinks he sees, hes never quite sure if his suspicions are justified. As the weeks go by, Kev watches Bri

After sitting all week at a sewing machine at Mackintosh, Freda is ready for a girls night out. However, she has to tell her friends to go on without her. She has been babysitting her two small grandchildren and, not for the first time, her daughter Lindsey never arrives to collect them. Now Fredas life is about to change - either she looks after the kids or Social Services will. At first, its a nightmare. How can she cope with the kids and a full-time job with not enough money and not enough time? She tracks down their father, Tony (Jonathan Wrather), who is less interested in his children than in getting back to his game of pool. Freda doesnt know where to turn. Luckily, a chance meeting with Mack offers her an opportunity to explain the situation and he gives her the space to sort herself out. Gradually, Freda stops seeing the children as an imposition in her life. With extra income from a new venture in curtain-making, part-time hours at work and friend Julies open-hearted wil

For over 20 years, Mackintosh truck driver Ronnie Anderson has cared lovingly and devotedly for his wife Jess (Kate Fitzgerald), a wheelchair-bound victim of multiple sclerosis. What no one knows is that Ronnie now wants out, out of caring for Jess, out of his life. He feels he has given enough and it is time to start again. Ronnie is in love with Jess home-help Trish and she loves him back. Everything changes one day when Ronnies truck is hijacked. He is beaten, dumped in a car boot and the trucks contents are stolen. Rumours fly around the factory after Ronnie is questioned by the police, who believe that the hijack was an inside job. He proclaims his innocence but, like many things in his life, it is a lie. It was Ronnie who tipped off the robbers and the violence was just to make it look good. For the couple are hoping that the robbery will give them enough to provide for Jess and for them to be together. They get a scare when one of the hijackers is caught, but he keeps quiet,

Martin and Trudy are together and very happy. Martins relationship with Mack, however, is not so good. Mack is jealous that Trudy, who was always devoted to him, has settled for Martin and, as transport manager, Martin gets the blame when the insurance company refuse to renew the policy on the Mackintosh trucks. Trudy, however, suggests that she and Martin take over running the haulage as an independent company. Things go well, they get married, and Trudy cuts the final cord with Mack after he pushes her too far, leaving him with the realisation that he needs her a lot more than she needs him. Then Martins sister-in-law Sue (Alison Swann) turns up, eight months pregnant and with her husband, Martins wayward brother Stuart, in jail with no hope of release. Martin had a relationship with Sue before Trudy and its not long before Trudy realises that the baby is not Stuarts but Martins. Sue swears she will never tell Martin but Trudy knows this is a secret she cannot live with. She se

Tasha (Katie Blake) is a textile design student, doing work experience at Mackintosh. Shes a posh girl from a leafy suburb and she doesnt fit in. She desperately wants to but she comes from another world. Mack (Philip Glenister) is feeling his age. Living alone in his suburban family house, his dissatisfaction with life is growing. This is not what he wants, surrounded by housewives driving 4 by 4s, spending his weekends at elderly neighbours barbecues. Theres got to be something more. Tasha is thrilled when the girls invite her to the pub. Everyone is drinking up and having a good time, when she offers some coke around. Theyre not shocked, but it highlights the differences - they dont live the life where people can afford to snort coke. Just another thing that marks her out. Mack comes to the pub to get the keys to his filing cabinet but unusually he ends up staying. Normally, he avoids uncomfortable, social situations with his workers but he definitely has things in common with

Julie (Siobhan Finneran) is a Mackintosh old hand. Shes a strange girl really - mid thirties, lives at home with her parents, popular, kind and generous but not truly close to anyone. As for a love life: non-existent. She feels a vague emptiness inside, but nothing shes ever dealt with. Life just goes on, day by day, same old thing. Its not as if shes actually unhappy. Then her brother, Robert (Phil Cornwell), the big success of the family, comes over for a visit from his home in Hong Kong. Julie is over the moon because although hes a bit of a bolshie bloke, she adores him. Hes done well - successful job, happy marriage, two beautiful girls. And out of the blue, he offers Julie some of his good fortune: why doesnt she come out to Hong Kong too - theyd be together, shed see more of her nieces, earn loads of money, make a new start. Back in the bedroom shes had since she was a kid, Julie realises how small her world is. Hong Kong looks tempting - frightening but tempting. Could

Alan (Bob Pugh) is always the life and soul of the party. In his mid-forties, hes not quite one of the lads anymore but still sees life as a giggle. He has a wonderfully happy marriage to Sally (Lorriane Ashbourne), who although shes the much quieter, more sensible half of the partnership, watches all his shenanigans with fond amusement. They have two teenage sons, the oldest of whom Chris (Ciaran Griffiths) is about to go off to university, a cause of enormous pride for them both. For Sallys fortieth, Alan throws a big do, inviting all the lads from Mackintosh. Its a night to remember - everyone drinking, dancing, having a wail of a time. You can tell that Sally would rather have had a quiet evening with Alan, that the partys more for him than her, but she enjoys herself none the less. When the evenings in full swing, Alan makes a little speech and tells Sally about her present - in front of everyone, he announces hes going to have a vasectomy so she doesnt have to take the pi

Mack has never exactly been a bundle of laughs but over the last few months, his bitter disappointment with life has been increasing, day-by-day. Is the factory with its big pressures and small triumphs, all there is? As crisis point looms, Mack needs to carve himself a future that makes him happy. On the surface, things seem surprisingly good. Mackintosh is on the brink of the most lucrative deal ever and despite his disillusion, Mack is still a sucker for the pull of success, big money. Hes also got a nice looking woman on his arm, Miranda (Katie Carmichael). Shes a posh girl, bit of a b. but classy. Makes him feel good. Shes too quick to hear wedding bells, but that can always be dealt with later. Then Eddie (Craig Kelly) turns up, Macks good-for-not-very-much brother. Eddie was the one with the brains, the brilliant future, all of which he wasted. Hes become a drifter, full of vaguely formed plans, none of which come to fruition. Whilst Eddie has always envied the fact that

Pat is given a target of doubling the factorys production and is determined to get the staff on her side. However, success at work is marred by problems at home. She discovers her husband Roy, a compulsive gambler and alcoholic, has lost his job and has been stealing from their joint account. Then the bailiffs arrive.

Colin attacks the nurse who has been bullying his mentally ill brother Mark at the care home where he lives, but the police think Mark is to blame for leaving the man in a coma.

Freda has recently been promoted to supervisor and found love with builder Kenny, but when she feels slighted by Pat, she starts a malicious campaign against the factory manager that spirals out of control.