The Royal Season Six Episode Two

UK | ITV1 Network | Sunday 1 April 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM

An exhausted Dr Goodwin (Paul Fox) returns from Africa, with the Biafran orphan, Nkeshi (Reni Oluwadare), in tow. His colleagues at The Royal are relieved to see him back safe but are shocked when they discover that he has smuggled Nkeshi back illegally.

Raising the hospital’s profile, Carnegie (Robert Cavanah) is showing off the new private wing of the hospital and everyone is impressed except Ormerod and Matron (Wendy Craig) who disagree with the privileged getting priority treatment. Carnegie has arranged an opening ceremony for the new wing the following day with the Mayor of Elsinby. Will the ceremony go as planned?

Meanwhile, it’s Dr Weatherills (Amy Robbins) first day back at work and her first patient is alcoholic Jimmy Beattie (Tony Maudsley). Despite her best efforts to try and detoxify him, it proves an impossible task. When she later finds Jimmy inebriated at the bar, Weatherill is at a loss about how she can help him when he’s not willing to look after himself for the sake of his family.

Gorgeous popstar, Dorcas (Sarah Barrand), is in town with her Dreamboats for a sell-out concert. However, life is not all that glamorous for Dorcas, who purposely throws herself off the stage in a bid to get her tour cancelled and escape her bullying manager, Rick (Samuel Kane), who also happens to be her fiancé.

The next day, Dorcas presence at the hospital causes a paparazzi furore. Journalist Brownlee (Matthew Lewney) tells Ken (Michael Starke) that he’ll pay a substantial amount of money for a picture of the star in her bed. As the staff at The Royal tend to Dorcas’ injury, it becomes clear that she’s deeply unhappy with Rick. Dorcas confides in Stella (Natalie Anderson) about her misery and together they create a plan to get Rick out of her life. They use the unsuspecting but obliging Frankie (Scott Taylor) to create a scandalous scene for the paparazzi journalist Brownlee. Can Stella and Frankie help Dorcas end her relationship with Rick or will their plan ruin the hospital’s reputation?

That evening, Matron discusses adoption and children’s homes with Jeff. He’s not keen, but eventually he takes Nkeshi to the orphanage and is in turmoil about leaving her. As he drives away and sees a heartbroken Nkeshi waving in the window, he realises that he can’t abandon her in a foreign country and leave her to face life in an institution. It’s an emotional moment as he runs back inside and tells a delighted Nkeshi that he’s taking her home with him. How will Goodwin cope with caring for a child fulltime?