When Emily is late home from a shopping trip with Paul, Paddy heads over to the shop and is unable to resist when Viv invites him upstairs for a bite to eat. The tension mounts between the lonely individuals and before long they are wrapped around one another, forgetting all about the chicken sizzling under the grill.
Otherwise engaged, Paddy and Viv fail to notice the grill pan has caught fire, but as the smoke alarm goes crazy and Donna flies in, they are forced to lie that Paddy heard the noise and came to save the day. As Donna brands the vet a hero, he and a Viv are clearly embarrassed by their behaviour.
Elsewhere, Nicola and Simon grow closer as they plan their future together. However, Rodney is mortified when he is left with Lesley for company!