Early Baby

Friday, Sarah in the flower shop with Todd then a follow-up scene with Sarah, Todd, Tracy, David and Mary. Sarah might have an early baby, five weeks early.

Todd sees Sarah struggling to pick up dropped bags at the bus stop when she returns from a shopping trip to town. Seeing she looks exhausted, he takes her to the florist shop for a cup of tea. There he says that people seem to have forgotten that Bethany wasn’t the last child born in the Platt family. There was their Billy as well, the baby who died soon after birth. But he doesn’t forget, he tells Sarah. He’d be 11 now, nearly 12, Todd says.

Todd breaks off his speculation about what Billy would be doing, if he were alive, when he notices Sarah’s discomfort. No, it’s not what he’s saying, Sarah says, it’s the baby – he’s coming. Too early, like Billy.

Skip through a few scenes back to the florists. Tracy is there and is horrified that a moaning pregnant woman is in the middle of her retail space, putting customers off. In comes a customer, Mary, looking for a small conversation piece for an occasional table.

“How much are you thinking of spending – 20, 30? I could do something amazing for 40,” Tracy says over the wailing of Sarah.

I’m not a nurse, but I’ve seen a lot of telly

But Mary’s attention is on the medical emergency in front of her. She’s not a nurse but “I’ve seen a lot of telly,” she assures Sarah. She calls for towels and hot water and begins rolling up her sleeves. She wants to locate the baby’s head, she informs Sarah. The ambulance siren can be heard, just in the nick of time.

It’s nice for the characters and viewers to take a moment to remember baby Billy. Also nice is a very funny moment of an unsympathetic Tracy totally unflapped about Sarah possibly going into labour right then and there.

Tracy shifts to her best sycophantic ‘are you being served?’ routine. That her customer was Mary – what could be better? “You owe me 40 quid,” Tracy tells the moaning Sarah when she realizes she’s lost a sale. Of course she claims the top end of the amounts she suggested. Mary had totally forgot about her floral conversation piece and was much more concerned about the living, breathing one about to have a baby.

Daily Record has more on Sarah Platt as a mother, and from Tina O’Brien on her character.