My Family

- Season 11

(2011)

Ben is overjoyed when Mark, Kenzo's wealthy, successful father reappears and encourages him to propose to Janey. Susan, on the other hand, believes that Craig's feelings for her daughter are sincere and gives him her blessing. Roger, due to a misunderstanding, also believes that he is in with a chance. Predictably the parents exploit their championing of the suitors to score points off each other but ultimately it is Janey who makes the clinching decision.

Susan gets an audition as a presenter of a pre-school TV show alongside a puppet monkey after a producer hears her reading to children in the library. There is however one other applicant - Janey - resulting in dirty tricks and neither getting the job though Janey gets the consolation prize. Ben forms a union to protest against time cards being introduced at work so his boss forestalls threatened strike action by giving him an executive post with Cavitex, pitting him against his colleagues. When he sees that he has been used, at least Ben does the right thing and ...

With Ben on a course Susan works late at the art gallery with handsome young Chris, whose advances she spurns. Next day he accuses her of sexual harassment and she has to attend a course. Janey advises her on how to call his bluff but salvation comes via a far more bizarre reason. Michael confronts his old art teacher and accuses him of giving Kenzo poor grades because he himself did badly at school - until he sees Kenzo's paintings.

Janey and Michael give their parents a Spanish holiday as an anniversary present but Michael has used Ben's credit card to finance it and needs to replace the money quickly so he contacts 'Cash In the Attic', finding that the only sale worth a four figure sum is Susan's beloved antique clock. Ben and Susan meanwhile find themselves in quarantine with a bore, a nervous wreck and a singing nun but show rare unity in seeing them all off. However, will they notice the clock's absence on their return?

Ben and Susan have yet another row after he refuses to attend her godparents' anniversary party so they decide on a trial separation, taking it in turns to live in the house alone. Ben moves in with Roger, ruining his love life whilst Susan overstays her welcome with Michael and his partner. Ultimately Janey and Michael get them back together by making them see that their sparring is what keeps the marriage afloat.

Susan drags a reluctant Ben along to a Keep Your Marriage Fresh weekend, where his anarchy and their mutual antipathy get them thrown out by the hippie in charge. Back at the house Michael gets dumped by boyfriend Matt, who is anxious to get to know Janey better but she displays family loyalty by showing him the door.

Whilst Ben is away on a course Susan is persuaded by Janey to go on the Facebook social network, which leads to her meeting up again with charming ex-boyfriend Paul Tremaine. He takes her for a drink and says romantic things to her. However he turns out to be a large scale drug dealer and Susan is forced to help the police trap him to avoid being charged herself.

At Susan's mother's funeral, Arthur, the father who abandoned the family thirty years earlier, turns up and takes such a dislike to Ben he offers his daughter a million pounds to divorce him. Ben and Susan agree on the understanding they will remarry but Arthur dies on them, which is as well since he is broke. However the Harpers have already started divorce proceedings and must pay for them to be halted. Michael, likewise, does himself no good by pretending to be dying in order to date a young undertaker.

Ben is approached by a man who remembers his father as a great darts player and asked to join the local pub team. However he is rubbish and gets replaced by a girl so when Roger asks him to join his team he is happy to sign up - and to use unorthodox means to secure victory. He also exposes Susan's young 'French' personal trainer as an impostor.

Susan gets depressed after a younger woman gets her job and she is asked to make a speech at a school reunion only because four other ex-pupils were unavailable. She decides she needs a more youthful image and opts for Botox. Ben is not convinced but fortunately the other attendees at the reunion have followed Susan's example.

Susan and Janey go out on a hen night only to find that the bride has been dumped, though when Susan persuades the groom to come and talk it over, it looks as if she may have had a lucky escape. Roger goes on a blind date though the woman in question turns out to be loud and vulgar so he asks the nice waitress out instead. Ben baby-sits with Kenzo, who locks him out of the house for refusing to let him watch his cartoon and will go to any lengths to stop him from getting back in again.