The Smoking Room

- Season 2

(2005)

There's a bee in the smoking room and Janet's nephew is conducting a psychological study using Robin as a subject.

There's heavy snow outside and everyone is stuck at work.

The smokers find a box of old photographs, including staff portraits from 1987, and muse on ambitions and dreams unfulfilled. The older staff try to remember past colleagues from their photographs, while the younger staff fear they are being faced with a vision of their future.

Sharon is on the warpath when she finds someone has broken in and scrawled graffiti on the wall of the smoking room. Barry attempts to turn detective to figure out if any colleagues are behind the break-in. The police attend, but aren't as helpful as some staff members would like.

Head office has decided that April Fools Day should be official, it falls to Janet to organise pranks.

The smokers - including Sharon, much to her disgust - are required to attend a smoking cessation seminar, hosted by a man dressed as a giant cigarette. Few of the smokers are interested in quitting their habit, but Lilian is interested in getting to know seminar organiser Derek better.

Sally finds herself on the front page of the local newspaper after saving an elderly lady from a violent mugger, using techniques learned from her kickboxing classes. She receives admiration from fellow smokers, while Gordon urges her to ensure Sharon is aware of her achievements. However, when Gordon later suffers a heart attack and no-one can get a response from dialling 999, the smokers begin to question their earlier praise.

Annie is planning her dream wedding.