Hebburn

Jack Pearson is taking Sarah home to meet the family in Hebburn, but they think she is his new girlfriend, not his new wife that he just married in Vegas. Mum Pauline goes overboard to make Sarah welcome, while sister Vicky winds them up about the thin walls in the house. Dad Joe has an important family announcement: he is retiring, his mother, Granny Dot, is moving in and he needs Jack's help. The only way to cope is a visit to the local, Swayze's. Jack's old mates Ramsey and Gervaise are there. Jack's ex Denise also turns up to remind Sarah of the ghost of Geordie girlfriends past.

Jack is hoping mum Pauline will forgive him for the whole 'not telling her about the wedding thing'. They're back in Hebburn to help Dot move out of her retirement village and Jack's big news - a book deal and a big publishing advance - will help, surely?  He can leave his job as a local paper journalist behind and calm his mum down in one fell swoop, but Pauline's no pushover and Joe's getting in the neck for their son's recklessness too.  Jack's got a big gesture in mind that'll smooth it all over.  Meanwhile Ramsey tries to woo Denise's heart with the power of booze.

Hebburn lays out the red carpet for Sarah's parents, Ben and Susan from York, who are visiting the Pearson home for the first time. Ben and Susan are immersed in Geordie culture with Ramsey's help and Vicky and Denise's choice of outfits for the fancy dress competition at Swayze's.  The competition turns to violence when some outsiders turn up at the pub, but Ramsey is the unlikely hero of the hour.  Meanwhile, Susan and Pauline almost come to blows when Jack and Sarah announce that they're having a second wedding, but should it be in Hebburn or York?

The Geordie answer to Thelma and Louise are on the road as Dot buys Vicky a new car.  Sarah attempts to give Jack advice on his interview technique as he tries to find a new job. Jack's desperate for them to leave the family home, but won't compromise in the job market especially when he bumps into his old boss from the Hebburn Advertiser.  Joe and Pauline would like a little privacy, but at least Sarah's doing her bit round the house, too much for Vicky and Jack's liking, she's making them look bad.

It's Jack's first day back on the Hebburn Advertiser and he has plans to transform it into a paper that makes a difference.  Joe's doctor tells him he has to relax to help with his heart problems and Pauline makes it her mission to de-stress him. Luckily Sarah's hippy sister Marial is in town with essential oils, hands on healing and a penchant for big Geordie bears. Sadly for Joe it means he's banned from pork pies, cheese and forced to drink peppermint tea, even on Jack's stag night. Vicky and Denise have their own plans to celebrate Sarah's final night of freedom.

It's wedding day in Hebburn.  Jack and Sarah are technically already married and it's just a blessing, but Pauline and Dot are treating it like their special day. The bridesmaids are a vision in Dot's choice of buttercup yellow, but Sarah would like Denise to stop reminding her of when she and Jack were seeing each other.  Joe gives his son a pre-wedding pep talk and a gift that's been handed down the generations but the rush to get to the church on time leaves Pauline exasperated and Joe exhausted as Hebburn's wedding ends in heartbreak.