New GP and anaesthetist Dr. Jeffrey Goodwin has a tough first day at work when he witnesses a car crash, gets attacked by one of the drivers involved and has his own vehicle and possessions stolen on his way to The Royal. After recovering from his injuries, Goodwin treats local landowner Lord Firminger who's collapsed on his estate, and gets off to a shaky start with Rose by asking him to perform emergency surgery on a cancer victim. Back at the hospital, Cheriton's mother Annette arrives to collect her dead son's things, surprising staff nurse Meryl Taylor by revealing a photo of a fiancee she never knew about.

Ormerod faces a difficult dilemma when Caroline's father Henry turns up suggesting they turn off her life-support machine, having done all they can, but the guilt-ridden doctor wonders whether he'd only be letting her die so he can be with Weatherill. Meanwhile, Goodwin puts his career on the line when he allows a member of the public to cure a back injury, student nurse Samantha Beaumont is less than impressed by a date with theatre technician Alun Morris and a patient's pet parrot causes chaos in the hospital.

Harper accidentally puts insect powder in his tea and Jeff wrongly orders the closure of a cafe after a jazz band is poisoned.

The staff are excited by the arrival of a TV film crew at the hospital, especially Mr Harper, who is desperate to be caught on camera - and it looks like his dreams of stardom may be about to come true when Mr Middleditch gives him an important job for the broadcast. Elsewhere, the atmosphere is much more tense, as Dr. Ormerod and nurse Meryl Taylor are called out to help a boy who has been trapped below the surface of an icy lake for 20 minutes - and to make matters worse, the ambulance carrying the unconscious lad back to hospital gets caught in a snowdrift. On a lighter note, Ray Piper is brought in with a huge bump on his head - and there's much hilarity when it turns out his wife has hit him with a frozen turkey. But before the day is out, he's not the only member of his family to be admitted.

Dr. Ormerod is furious to discover the police have launched an investigation into his wife's death, and reveals in a heated outburst that she was planning to leave him at the time of the accident. Bad news strikes a family when it emerges a couple's son has developed a hereditary heart disorder, a mother-to-be suffers kidney failure during childbirth and hospital porter Ken Hopkirk needs an operation after injuring himself while lifting a piano. Romance blossoms for Dr. Goodwin and student nurse Samantha Beaumont, and Lizzie Kennoway's driving lesson ends in disaster when she slams into the back of Mr. Harper's parked car.

New recruit Thelma Parker catches the eye of Harper, but proves to be less popular with the rest of the team, and an injured boxer causes concern for the staff at the hospital. Dr. Weatherill finds herself caught in an ethical battle when the parents of a dangerously ill baby refuse treatment, while Samantha receives unwanted news.

Samantha struggles to cope with the reality of her recent discovery and takes desperate action which leaves her life hanging in the balance. Frankie and Gordon attempt a daring rescue to help a teenager in danger on the weir, while Ken has something to hide from Harper. Jeff's casual encounter with a friend of Lizzie's suddenly turns serious when he realises his career could be at risk.