Where the Heart Is

Relative Strangers (6x2)

: 28, 2002

At the health centre Karen and Beth are concerned about one of their elderly patients, Wally Vernon. After he's missed three appointments, they decide to visit him at his ramshackle home on the edge of town. Wally is a muddled old man, in poor health, who can barely look after himself. But he's struggling to look after his great grand-daughter, after her teenage mum left her in his care. He hides the baby from the nurses. Puzzled by noises they'd heard in Wally's house, Beth and Karen return and discover baby Tina. Wally explains that Tina's mum Katie is a wild child, and he has no idea where she is. He also tells of how he is estranged from his daughter Sarah, who kicked out Katie, when she got pregnant at 15. Beth and Karen appeal to Sarah to help with baby Tina. Wally just can't cope, and Tina could be taken into care. But Sarah has washed her hands of her daughter, and doesn't want to know about her father. Social workers pay a visit to Wally after being informed that he is struggl