Doctors, series 7 episode 134, 'The Two of Us' (2006)
Joplin's second run at neverending BBC daytime soap, Doctors. It was on youtube the whole time! So maybe if I try hard enough I can find his episode in season 4 too, wish me luck...
Gary! I didn't try hard enough to find you before evidently.
Ru ro, hiding wedding ring? Or just finally getting rid of it after splitting from the woman we see next talking about how excited she is to have the baby of the guy she just broke up with...?
Guys this episode is 1. v soapy and 2. v Joplin heavy! Enjoy!
Some flowers arrive for him, aww!
Double aww he's man enough to admit he was nervous about meeting up with his ex, and he's been ticking off the weeks since they split up :')
"So what are we here to discuss...on our wedding anniversary?"
"I'm sorry, it was just a coincidence."
Holy shit lady
"Look Gary, it's just another day!"
"It's gonna take me a while to see it like that."
But he's been seeing 'Pippa' for a month or so, which really flummoxes unnamed pregnant lady,* who spills sparkling water everywhere.
*Claire
Oh my god, the supporting ladies are all dressed as pirates during their downtime. This IS 2006!!
oh dang one of them is Pippa...
lololol "That's what we came here to discuss isn't it? A permanent separation?"
Gary, tormented by ~~memories~~ wishes to sell the old flast and get a divorce. Claire still hasn't broken the baby news to him.
"I've still got some of your CDs back at the flat."
"I'm not missing any."
"Not even your Spice Girls album?"
"I never owned a Spice Girls album."
"You don't remember dancing round the kitchen to Wannabe?"
Babe, are you sure it wasn't your Spice Girls album?
He DID buy it!
Oh no, Pippa found a note on the flowers he accepted delivery for earlier: 'Dear Claire, happy anniversary, love from Gary xx'
And now Gary and Claire turn up joking about CDs!
Claire has to take a work call and Pippa wants to know...
"Has she come for her flowers?"
"Oh."
Babe.
He is a useless wet rag of a man who had a standing order with the florist and forgot to cancel it. And forgot to tell Pippa he was having lunch with his ex. Oopsie oopsie.
Meanwhile, that stress might be getting to pregnant Claire....
Man Pippa is insecure about Gary having lunch with his ex.
But y'know. He's pathetic and gorgeous so she forgives him.
Off she goes, but Claire's called a nurse to their address and Gary notices something's not right.
"Pregnant? How?"
now, sweetheart, has no one explained...?
"No one said it was impossible Gary, just highly unlikely..." (Claire has fibroids)
Ohhhhhhhh she lied and said 12 weeks and not 20!! The look of relief on his face oh no lady this is gonna bite you in the ass we're only 13.55 minutes into a 28 minute episode!
"Talk about me rushing into things... whose is it then?"
Ajsjdjjdjfff watching Claire dig this hole in real time as Gary reminds her that for years she was the one who said she didn't want kids because of her business (standard career woman vs mum conflict 🙄)
But to be fair she's also like 'what was I meant to say to every nosey fucker who asked when we were starting a family?'
Whatever Pippa's work is it seems to involve bitching about Claire with her colleague non-stop. Meanwhile Claire is telling the nurse how Gary *clearly* doesn't want kids. While Gary's making actual heart eyes down the phone to Pippa. And...not helping matters by lying to Pippa about Claire having left 'soon after you'. Are all soap characters compulsive liars??
Naturally Pippa hears voices, he says something unconvincing about the TV and her friend is listening and is gonna feed that suspicion...not least as Claire left him not vice versa.
I feel like Claire is being a real nob about Gary, assuming things about him when she never tried to speak to him about them...
He keeps putting on funny voices though, which is adorable. "She was always career-minded. ~~not the '''m0thERing kINd'''~~" ok babe way to not actually disguise your true feelings. He does admit that they were shit at listening and talking to each other so. Idk. Growth through distance?
Oooh Claire's bleeding and Pippa's at the door coz she left her keys!
Pippa is straight up batshit. Confronts Gary about Claire still being there and when he says she's pregnant and ill Pippa doesn't seem to get why he can't just...throw her out on the streets.
When he goes back up, the nurse leaves them alone and Claire, who's already been opening up about her vulnerabilities, admits to Gary it's his.
Obviously it turns out they both wanted kids hurp durp
And natch Gary *doesn't* want a divorce
And of course Claire is freaked out at the idea of staying together just for the kid because that's what made her parents miserable
But look at the puppy dog eyes
He knows the problem was they stopped talking
Meanwhile Pippa just....hands the keys back and goes
Claire! How can you say no to a man with that many shirt buttons undone?? Professing his love for you??
And now he knows Pippa's left him so he's free to badger Claire into being allowed to come to the hospital.
"I'm coming as a friend."
...as the actress said to the bishop 😏
Omg the original airing was followed later that day by Julian Clary's Who Do You Think You Are? which I must have watched...
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Rating
Dead? Nope!
Evil? No, not even a bad boyfriend!
Affects the plot? Now, I don't think Doctors operates on the basis of 'plot' so much as...placing one-off characters in situations. He's not the one with most control over the situation, but he does his best to assert himself bless.
Now, if you're into that kind of thing, I imagine he's very gorgeous. I am into the look, but the frank discussions of actually wanting a baby...not so much. Those undone buttons though! The side-lighting on his eyes! 3/5, it's good to be back in the game, Joplin fans <3