Gavin's out of the picture and Lorraine is now at the helm. She announces Valco's new below economy No nonsense range which Julie is clearly not a fan of.
It's Gavin's first scheduled visit as area manager. Julie moans about the No Nonsense range and Lorraine gives her a chat about loyalty. Andy is annoyed when the meat counter is made to use a ticket machine.
There's a flu bug going around and Lorraine sets about spreading staff across the store. She puts Leighton on a till, and he sells alcohol to some underage kids.
When Leighton turns down the freezers, in a bid to reverse global warming, Lorraine makes Julie sack him. Leighton is heartbroken and Julie is left feeling guilty and alone.
Leighton is absolutely thrilled to be back at work, though Lorraine is less than happy about it and sets about making Julie's life unbearable. Julie finally cracks and has a little breakdown but Gavin swoops in and rescues her just in time.
It's fire drill day and with Julie still off, Gavin has to manage it. But when he learns they didn't get Margaret out in time, he realises they need to get Julie back.
Julie's back and Gavin's worried about leaving her on her own. At first it seems like she's not ready but with a bit of support from her manager, she manages to get back to her old self.
Gavin's dog Chester went under a bus, and Gavin starts to make mistakes. He accidentally makes Leighton pin a staff wage sheet up on the notice board. There's minor revolt, but Gavin realises he's not happy, and something has to change.
It's the one millionth customer promotion, and Julie and Gavin are closer than ever. She starts to think something might finally happen, but when he reveals he has a new girlfriend, Julie's devastated.
It's Christmas Eve and time for the annual contest with the Wigan branch to see who can return the highest sales figures. Unfortunately the shelves are empty because the delivery lorry hasn't turned up. Gavin then learns that the lorry went to Wigan by mistake and the manager there knows that he can ensure victory by hanging onto it. Gavin will need his best men to recover the lorry - unfortunately he will have to make do with Leighton and Colin.
