Intrigue

Mr. Brisley admits to being gay but gets support in an unexpected way, Mr Parrott gets taken down a peg or two, and Jacko tells his friends that his mother is in a mental institution.

Justine tells Maria about suspecting Mr. Brisley to be gay, she half expected it though from speaking to his partner on the phone. Ruth is annoyed to find that most of her side of the family can't come to the wedding, because the would-be bridesmaids and page boys have come down with the mumps. Ray promises to help... Lauren's parents are on the warpath, and come into school with their daughter after Mr. Parrott twice blamed her for Dudley's antics. Bevis asks his aunt, Mrs. Mason, the school secretary, if the stolen video equipment has been replaced. Ray invites his sixth form friends to the wedding, and there slowly builds some enthusiasm, even Natalie and Natasha putting aside their differences to combine vocal forces. Fran and Maria too, end their feud to become ushers. Mr. Brisley "comes out" in the staffroom, announcing that his partner's name is Don, when Mr. Parrott's flaunting of his fiancé becomes too much, and Mr. Hankin is organizing a staff trip. Shocked silence follows his announcement. Jacko has been behaving strangely, and an off-the-cuff remark about loony bins by Brian causes him to punch his former friend. Mr. Parrott wastes no time spreading the juicy gossip about Mr. Brisley to Mrs. Mason - and Barry Timpson is standing in the doorway as it happens. He wastes no time in spreading the happy news to Mick. Meanwhile, Mr. Parrott is getting the usual treatment - the class repeating his utterances parrot-fashion. Mrs. Keele sees Lauren and her parents, but the conversation takes a strange turn when they mention Mr. Brisley - they also overheard Mr. Parrott's idle gossip. Seeing Mick playing cards for money with Dave, who calls him a black slob, Mr. Brisley puts Mick in detention, and then tells Dave he will be excluded if he uses racist language again. Mick looks at Mr. Brisley thoughtfully. Jacko makes an apology to Brian in Science, and explains his mother is in hospital. Ray gets Lucy and Lauren to be bridesmaids - but who can he persuade to be a page boy!? Wanting to be near to Lucy, Dennis readily agrees, and wanting to protect Dennis from Lucy, Andy agrees too. In break, Jacko further explains about his mother - she has had a nervous breakdown and is in a mental institution. Mrs Keele is not pleased to see the staff drinking wine, and coldly asks Mr. Parrott to see her in her office. She berates him for the incident with Lauren, and spreading gossip about Mr. Brisley, and she is horrified by his homophobic attitude when he defends himself. Mrs. Keele gives some reassurance to Mr. Brisley, but his troubles aren't over, as Barry has been spreading the word to the others due to play in the cricket match, for which the teacher is umpiring. When he steps out onto the green, he is greeted with chants of "poof", "poof", "poof". Then, remembering the teacher's anti-racist attitude earlier, Mick takes one of the chanting St. Joe's by the scruff of the neck: "He may be a poof, but he's OUR poof, so you're going to leave him alone, understand?" he says....—Geffers