The A Word - Season 3

Joe struggles to cope with the changes resulting from his parents' divorce, as he spends his days shuttling back and forth between the old house in the Lakes and his mother's new home in Manchester. Since retiring, Maurice has become a volunteer firefighter, and is called in to a fire at Paul's house. When he decides to show Joe the damage, it only leaves the youngster feeling more adrift and drives him to reject his music.

Joe's teacher provides much-needed support as his anxieties over Rebecca's pregnancy grow - but this leads to him becoming fixated on her as his source of security instead of his constantly changing family. Paul is shocked when Mark announces he has applied to join the Army, but is not sure which is more worrying - the hurt he will suffer from being rejected or the danger he will face if accepted. Maurice receives an expensive gift from a member of his hiking group, and fears how Louise will react when she finds out.

Eddie surprises Maurice with some good news, revealing that Scott's Brewery is such a success that a company in London are interested in purchasing it for more than £1million. In Manchester, Ben asks Alison if she and Joe would like to go out for the day, and Joe later joins Paul for a camping trip in the Lakes, organised by Bill's mum Sarah. Paul invites Eddie along for one last hurrah, but tensions quickly flare when Eddie discovers that Maurice has been invited too. Father and son end up bickering around the campfire as the rain sets in.

Alison organises a sponsored walk to raise money for Joe's class. Volunteering brings the family back together, and also provides Alison with a chance to get to know Heather better. But on the day, Joe refuses to leave his room, the pressure of being the centre of attention proving too much for him. Rebecca comes to his aid and shows him that the walk is not a thing to be feared, and in turn gains the confidence to talk about her feelings concerning her pregnancy and the possibility that her child may also be autistic.

An unwelcome visitor arrives in the Lakes on the eve of Ralph and Katie's wedding in the shape of Ralph's father, whom he has not seen in more than 10 years. Louise is less than keen to have him around, as is Maurice - in part because Doug proves a far more likable person than he had imagined. Paul and Sarah's liberalism is put to the test when Mark and Joe want to strike out on their own. They decide to let the boys go for a day out on their own, but neither is able to resist checking up on them.

Rebecca pays a visit to Joe's school to teach the class about pregnancy, an experience which eases her worries about her own child's future. However, while driving back to the Lakes, she goes into labour, and faces the prospect of giving birth by the roadside with only Joe on hand to help her. Ben returns from work in Derby with bad news for Alison. Ralph moves into his new flat with Katie, and Louise finds the experience of her son leaving home hard to take - but Maurice proposes a drastic solution to her loneliness.