Whilst shopping, Kaneez spots Nasreen shopping for wedding dresses with Iqbal. Nas has a vision of herself in the wedding dress and doesn't like what she sees.
The next morning, Emma arrives at Missy's house and she ignores the door. Kaneez says she hasn't seen her for a few days. Iqbal is caught looking for Nasreen's documents so that he can obtain her a passport for an arranged marriage. Kaneez escorts him out the house citing that she never has and never will need his support, throwing his suitcase out the window. Nasreen arrives home and confronts Kaneez about why she threw her dad out the house - admitting that she wanted the arranged marriage to go ahead.
At school, it's Chloe's birthday and she's devastated when her dad Nik cancels their plans. Chloe is less than impressed with Emma's presents, which she'd took inspiration from Missy for. Samir introduces his fianceé to Emma. Steve and Mandy row about their marriage and Sadiq's impact on it. Emma is still concerned for Missy's wellbeing. During the English lesson, Emma assigns Chloe the role of Juliet in Missy's abscense, and when she starts to read the play she mocks Hayley and Nana Booth. In the canteen, Kaneez admits that her one bit of freedom was when Nasreen was born. Meanwhile, Sadiq is unaware that Steve knows about his affair with Mandy, and Steve finds it hard to control his anger.
On the rugby pitch, Riz suspects he knows why tensions are running high between Steve and Sadiq. Mandy watches from afar as Riz tackles Sadiq to the ground. The boys plot to win the rugby match and the two cultures unite under the name of Ackley Bridge. Razia notes Nas looking distant and thinks it's because she's missing Missy and Hayley, when in fact she's daydreaming about Lila. Over at Missy's house, Kaneez helps Emma climb up a ladder and through the upstairs window. Missy is hostile when she finds her in the hallway, blaming her for splitting the family apart. The only way she can get Hayley back is if her mum stops taking drugs.
Next door, Nas hears her mum singing, and walks into the living room to see her laying out jewellery that she'd been saving for her wedding day. Looking in the mirror, she breaks down admitting that she can't get married - because she's a lesbian. Kaneez walks off as Nas begs for her forgiveness.
The next morning, Nasreen finds Kaneez locking herself away in the living room and runs next door to tell Missy. She encourages her to stop crying and go to school. At school, Emma makes peace with Chloe by saying that she can have a party. Missy skips school to make Kaneez breakfast, and to win her round into supporting Nas.
Steve tries to make peace with Mandy, and move forward from their marital troubles. The two hug eachother. Back at the Paracha house, Kaneez searches for 'Yorkshire Lesbians' online in order to try and understand what her daughter is going through - and ends up travelling to Hebden Bridge (named the place with the highest number of lesbians per head in the UK). Sitting in the park alone, a woman walks over to ask her if she's okay.
The rugby match gets underway and the Ackley Bridge boys start a Bollywood-esque dance in front of their rivals St. Mark's. Candice brings Jamie to the match to see Jordan. Steve admits to Sadiq that he knows about the affair. Back at Hebden Bridge, Kaneez meets Maryam, a pakistani woman who is also a lesbian, and tries to understand what Nasreen is going through. She's shocked to hear about the hostality towards lesbians in their community. The lady explains that she got married to a gay man and had a child so that her family wouldn't find out - yet she has a female partner that her family don't know about.
Steve returns the DNA results to Jordan - he isn't Jamie's father, but lies to Steve saying that he is. Mandy and Sadiq argue in her office and she admits that she's only ever loved Steve. Saleem, Razia and Nasreen arrive home and find Kaneez making food. She squeezes Nas's hand and smiles, admitting that she was wrong, and that she'll do anything for her. No matter what, she's her daughter.
Later in the evening, Kaneez turns her attentions to Missy who hasn't been looking after herself since her Nana died. As Missy tucks into the food she's made, Kaneez asks whether she's going to ask Simone for help with getting Hayley back. In the Nawaz household, Riz tells Alya about their dad's affair. Missy telephones Emma to ask for help with looking for her mum, and Chloe is annoyed when she runs off to help her. Missy runs after Simone down into a grotty subway tunnel and begs her for help with Hayley - but she's too drugged up to understand. Samir and Emma wonder whether Missy will be okay.
Meanwhile, Chloe hosts predrinks at her house as the fellow pupils dive into Emma's alcohol cupboard, before heading into town. Kaneez arranges to take Missy and Nasreen iceskating - where they meet Naveed, a boy she's spoken to online who is gay and wants an arranged relationship. Missy and Kaneez leave the two alone on the ice, and Nas considers the relationship with him.
Emma arrives at the nightclub to find Chloe passed out with Jordan. She admits to Samir that she thinks she's failing her. But she also wants answers about her relationship with Sami. Steve arrives home to Mandy but things just aren't the same between them so he walks out. Mandy breaks down.
Missy watches Kaneez and Nasreen wishing her relationship with her own mum was the same. As she arrives home, she finds Simone on the sofa and the two reunite. Kaneez watches Nasreen as she sleeps and puts the bracelets that she had prepared for her marriage onto her arm.
Regular cast
Sunetra Sarker as Kaneez Paracha
Amy-Leigh Hickman as Nasreen Paracha
Poppy Lee Friar as Missy Booth
Liz White as Emma Keane
Nazmeen Kauser as Razia Paracha
Esa Ashraf as Saleem Paracha
Fern Deacon as Chloe Voyle
Arsher Ali as Samir Qureshi
Jo Joyner as Mandy Carter
Paul Nicholls as Steve Bell
Samuel Bottomley as Jordan Wilson
Adil Ray as Sadiq Nawaz
Sam Retford as Cory Wilson
Nohail Mohanmed as Riz Nawaz
Tom Varey as Will Simpson
Anneika Rose as Lila Shariff
Maariah Hussain as Alya Nawaz
Lorraine Cheshire as Lorraine Bird
Samantha Power as Simone Booth
Recurring cast
Narinda Samra as Iqbal Paracha
Arbaz Rashid as Waqar Abdelrahman
Zain Khan as Zain Younis
Abdullah Shahid as Mo Ahktar
India Parsan as Tahira Abad
Harry Myers as Dan Fairfax
Hassan Mahmood as Amin Abad
Nathan Green as Neil Sykes
Surinder Kaur as Granny Paracha
Kainat Butt as Shireen Siddiqui
Emily Pyzer as Candice Murgatroyd
Chloe Lumb as Shannon Burns
Guest cast
Jag Sanghere as Karim
Kiran Landa as Maryam
Anastasia Ryan as Lady at Hebden Bridge
Julian Kay as Gary Williams
Alexandra D'Sa as Sita Kapoor
Gurjeet Singh as Naveed Haider
