S30·E223 Episode 3045 (Mon 12th Nov 2001)

After all of Ashley's recent problems, the village decides to try and cheer him up by holding a surprise 40th birthday party for him. But will he appreciate all the hard work they have gone to? Ashley is shocked when he walks in to the vicarage to find the place filled with his friends. But while everyone else is in a party mood, Ashley is seemingly in no mood to celebrate. On hearing that Bernice is working, he slips out of the party to see her. But he is heartbroken by what he discovers. Carlos, meanwhile, is desperate to persuade Bernice to make a new start with him away from the village. Chris is convinced that Zoe is going to ask him to move out of Home Farm. But he is surprised when she informs him that she is going to move out herself. Jess and Maggie's relationship reaches an all-time low, when an argument breaks out after Jess misses a family dinner.