Secrets and Words

Tony Maudsley plays painter and decorator JJ who finds love letters in his wife's (Susan Cookson) wardrobe. Unable to read the letters for himself, he turns to his daughter's teacher (Julie Graham) to help him learn to read. As secrets and lies start to tumble out, JJ is forced to tell the truth in order to save his marriage.

Valerie (Christine Bottomley) has never had much confidence in her abilities, always finding reading and writing difficult. So when she's accepted for an interview at a pharmacy she can't believe her luck. Arriving at the interview Valerie is clearly nervous and is absolutely convinced she's blown it. All she wanted was a better life for her three kids.

Trainee teacher Sam (Anthony Welsh) loses his ability to read and write following a tragic accident. Sam is determined not to tell anyone about his literacy problems and decides to teach himself to read again with girlfriend Naomi's (Sarah Smart) help so that he can start his dream job as a teacher.

Lollipop lady, Kathleen (Susie Blake) and lonely 10-year-old Megan (Ramona Marquez) are friends and neighbours but Kathleen is devastated when Megan asks her to join her reading a story for the school Christmas show. Kathleen has always struggled with her literacy skills, will she admit her failings or risk her friendship with Megan for the sake of keeping her problems secret?

Jackie (Kaye Wragg) and John (Derek Riddell) appear to have the perfect marriage. John has always done everything for Jackie but Jackie is restless for change. She secretly attends adult literacy classes, which increase her confidence, but how can she now go back to how life used to be?