Carole Matthews

Single mum and all-round superwoman Sally Freeman wants a better life for herself and her son Charlie so she sets about improving things for them. Just as her mission begins, enter Spencer Knight who's offering Sally a ticket to a new life. He's got the looks, the charm - everything she could wish for. But is he really the answer to her prayers or does her hapless ex-boyfriend Johnny still hold the key to her heart?

When twins Annie and Lauren attend their older sister Chelsea's fortieth birthday party, they wonder why their lives are so different. Chelsea's husband is twirling her round the dance floor, while Annie's husband has gone fishing and Lauren's lover is at home with his wife and children. The twins decide it's time to make a change and turn their lives around. But have they left it too late? It's now or never...

Teri has dated more men than she's had low-calorie, low-fat dinners, and she still hasn't found Mr Right. That is until she's literally knocked off her feet by Jamie Duncan as they rush to catch the same train from Euston station: the 18.07 from platform 8. It's not long before love blossoms and commuting takes on a whole new meaning. There's just one problem. Teri may have found Mr Right but he may not be Mr Available...

Kate Lewis is 35 and feeling restless. She's fed up of worrying about the ironing and would like her husband Jeffrey to pay more attention to her than his golf clubs. There must be more to life than this! Kate enrols herself on a T'ai Chi course and takes best friend Sonia along for the ride. She's determined to "find herself" but it's easier said than done, especially when she finds the distracting Ben Mahler first .

What do you do when there's nothing left to loose? Lily and Laurence Lamont-Jones had it all: lavish holidays in exotic locations, a top private school for their two children and a beautiful home in the Buckinghmshire countryside. Then Lawrence loses his job, and their house and all their belongings are reposssessed. With nowhere else to go, the family move into a flea-ridden council house on a notoriously rough estate and start to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. But will Lilys dream of returning to a world of luxury ever come true - or have her priorities changed? For with the help of new friends, a little luck and a lot of determination she's about to learn what really matters.

At almost thirty, Nell McNamara and boyfriend Olly are working back-to-back shifts just to make ends meet. Nell can't help but wonder: is life passing her by? Realising where her true passion lies, Nell begins designing her own line of must-have handbags and they start selling like hot cakes! It seems Nell's dreams are finally coming true, until she finds out Olly secretly craves the simplicity of their old lives.

Juliet and Rick have been happily married for twenty-five years. But then Steven Aubrey returns. The same Steven who jilted Juliet on their wedding day twenty-six years ago. He ignites a passion in Juliet that she thought was long gone. Will Steven sweep Juliet off her feet or can Rick revive their marriage before it's too late?

'She's had men popping in and out of there all day … they're more regular than our cuckoo clock.' When Rose escapes from London and her handsome and charming ex-lover, she has no idea her occupation as an aromatherapist will cause such a scandal in her new country village. All she wants is a bit of peace and quiet, but her new neighbours soon ensure that her life is more chaotic than ever before. But that may be because Rose is falling in love . . .

Will and Amy Ashurst are typical, dedicated professionals at the top of their tree, with two adorable children and an au pair who cares for them all. Then one day Will collapses on his way into work and he decides he’s never going back. Three months later they have moved to the Yorkshire moors, but then tragedy strikes.