Official Anthony Stewart Head Free Agents

EPISODE 1

Talent-agent Alex, going through a painful divorce, and his colleague Helen, recently bereaved after the death of her fiancé, have a one-night stand that ends in tears. His tears, not hers. Alex views this unfortunate experience as a perfectly good basis for a long-term relationship. Helen doesn’t….

Next morning they go to work, at the successful and glamorous talent agency CMA, a kind of emotional-casualty-ward where everyone - especially Stephen, their charismatic sex-pest of a boss - is as screwed up as Alex and Helen.

As their working day progresses, Alex doggedly stalks Helen around Soho trying to get her to be his girlfriend. Alex, homeless returns to CMA to spend another night on his office sofa, while Helen heads to the off-licence to pick up supplies for the evening’s binge-drinking.

Free Agents

So by the time Alex shows up uninvited on her doorstep, her cabernet-sauvignon goggles are firmly on, and their one-night-stand quickly becomes a two-night-stand, maybe even more. That is until Alex, missing his kids, repeats his crying-after-sex-trick, and once again all bets are off…

EPISODE 2

It’s almost Valentines Day and Alex has decided it’s time for him to start dating again. Or rather Helen’s decided. She posts his details on a dating website. While opting out of Valentines herself by arranging something as unromantic as possible - to have dinner with her elderly accountant.

Alex says no to online dating, but one night lodging with Stephen is enough to convince him he better find a girlfriend to move in with ASAP. He rings Helen for his password, she’s secretly logged into his account having a snoop but quickly logs off, and he discovers a drunken video-message from Sarah Stephens, an old girlfriend.

Meanwhile Stephen has fallen in love, and asks Helen’s advice on how to give up his lecherous ways. But come Valentine’s Night, Stephen quickly becomes aroused as a side effect of being emotionally open; prompting him to ask his beloved to do something disgusting.

And Helen’s night doesn’t turn out as planned when her accountant sends Raz his very good-looking - but gay - deputy instead. And Sarah turns out to be funny and attractive. Alex is seeing her again the following week…..

EPISODE 3

Alex is still homeless. Helen finds him sleeping in his car one morning. And at work Alex’s day gets even worse: Stephen tells them his old friend and rival agent Charlie Renfrew has died. He wants all CMA Agents to attend the funeral. As a mark of respect. And to steal Renfrew’s clients.

Alex is deeply depressed that he's about to become a professional grave-robber. Helen, however, enjoys buying a new hat for the funeral - on expenses - until Alex reminds her that this will be the first funeral she’s been to since Pete, her fiancé, died. Helen heads for the nearest off-licence.

Helen is still drunk that evening, having supper with Sophie - Pete’s sister - and her husband Malcolm. Sophie is a chippy control-freak and competitive-griever who has never liked Helen, but in an attempt to force a connection with her dead brother’s fiancé, she asks Helen to be godmother to her baby daughter. Who she’s named ‘Peta’. Or ‘Pete’ for short….

At the funeral, Alex accidentally finds himself chatting up a successful young actor, then immediately antagonises him. while Helen drunkenly confronts the vicar about the ethics of being a godmother if you don’t actually believe in God. They both make a run for it…

EPISODE 4

Helen asks Alex to help babysit her goddaughter with her, and he unexpectedly agrees, suggesting they all go to the park. Alex's children have accidentally revealed that their mum has a new boyfriend, and Alex thinks they'll be at the same park. But when his plan to spy on his kids' new stepfather is rumbled, Alex takes charge of baby Peta, and Helen sees a new side to Alex - the responsible grown-up.

The day of parental pretence is interrupted by a summons from Stephen to an emergency board meeting, which turns out to be a party he's arranged because he's feeling lonely.

But Alex's life does take a turn for the better when Helen asks him to move in to her spare room. And a turn for the worse when he takes his kids to the zoo and they ask him why their friend's mum saw him hiding behind a tree spying on them with his girlfriend and baby...

EPISODE 5

Alex arranges a surprise party for Helen's birthday. Or rather, Helen's control-freak ex-sister-in-law, Sophie, arranges it.

To keep Helen busy while all is prepared, Alex fixes her up to go for a work drink with Doctor Two-Scenes - a client who consistently gets two scenes in Holby City but is unable to find any other work.

However, best laid plans start to fall apart when Sophie punches Alex in the face and a drunk Helen seems willing to help the Doctor add a sex scene to his repertoire.

EPISODE 6

Alex is sulking about Helen having sex with Doctor Two-Scenes. Following a drunken argument, Helen storms off to Colchester to have more sex with the Doctor, while Stephen drags Alex to an up-market brothel where he introduces Alex to the glamorous madam, Wendy. And well he should - he's marrying her on Saturday, with Alex as his best man...

Helen doesn't go to Colchester, she does go to Ruislip Crematorium to try and visit Pete's headstone at 3 am. With her drinking and life out of control, she decides to sell her flat and leave CMA, and goes for an interview to train as a therapist.

Meanwhile, Alex bumps into Sarah Stephens, who he's been avoiding. When Helen realises that she just needs to be in therapy, she decides not to leave CMA, and that she doesn't want Alex to move out of her flat. But Alex interrupts her: he has already arranged to move in to Sarah Stephens' spare room. Alex and Helen's relationship issues finally come to a head at Stephen's wedding.