Agreed. The whole thing is a recipe for disaster. As you say Steph will have no claim to the baby - Sonya will be carrying it and it will also be conceived using her eggs. The baby will be Sonya and Mark's child not Mark and Steph's with Sonya just acting as a surrogate like the original arrangement. How selfish of Mark to refuse to use an anonymous donors eggs. Expecting Toadie and Steph to be comfortable with this arrangement is too much to ask.

Lets not forget Sonya had Callum who she gave up as a baby, will she be happy to give up another child at birth after all that she went through before. I doubt it.

. . .Lets not forget Sonya had Callum who she gave up as a baby, will she be happy to give up another child at birth after all that she went through before. I doubt it

This bit seems to have been forgotten by the scriptwriters!

Anyone else find Angus play pocket billiards whilst talking to Elly distracting yesterday?

At the speed this daft surrogacy story goes I imagine she'll be pregnant next week, be showing a week later and will go into labour for the Christmas break.

After that, cue custody battle and endless Sonya rants

BIB - it might say that in the scripts, but onscreen, it will translate as Brad running his hand through his hair and sighing at Tyler with his head tilted to the side, while delivering his lines with a downward inflection, before exiting with his arms swinging like an ape.

I wonder if Brad ever washes the grease from his hands when he runs it through that awful hair?

Eww...lucky Lauren! The actress playing Lauren has looked permanently depressed since they lumped her character with Brad. Can't say I blame her.

Is it in his contract that Fungus has to sing every single day?

Piper and Angus work better than Piper and Tyler IMO

They want us to buy it, I assume.

I'd rather buy Mr Blobby.

Xanthe isn't really the sharpest tool is she? Finds her Mum coming out of the garden shed in heels and a dress, apparently to get some fertilizer or something, and she doesn't find that not only suspect but ridiculous? Unless of course everybody in Oz does the gardening wearing fancy clothes

To be honest, most of the residents of Ramsay Street seem to be either ridiculously naïve/gullible or very stupid to facilitate the badly thought out plots (although Leo did seem to notice how silly the Brad/Terese/Maxine plot is).

what was the story with Brad/Therese and Maxine?

I had to laugh at Brad saying he was going to "get leave from work". He's never in work!

According to yesterday and today's episodes; Maxine is Jakka Hills' mother. Since her house burnt down on the day of the balloon crash, Brad has been paying her rent on a council flat. When he thought he was dying from the poisoned tattoo, he got Terese to promise to keep making the payments for reasons that have not been explained. He also made it sound like he'd been doing it for a long time, not a couple of weeks (stupid point one).

Leo found out when he was snooping for Paul and Paul is using it to blackmail Terese into dropping her bid for the Men's Shed Tender. Both Leo and Paul have remarked on the strangeness of Brad paying rent for Jakka's mother given that Jakka killed Brad's father and son. Paul's told Terese if she drops the tender, he'll stop snooping, but I don't think he will.

The implication seems to be that Ned actually burnt down Maxine's house, not Jakka like the police think and Brad is paying her rent to keep her quiet.

I had a hideous feeling Angus was going to break out into a full on song in the coffee shop today - with all the extras suddenly getting up on the tables to dance along while he sang and looked bos-eyed into the camera! Luckily Ben came along and put the kibosh on it!

Has anyone suggested Brad go looking for Ned in remote disused Eastern European warehouses?!

And never come back?

I quite like the twist with Maxine and the actress who plays her is excellent in a tough as nuts sort of way. I also think Xanthie's mum is well played. My only criticism is that she seems a bit too stylish for someone who is meant to have no money.

Well isn't she supposed to be a bit of a Grifter? If that's your "job" then I guess looking good is part of it.

Seriously though, they only won 10 grand. Between 4 of them that's $2500 each. Is Xanthi's mum really doing all this to get her daughter's and Gary's share?

$5000 is only a small part of her debt.

I'm glad Xanthi is having her doubts about her mum though.

Loved Amy & Aaron scenes as usual. I wish Leo would grow up though. All Aaron did was try and help and just because he offered advice doesn't mean it had to have been acted upon. I also didn't like his lashing out, especially after their sexual tension on the bridge. No time for you closet case Leo. Aaron has been dumped on enough already and certainly didn't deserve it.

Loved the granny too. Would love to see more of her.

Exactly. She needs to dress for what she is presenting herself to be, rather than what she actually is.

The expensive clothes are an investment for the long con, same as the genuine stones in her sample jewellery are.

David

I have a feeling that Brooke's scam will be exposed once that fella that Xanthe contacted arrives in Ramsay Street. Brooke shouted at Xanthe straight after Xanthe said that she was going to spend her share on a tanning bed (an earlier episode). It'll be a pretty dirty trick if she cons Xanthe out of her money, or attempts to anyway. David's reaction to Aaron touching his arms is a bit suspicious. It wouldn't surprise me if David's gay/bisexual. I think he could be in denial. That was too aggressive a reaction (and the words used) to a man who only put his hands on David's arms to try and calm him down.