Season 3, Episode 21: "Faint heart ne'er won fair maiden" (original air date: September 25, 2002)

Chivalry is not dead in Bassett. Ken defeats a deadly foe and impresses Dana, but the moment is broken when a motorcyclist crashes nearby, demanding their professional attention.

Later, Ken admits to William that his relationship with Dana hasn't got any further than friendly outings. Encouraged and inspired by William, he asks her out on a proper date and is surprised to get a yes. But the date is immediately foiled by a call-out where Ken plays reluctant hero. When he sees Todd with Dana, Ken doubts that she could be truly keen on him.

Suffering fallout from the baby-farming scandal, William is shunned by patients. Work piles onto Nicky, much to Cliff's frustration. Cliff gets jealous when he sees Nicky with Kieran, newly separated from Amanda. Nicky swears she is not involved, but her words seem quickly belied when Keiran's daughter Sascha insists on talking to her. Sascha reveals the battle zone between her parents - but Nicky is quick to distance herself.

Alistair is also entangled, conducting a secret affair with Amanda. Looking for condemnation, he confides his woes to a remarkably understanding Wayne. He is later mortified to find he has been barking up the wrong confidante.

Ken's next assault on romance is ruined by an out-of-control teenage party, where he finds Sascha Masefield unconscious - and has a run-in with Todd. Daunted by this, and his bitter experience that good guys always finish last, Ken decides to reject Dana rather than risk inevitable, bone-crushing, soul-destroying disappointment.

When Nicky treats Sascha, her proximity to Kieran doesn't escape Amanda's attention. She accuses Nicky of conducting a stealthy campaign of husband theft, not knowing that Keiran has told Nicky he will not bother her again. Nicky is disconcerted to realise that he means it.

Alistair decides to end things with Amanda, but never gets the chance to tell her as she leaves town without saying goodbye.

When William's patient Nora Belcher seems in peril, Ken risks deadly hounds to rescue her. Dana finally gets Ken to realise she sees him as a true hero. Despite himself, Ken wins fair maiden.

Kieran finds the truce with Amanda was far too good to be true. The parting shot of the mad wife is to leave a field of vines burning.