Thorpe is waiting for an important call from his wife as Victor, their dog, is seriously ill. Gupte misunderstands, thinking Victor is the Thorpes' son (actually named Tarquin); Figgis, smoking in a lavatory cubicle, overhears the resultant conversation and assumes that they are talking about him and that he is going to die. As the situation develops, both Norman and then Glover think they are under the shadow of death. When Gupte tells Glover he may be sent home at the end of the week, Glover decides to phone his hated boss and tell him exactly what he thinks of him.

• Richard Wilson
• Peter Bowles
• James Bolam