At the start of the episode, Sam (Sheridan Smith) searches for her daughter Alice. She gets a call after harassing some local kids. Sam meets with Dave (Matthew McNulty). Alice (Kristy Philipps) is staying with him. Sam is not happy about it. Sam spots Dave’s new girlfriend before Alice comes down. Lily (Anya McKenna-Bruce) hears them arguing from the car. Alice isn’t willing to come home. Sam takes Lily home and tucks her into bed. She promises that Alice will be home soon. After the intro, Jess (Jade Anouka) visits Sam. They are excited about the stock price soaring through the roof. Jess wonders if they should sell. Sam says to hold on a little longer just to see what happens. Sam and Dave drop the kids off at school.

Dave tries to convince Sam to see things from his point of view. Sam says she has an interview for a new job. Sam cleans a house. She is interrupted by a call from Jess. The stock price has dropped and Jess is worried. Sam agrees to sell at 22 pounds. They make 300 pounds each. Sam begins planning their next score. Jess doesn’t want to touch all of her savings. Sam is forced to ask Glynn (Robert Emms) to watch Lily for the night. He accepts thee responsibility. Glynn checks on her seconds later. Sam tries to convince Jess to go in bigger next time. Viktor (Uriel Emil) belittles the women for being late for work. During work, Sam and Jess keep an eye on the inside trader. He talks about a company making 3D printers. The listening device is discovered by a cleaner.

The inside trader, Blake (Doc Brown), speak with his boss about it. Sam and Jess try to figure out which company Blake was talking about. They remember Blake saying something about Christine doing a report on them. Sam puts pressure on Jess to help. Dave speaks with his girlfriend about Sam and her gambling problem. She says getting Lily might give Sam the motivation she needs to get help. Sam prepares for the interview. Glynn believes someone died. He agrees to watch Lily again. Sam gambles while she waits for the interview. Warren continues harassing her for the money. Sam speaks with two women about the job. Ruth (Daisy Moore) and the other woman do not seem too impressed. Sam doesn’t have much in terms of computer skills.

She tells the women that she isn’t good with Excel before leaving. She tries to gamble, but is out of funds. She withdraws money and heads to a casino. She depletes her money. She contemplates asking Jess if she can borrow her money. She withdraws the money anyway. Meanwhile. Jess looks for vans. She talks to Chris (Theo Barklem-Biggs) about work. He says they hired a bunch of Polish guys. He isn’t going to work for those prices. Glynn picks up Lily from school. Lily convinces him a friend is coming over for tea. Glynn says okay. The girls turn the house into a chaotic mess. Saphira’s mom comes knocking. Sam continues gambling. Her luck doesn’t get any better. She rushes home after getting a call from Glynn. Lily apologizes to her at home. Lily asks her if she could stay with dad for a couple of days.

Lily says her mother is never there. She is always at work. She confesses she misses Alice. Sam agrees to talk her father about it. Jess arrives and tells Sam about a van she found. Sam is forced to tell Jess the truth about her gambling. Sam wants to turn their attention to the 3D printing company. Jess isn’t interested this time. Lily is dropped off at her father’s house. Sam arrives home and comes up with a new plan. She heads to the offices and nearly runs into Viktor. She sneaks into the research department, but her ID card doesn’t work. A trader lets her inside. She finds a way to determine who is Christine. She gets Mina to help. Mina is worried she will be kicked out if she doesn’t get her work done on time. Sam offers her fifty pounds. Mina wants 100 pounds.

She goes it. The fire alarm sounds and Sam makes her move. She prints everything. Two men enter and she is nearly caught. She gets the papers and makes a dash. She leaves the USB drive behind. Sam tries to make things right with Jess. Jess’s mom encourages her to do something better with Sam. Lily hangs out with Alice. Dave’s new girlfriend tries to find out what they would like for supper. Alice says she is heading out. Lily hangs out with the new girlfriend. Alice researches addictive behavior. She hangs out with Jake (Hero Fiennes Tiffin) at the boxing gym. Alice enjoys herself on the heavy bag. Warren tracks down Sam. He wants his money. He doesn’t believe Sam’s story about a divorce settlement. She gives Warren her car keys for the time being.

Jess arrives at work in a bad mood. Sam tries to check on her, but she won’t respond. Alice returns home with a black eye. Blake tapes a phone under his desk. Sam tries to speak with Jess again. Mina comes for her money. They watch Frances (Rosie Cavaliero) and two men in suits stroll by. They suspect Blake pending an investigation. Blake tells them they’re making a big mistake. Sam goes through the research documents. She finds the Redstein Group. It makes 3D printers. She only has 11 pounds in her trading account. Sam goes to Glynn. Sam asks him if he could pay a lump sum. He agrees to get her 600 pounds. He asks her about Jess and her boyfriend. Alice calls Sam a few seconds later. Dave and Sam are not happy to hear that Jake gave Alice a black eye. Sam tries to convince Alice to stick to her dancing.

Alice speaks with Jake on the phone. When she hangs up, she finds the paper for gambling addicts. Sam finds out that there are two companies, Redstein and Jet Black Technology. She flips a coin as the episode ends.

 

Cleaning Up Review

This episode of Cleaning Up was pretty good. The episode is a little slow and cheesy at times. Nevertheless, it is unique. The acting isn’t bad at all either. I have no real experience with gambling addiction, but I would assume that the show portrays it fairly well. I am interested in finding out how things will turn out. Cleaning Up is good, but not great. This episode scores a 7 out of 10. Catch up with previous recaps of Cleaning Up right now!