At the start of the episode, Sam (Sheridan Smith) goes gambling. She does pretty well. She cannot stop her urge to bet again. She wins again and leaves with a handful of money. After the intro, we see Jess (Jade Anouka) cleaning the office. She finds the phone hidden under Blake’s desk. Sam tries to speak with her seconds later. She apologizes for everything. She gives her 800 pounds and claims she took it from Glynn’s rent. She admits she is afraid she might lose the girls. Viktor (Uriel Emil) interrupts and wants the women to come with him. Frances Howard (Rosie Cavaliero) tells all of the cleaning employees about the breach of security.

Rosie explains that the one responsible could go to prison. Mina (Branka Katic) translates everything for her. Nobody speaks up. Viktor sends them back to work. Afterwards, Sam tries to keep Jess calm. Jess shows her the phone she found in Blake’s office. Sam is eager to use the phone to learn about new deals. Rosie interrupts and wants the girls to go to the compliance office. Sam pretends that they know nothing about the listening device. Jess is questioned. She insists she hasn’t seen anything. After the interview, Jess becomes concerned she is going to go to prison. Sam tells her that it is a victimless crime and nobody knows about it. Sam intends to call the contact, Swanny (Lloyd Owen), to get the details. She calls Swanny pretending she is a friend of Blake.

Swanny wants to meet. They set it up. Sam returns home to find Glynn (Robert Emms) has a diesel generator. Sam learns that Lily (Anya McKenna-Bruce) has a sore stomach. Lily tries to watch cartoons while Sam cleans. Lily tells Sam about the bad thing she did. Sam wants her to apologize to Jadine. Sam goes through Blake’s phone. She prepares to meet with Swanny. Alice (Kristy Philipps) enters and asks her where she got her jacket. Alice asks her about the gambling addiction paper. Sam tries to makes an excuse for having it. Alice says that she can talk to her. Sam leaves. On the way, she hears a man talking about diversifying a portfolio. She uses the man’s conversation in an attempt to impress Swanny. Swanny wants to know more about her. Sam calls herself Nancy.

She tells him all about his past investments. She does her best to calm Swanny’s nerves. Swanny wants Sam to meet with Graham (Con O’Neill). Sam sends Swanny a text on her burner phone. She tells Jess all about it. Jess is worried about Sam meeting Graham. She tells her it is simply too dangerous. Meanwhile, the fire alarm incident is investigated further. Frances watches footage of Sam and Mina walking through the hallway. Back at home, Sam receives a message from Swanny about the meeting. Lily says she is sick. This time, Sam is convinced she needs to go to school. Alice talks to Jake (Hero Fiennes Tiffin) about addiction. He claims that fitness training can help. Glynn visits Jess’s store for a hot chocolate. He asks her about the microphone thing. Jess promises she was just being paranoid.

Glynn offers to make one anyway. Jess tells her mom that Glynn is a friend of Sam. Warren (Neil Maskell) harasses Sam again. He isn’t happy with the amount he got out of her car. He tries to convince her to leave the door unlocked to the nice house she has been cleaning. After that, Sam goes to the school and runs into Dave (Matthew McNulty). They look a family portrait Lily drew. They speak to her teacher about her performance. The teacher says Lily is great in terms of creativity. Lily has a tendency to provoke Jadine though. Sam and Dave defend Lily. The teacher claims Lily’s home life could be the problem. She wonders if Lily is crying for attention. After the conversation ends, Dave wants to speak with her about something.

Dave tells her that his mom is sick. She has a smoking problem. They end up having a good time chatting with one another. He also talks to her about the rental contract on the house. It is clear that he wants her out of the house. Dave says the girls will have to live with him. Meanwhile, Glynn works on something and annoys the girls. Alice and Lily talk about where they would rather stay. Sam returns and tells Lily about the teacher meeting. At work, Sam receives a message from Warren telling her to leave the door unlocked. She says okay. Swanny calls and wants to make sure the meeting is still on. Sam is hesitant to say yes. She locks the door and tells Warren she cannot do it.

She tells him about the insider information she has. Warren doesn’t believe it. Jess pitches her idea to a potential investor. He doesn’t seem too interested. At home, Chris (Theo Barklem-Biggs) harasses her about it. Chris believes they should buy a van and do deliveries with it. Sam goes to the hospital and checks on Mary (Clare Higgins). Sam tells her a little more about her troubles. Mary gives Sam money for an early birthday present for Lily. Sam takes the money and buys scratch off tickets with it. She doesn’t win anything and begins to cry. Lily tells Sam all about Jadine. They’ve become friends now it seems. Sam gives her the birthday present. It is a troll. Lily isn’t too happy with it. Sam contemplates meeting Swanny. She speaks with Jess about the meeting.

Sam tells Jess she is going to go to the meeting. Jess tells her about being turned down by the bank. They agree to go through with the meeting. Mina confronts them. She wants to know what is going on. She believes they were involved with the listening device. She threatens to tell the compliance woman everything she knows. Mina learns the truth and is immediately worried about the meeting. Mina wants to be involved. They decide to let her join. Sam starts learning as much as she can about the stock market. She also researches Dominic Swanson. Mina and Jess are impressed with what she has been able to learn. They want her to dress like a stockbroker. Jess arrives as Sam’s house to help her pick out clothes. Glynn gives Jess a listening device he made from an old phone.

Mina was invited over too. She brings clothes. Sam tries on the clothes. Sam gets a message learning Swanny wants to meet earlier. Sam tries to get ready as Alice enters and tries to get her to enter in a gamblers anonymous group. Sam doesn’t want to get involved. Sam heads for the meeting. She is led into the private dinning room. She overhears them talking about her. They say they’ll be in trouble if Sam isn’t who she says she is. Sam meets with Swanny and Graham. She is surprised to see Frances enter the room.

 

Cleaning Up Review

Cleaning Up is nowhere near the best show I have watched. Still, I am enjoying it. I am not too thrilled with the family stuff. I don’t find it all that interesting. However, I do like the rest of it. I just wish I could slap some sense into Sam. The constantly gambling irks me to no end. Of course, I am sure this is how it would be in real life. Making Frances a part of the insider trading scheme was a great twist. I am eager to watch the next episode to see what happens.

This episode scores a 7.5 out of 10. Catch up with previous recaps of Cleaning Up now!