The episode opens with a blindfolded Justine Pearce (Ella Lily Hyland) questing Glenn Lapthorn’s (Aidan Turner) intentions as he bounces a tennis ball. She admits to not trusting him. He assures her that she does not trust herself. After explaining how to achieve the perfect shot, she hits the ball in. He calls her a “superstar.”

Back to the present, Justine wakes up next to Mikki Easton (Jess Darrow) who confesses to turning her phone off when it kept buzzing. She checks her phone to find messages from Steve O’Callaghan (Tom Varey) and Renee Okoye (Harmony Rose Bremner). Mikki assures her there is no reason to hide because she told the truth. Justine questions if Glenn is aware of her allegations. They get intimate.

Charles Lapthorn (David Troughton) questions all the fuss surrounding Justine when she was nothing special. Glenn reminds him that the French Open was five years ago. Khalida Lapthorn (Manon Azem) informs him of Glenn and Gianluca Barzaghi’s (Lorenzo Richelmy) most recent French Open win. Confused, Charles does not recall watching the French Open final four days ago. Khalida shows him photos of his grandchildren. He says they do not have a resemblance to him or Glenn. Upset, she walks outside. He questions why Glenn married an Arab when there was plenty of “crème de la crème” to choose from. Glenn tells him that he will never apologize for marrying that incredible woman. He demands Charles treat them with respect. Charles asks why he shows his best while backed into a corner.

Mikki asks Justine if she thought it would be possible to disappear after what she did. Justine informs her of the detectives questioning her contacts. She plays a voicemail from DCI Shaw (Sarah Durham) summoning her to the police department. Upset, she questions if it was a good idea to make the report while intoxicated and angry. She assures her that the allegations are true.

Zaneta (Edita Silamniku) escorts Charles to Apolenka’s (Alma Prelec) vehicle when he starts yelling for his wife. A short time later, Glen nearly pulls out in front of a vehicle. Khalida urges him to calm down. He apologizes. She says Charles being a “bigoted coward” made him a better man. He warns that it would take only one person to believe Justine. She assures him that Justine will be ashamed of her actions. She says he succeeded while Justine does not have the power to change what happened to her. She confesses to hating her.

In a flashback, Steve claims he and Justine fancied Glenn. DI Maplin (Matt Barkley) questions if Glenn was aware of their fantasies. He says, “No.” Back to the present, Shaw informs her that everyone they questioned gave a different version of hers. In a flashback, Carol Pearce (Elizabeth Berrington) tells the detectives that Justine throws a fit when she is unhappy about something. Back to the present, Shaw tells Justine that her accusations lack evidence. Justine questions Glenn’s account of their relationship. Maplin asks if it was consensual, not sexual assault. Shaw asks if Glenn forced her to have sex. Justine says, “No” but he was her coach. Shaw points out that sex with a minor under 16 is a criminal offense. Maplin says would it be an “abuse of trust” if she was under the age of 18. Shaw tells him that in 2018, athletic coaches were not classed as a “position of trust.” She iterates that consensual sex between a player between 16 and 18 and a coach before 2022 was not illegal.

Shaw tells Justine that there is no evidence to support a criminal case. Later, Justine accuses Steve of selling her out. Steve assures her that she would have told him if they had sex. He refuses to lie before claiming to have witnessed them kissing at the French Open. She says they were in love. He calls her a repeat liar. She informs him of Glenn’s watch being in her bathroom the day after he won the French Open. She tells him that he is having an affair with Renee. Claiming to have booked Glenn’s family’s flights, he says Glenn did not arrive until 9am.

In a flashback, Steve watches Glenn and Justine training when she asks if he speaks to Khalida the same way. After she walks away, he questions what brought on her strange behavior. He asks for his support if he “nips this in the bud today.” Steve assures him that he is all in.

Back to the present, an irate Carol scolds Justine for destroying the work that everyone put into pushing her career. She reminds her of how Christy Pearce (Steffan Rhodri) sacrificed everything for her. In a flashback, Christy expresses how her giving up is affecting him. She explains how the pain is impacting her focus and appetite. He questions if the pain is mental. She tries to toss her trophies out the window but he stops her. Back to the present, Carol apologizes for the comment about Christy. Justine asks if she blames her for Christy’s heart attack. Carol pleads with her to not blame herself.

Andi Woodward (Anna Chancellor) informs Justine that the lack of evidence for a criminal case does not mean Glenn heeded the coaching standards. She says there will be an investigation and disciplinary hearing. She stresses the importance of Longwood Academy getting to the truth of what really happened between her and Glen. Justine asks if she would be in the same room as Glenn. Andi says yes before suggesting she bring a friend. She offers paid time off in the meantime. Justine accepts the offer. Andi warns that the British Tennis Association will be in touch.

Justine informs Renee of the disciplinary hearing. Renee admits to being confused about what to tell the police. Justine tells her that no one believed her allegations. Renee reminds her that she never told her anything. Justine says it was a secret between them. Renee promises to be there for her. Glenn admits to keeping the allegations from Luca. Andi tells him that he is required to attend the disciplinary hearing. Justine steps in to coach Renee while Sarah takes care her of ailing mum. Andi warns Glen that his inability to disprove the allegations will hang over him like a shadow. She demands “watertight confirmation” before urging him to tell Longwood the truth now. He denies having an affair with Justine.

Championship Qualifiers: Third Round – Renee is down, even with Justine in her corner. Justine has a flashback of Glenn giving her a pep talk about overthinking. Back to the present, Renee’s match is suspended due to rain. Justine reminds her that she is only one win away. Renee questions why her opponent had to be Sophia. After a pep talk, Renee defeats Sophia. They celebrate her win on the bus. Justine invites her to the disciplinary hearing. Renee reminds her of Glenn being Longwoods’ co-director before agreeing to go.

The Disciplinary Panel is made up of Chairman Diane Gough, Dr. Mark Loftus, and Tony Kaye. Leslie Knee, a safeguarding officer, is also present. Gough asks Justine when she first engaged in sexual intercourse with Glenn. Justine tells her that it was February 2018 when she was 16. Dough asks how many times they had sex. Justine claims it was between 40 and 50 times. Khalida was preoccupied with a pregnancy and a two-year-old. She describes her and Glenn’s sex life as wonderfully satisfying. Justine claims to have been a virgin when Glenn first initiated sex. Steve tells the Panel that he and Justine sexually fantasized about Glenn. He claims to have only witnessed Justine making sexual advances toward Glenn. Justine says Glenn forced her to destroy their written correspondence and photos that could validate her allegations. Diane describes her false accusations as a “revenge mission” to defame Glenn.

Glenn tells the Panel that he has email correspondence between him and the then Head of Longwood Academy, David Tillett (Ian Gelder). Tillett says Glenn informed him of Justine’s verbal and physical sexual overtures between February and May 2018. He says they contemplated a replacement coach but their options were limited. He adds that Justine’s mental status was also discussed. They agreed to minimize alone time and monitor the tournament responsibily. Panicky, Justine exits the hearing. Rushikesh “Rusty” Raj (Amar Chadha-Patel) tells her that he offered to speak with the police. He admits to never trusting Glenn because he loves the power, not the game. He believes Glenn is “dangerous.” The Panel rules in Glenn’s favor.

Andi offers Justine a redundancy package and a professional reference. She would be required to a signed non-disclosure agreement to protect Longwood Academy.

Glenn picks Justine up to talk. She tells him that he is “old” and “colorless” when he was once someone. She says they broke and made each other. He assures her that she would have performed well under any coach. He describes what they had as a temporary mad high that swallowed them up. He says their having sex had nothing to do with her crashing out of the French Open. She asks why he denied their sexual relationship. He tells her that it would have ruined his family and career. They confess to having loved each other. He accuses her of pushing him away when she was injured. He accuses her of hurting him. She agrees to put it behind them. In a flashback, they get intimate.

Steve has flashbacks of Glenn inappropriately touching his leg and shoulder.

Glenn assures Luca that a French Open win will open doors for him. He mingles around before taking a seat beside Mikki as the episode ends.

 

Fifteen-Love Review

Justine allegations are determined to be unfounded. After DCI Shaw drops any possibility of a criminal case, Longwood Academy initiates an investigation into her sexual assault allegations. During a disciplinary hearing, Glenn produces email correspondence with the then Head of Longwood, Tillett. He voices concern about Justine’s sexual overtures toward him. They discuss their options, including a potential replacement for Glenn. In the end, they suggest decreasing alone time and better monitoring. The disciplinary panel believes there isn’t enough evidence to support her allegations.

Longwood offers Justine a redundancy package and a professional reference. Glenn later confronts Justine about the allegations. During their conversation, he confesses to their having sex. He felt betrayed and hurt when she pushed him away after her injury.

When Justine tells Steve about Glenn and Renee’s affair, he claims to have booked their flights from France to Longwood. So, it would be impossible for Glenn to be at her flat before she found his watch. He begins questioning Glenn’s behavior after recalling a number of times he touched him inappropriately.

The show is about the sexual abuse of a 16-year-old tennis player by a coach. It was mostly believable until the intimate sex scene. Whoever thought it would be a good idea to put a vulnerable sexual abuse victim on display like this clearly didn’t think it thorough. The inappropriate sex scene destroys any integrity and believability the show had. Even more disgusting, it shows part of her breast. Completely contradictory!

The episode deserves a 5. Get more Fifteen-Love recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by clicking the link. Our onsite advertising builds brand awareness learn more by speaking to our customer support.