Solicitor (Episode 9122)

The Solicitor met up with Leanne Battersby and her partner Nick Tilsley in March 2017 to discuss parental rights over Leanne's baby son Oliver.

Oliver's biological father was Steve McDonald, whose wife Michelle Connor had recently left him upon learning about the baby's paternity. As Nick considered himself to be Oliver's true father, he wanted to go through all the relevant channels to deny Steve access. He contacted the solicitor, who was an old friend of his, and arranged to meet with her at the Bistro later that day. Leanne was against the idea, hoping to solve the dispute without the use of legal action, but Nick was dismissive towards her protests. Unbeknown to Nick, Leanne had already begun discussing access with Steve and the previous day, had taken a photo of him and his mother Liz holding Oliver. Michelle, still bitter towards Steve, found a copy of the photo on her cloud server.

As the meeting took place, the solicitor asked if Steve and his family had any contact with Oliver, which both Nick and Leanne denied. Moments later, Michelle sent Nick the photo of Oliver with the McDonalds via her phone, and watched from a few feet away as Nick became distressed over Leanne's deception. The solicitor watched on as Nick left the building, with Leanne giving her an apology.