Brian and Sophie adopt a new child: Howie. Howie turns out to be a safety freak, much to the exasperation of Mel, Josh and Lucy. Seeing their reaction, Howie runs away... and then the children's social worker comes to the house for Brian and Sophie's progress report. Due to objections from fans of the show saying that Howie was too annoying the character was discontinued after this one brief appearance.

• Andy Watts

• Barbara Durkin
• Tony Gardner
• Gregory Foreman