Maria falls out with Audrey when she refuses to give her any independence at work, and eventually, a heated argument leads to Maria quitting her job at the salon. She is approached by Audrey's competitor, Claudia Colby (Rula Lenska), who offers Maria the chance to invest in and run her own salon which she quickly agrees to. Maria struggles to raise the funds for the investment and is surprised when Rita Sullivan (Barbara Knox) offers her the money in return for a share of the profits. Maria celebrates with Claudia, Rita and her new housemate Emma Brooker (Alexandra Mardell), whom she had just offered a room to. Maria eventually pulls out of the deal when Claudia attempts to cruelly humiliate Audrey at the annual Hair Salon Awards, which had resulted in a drunken Audrey throwing flowers at Claudia. She has a heart-to-heart with Audrey where she tells Maria that she has always been like a daughter to her, and they make up with the agreement that Maria would become a partner in the salon.