At a doctor's appointment, Audrey learns that she and Gail have high blood pressure, caused by too much alcohol. Audrey sets Gail a challenge: to stop drinking and see who can last without it longest, and the pair resolve to get more exercise. Whilst power-walking in the countryside, they are horrified to bump into Lewis in a country pub. He runs away when he sees them and they report Lewis to the police. Lewis later goes to Audrey's salon and tells her he did not mean to hurt her. He asks Audrey to drive him to the police station to prove how sorry he is. In a bid to win her over, Lewis sends her flowers and Audrey goes to his address and finds he is living in a bedsit. Gail disapproves when Audrey's grandson, Nick Tilsley (Ben Price), gives Lewis a job as a waiter but Audrey defends Lewis and he later buys her a bracelet as a thank you. Audrey visits Lewis and asks him to stay, while professing her love for him. They spend the night together and agree to keep their relationship secret but when Audrey fakes illness so she can spend the day with Lewis, David, and Gail visit to check she's okay and see Lewis there. Audrey insists that it is her life and throws them out but Gail insists that Audrey does not leave Lewis, then she does not want to speak to her ever again. Deciding to go on around the world on a cruise with Lewis, Audrey attempts to regain full control of the salon from David. David and his wife, Kylie Platt (Paula Lane), are reluctant to agree to this as they believe Lewis to secretly conning Audrey again and David does not want to lose his inheritance. During a heated argument, Audrey collapses and suffers a heart attack, brought on by stress. She spends several days in hospital but is released and told to take things easy, which she does. When David tries to speak to her, she ignores him and he gets the message relatively quickly, though she does eventually forgive him.