Clare is thought to have died at a quarry and convinces Max to pursue his interest in Steph Dean. After the two begin a relationship O.B. feels left out. He begins a friendship with Simon Crosby, a lifeguard at a local pool. Gilly Roach witnesses a young boy leaving Simon's cubicle in tears, and becomes convinced Simon is a paedophile. He tells O.B. and Max, but O.B. strongly disagrees. Gilly becomes distressed when he witnesses Simon taking several boys out for ice cream. Gilly breaks into Simon's house and finds pictures of boys in their swimming trunks. O.B., Max, and Gilly go to Simon's house the next day and find a child's bedroom. Max is convinced Simon is a danger to children so punches O.B. as Simon is looking after Tom. Max later beats up Simon and is arrested for assault. O.B. continues to believe that Simon is innocent, and is angry over Max's actions. He is upset when Max tells O.B. he isn't as emotionally involved as Max because he was not Tom's brother. Simon's ex-wife Gemma arrives for a visit and tells them she and Simon had a son who had drowned, that the bedroom was their son's room and that the photos would have been presents for the parents of each child after they graduated from his swimming class. Gilly and Jake Dean form a lynch mob and begin assaulting Simon's house with bricks and bottles. When O.B., Gemma and Max get inside, they see him unconscious on the floor, holding his son's photo in his hand. Simon survives the overdose, but tells O.B. that he can't stay in the village. After Max's disbelief of O.B. he moves into Tony's flat. Tom asks him to forgive Max which he did.