but she later confesses that she had been beaten by other prostitutes for trying to poach their clients. Despite this, Mary refuses to stop prostituting herself, even when the healthcare worker, Carmel Roberts (Judith Jacob), warns her that her baby might be taken away from her if she continues. Mary is furious and rampages around to find out who had reported her to Carmel. An anonymous letter from Dot Cotton puts Sue in the frame, and this leads to Mary viciously attacking Sue in the café one night. Mary is later arrested for soliciting, which leaves her with a large fine. However, even this doesn't stop her prostituting herself. Mary's unsocial hours mean that she is often forced to leave baby Annie alone at night whilst she goes out to work the streets. This culminates in Annie nearly dying in a fire one night when she is left alone. Luckily for Mary, she is rescued by Arthur Fowler (Bill Treacher) before she is harmed. Dot can no longer stand the maltreatment of Annie so she contacts Mary's parents, Chris Smith (Allan O'Keefe) and Edie Smith (Eileen O'Brien), who arrive in Walford and demand to take Annie back with them to Stockport. Mary initially refuses, but she eventually realises that her burnt-out flat is no place for a baby, so she begrudgingly allows Annie to go. In 1987, Mary begins a relationship with Rod Norman (Christopher McHallem); a good-hearted, scruffy, layabout who has a soft-spot for women in distress. Rod is a good influence on Mary and desperately tries to get her to stop prostituting herself, regain control of her life. Rod is also instrumental in helping Mary regain custody of Annie. However, Social Services are now involved, as Mary's mother decides to apply for full custody of Annie. Mary is frequently frustrated by the amount of time it is taking for Social Services to decide who should have custody of Annie, but Rod keeps her going and even manages to get her a job as cleaner in The Dagmar winebar. Still, Edie refuses to give Annie back, so Rod tries a different tactic. He phones Chris and tells him that Mary is threatening to kill herself unless she gets her baby. The lie works and by the end of the year, Mary's father arrives on the Square bringing baby Annie back to an overjoyed Mary. Chris desperately tries to convince