Graham and Jan prepare their house for the arrival of famous pop star Frankie J Parsons. It is their daughter Tamsin's ninth birthday; she is terminally ill, and the charity Wishmaker UK has arranged Frankie's visit. Frankie arrives with his personal assistant Si, and Sally, a representative of Wishmaker UK. At Tamsin's request, Frankie tries to blow up a balloon for her, but struggles for breath before collapsing and dying. Si calls Frankie's manager, who gives instructions that no one is to call an ambulance until he can get there. As Tamsin sits forlornly with the balloon, the adults realize that it contains Frankie's literal last breath and as such could be worth a lot of money.
As Graham investigates the potential value of the balloon and camcorder footage of Frankie, Jan takes Tamsin outside. Tamsin feels responsible for Frankie's death, and Jan reassures her that his soul will go to heaven. Graham, Sally and Si begin a heated argument over who owns the balloon and how to split the proceeds. When Sally tries to argue that Tamsin shouldn't receive a share of the money, Graham becomes enraged and threatens to burst the balloon. Jan intervenes to stop the argument. During lunch, there is a noise from outside and Graham, Sally and Si panic; thinking the balloon has burst. They agree to put the balloon in an upstairs bedroom.
Everyone waits in the living room for Frankie's manager to arrive, but then Jan notices someone moving in Tamsin's room. Frankie, still alive, comes to the door before collapsing again. Jan hastily takes Tamsin outside whilst the others decide what to do. Sally convinces Graham and Si to kill Frankie so that they can still make money from the balloon. They toss a coin for who should kill him; Si loses, and smothers Frankie with a pillow. Later, Frankie's body is taken away in an ambulance. As Graham and Sally talk about selling the balloon and video, the adults realize Tamsin is missing. Tamsin struggles up the stairs, where she ties the balloon to a heart-shaped helium balloon, opens the window, and releases the balloons.
This episode contains examples of:
- Advertised Extra: David Bedella, who plays Frankie. His character dies in the first few minutes of the episode (and though he's Not Quite Dead, all we see of him afterwards is a brief silhouette through a glass door.)
- Because You Were Nice to Me: What Tamsin says about Frankie Parsons after he dies suddenly and seems to be the motivation for her actions at the end of the episode.
- Birthday Episode
- Bittersweet Ending
- Black Comedy: The whole episode, but particularly a scene where Sally recounts the tale of working with a sick child who dropped dead right after getting her wish to deliver mail.
- Celebrity Is Overrated: The moral of the episode.
- Children Are Innocent: Tamsin.
- Expy: Frankie appears to be one of Rat Pack singers like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.
- Fangirl: Jan is one for Frankie.
- Hopeless with Tech: Jan is like this with the camcorder.
- Irony: Sally, the woman who works for a children's charity, is possibly the greediest and most ruthless of all the adults.
- It's All About Me: Sally.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Sally shoots down Graham's suggestion to split the money from the sale of the balloon five ways equally; saying that, because Tamsin is terminally ill, any money she gets will just revert to her parents when she dies (which is likely to be soon). Graham can't deny this - so pushes again to split the money five ways so he can get more.
- Laser-Guided Karma: For Graham, Sally and Si, who don't get to make money from the balloon.
- Littlest Cancer Patient: Tamsin has an unspecified illness that is serious enough to qualify her for the equivalent of Make-a-Wish. (Sally's dialogue implies it to be terminal, but she, by her own admission, doesn't involve herself with the children's specific illnesses).
- Mercy Kill: Frankie turns out not to be dead after all, and Sally urges Graham to kill him so they can still make money from selling the balloon. Graham is horrified and refuses; so she tells him it would be a mercy kill, as Frankie's aneurysm will have left him so badly brain damaged that he'll spend his life "eating through a straw and shitting into a bucket."
- Nice Character, Mean Actor: Si claims that Frankie wasn't the nice guy he seemed to be - he was rude to his staff and disliked visiting sick children.
- Not Quite Dead: Frankie, until Si finishes him off.
- Only Sane Man: Tamsin.
- Parents as People: Graham and Jan love Tamsin, but seem to put their own concerns (wanting money, wanting to meet Frankie) above her.
- Piss-Take Rap: It's mentioned that Frankie had recorded such an album.
- Vorpal Pillow: How Si kills Frankie.
- We Didn't Start the Billy Joel Parodies: Graham refers to the song, saying it's not his fault that people are willing to pay so much for celebrity merchandise.
- Women Are Wiser: Jan is the only one of the adults who shows any concern for Tamsin. Though subverted with Sally, who is the most coldblooded and ruthless of the adults.
- Writing Around Trademarks: Wishmaker UK is an obvious stand-in for the real charity Make-a-Wish Foundation. This is played for comic effect when Frankie says he's come from the "Make-a-" only to be hastily interrupted by Sally: "Wishmaker UK!"
