“It’s hard to hide how you feel about someone.”

“Sometimes love is worth the risk.”

Episode 6 of The Good Karma Hospital begins with Hari, a young fisherman, being pursued along the beach by an angry mob. When his beaten bloodied body is then dumped outside the hospital, eyewitness AJ is forced into some quick thinking and carries out an improvised operation to save his life, inspiring the young orderly to make a big career decision. Hari recovers but doesn’t want to talk to the police.

When the young man who dumped Hari’s body later turns up at the hospital injured, Ruby and Varma disagree about what to do, a disagreement exacerbated by the unresolved simmering tension between the two medics (“If idiots want to fight to the death with knives then that‘s their business.”). They soon discover that this is no ordinary fishing dispute, more about love than hate.

Meanwhile, after last week’s cliffhanger ending, Paul wakes up in a hospital bed, Greg having rescued him and kept vigil at his hospital bedside all night. The widower decides to go home to England, but his departure is interrupted by an unexpected meeting with a familiar face. Greg is concerned about his friend’s suicidal state of mind and tries to get him to stay, but his plea for help to Lydia falls on deaf ears, as she has to rush away, having been summoned by letter to visit her old friend, mentor and founder of the hospital Virginia (special guest Sue Johnston). This is no happy reunion, as Virginia reveals that she is seriously ill and asks Lydia to help her die. Lydia refuses at first but, needing time to think, persuades Virginia to pay a visit to the hospital (where strangely none of the other staff seem to know her), the latter revealing to Ruby what working with Lydia was like (“I taught her everything she knows, every lesson had to be drilled into that thick skull of hers”) and how the hospital got its name (“Good medicine is like good karma. Help others and you help yourself. A virtuous circle.”).

Part 6 begins on an upbeat note with Dr Nair and Mala’s wedding ceremony, a glamorous, lavish and colourful occasion where there is plenty of love – and change – in the air, and ends with a new busy day dawning at The Good Karma Hospital, as ITV announce that the doors of the hospital will soon open again for a third season.

Follow reviewer Patrick McCafferty on Twitter here.