London, 1927: Alf Stokes and his daughter Ivy are given the sack from their jobs on the music halls. Alf decides that he has no option but to go into service as a butler. When he arrives at the residence of Lord Meldrum, some familiar faces await him.

Alf and Ivy are settled into their new jobs but things soon hot up when Sir Ralph suspects that his wife, Lady Agatha, is having an affair. Lord Meldrum's car is vandalised – someone has daubed the word "fornicator" on the side which causes a panic when the Bishop wants to use the vehicle.

Lady Lavender sends for her solicitor whom she instructs to give Ivy her shares from the Union Jack Rubber Company. James is tortured by thoughts of Miss Poppy after she asks to feel his muscles. Then Lavender sends for her solicitor again.

Lord Meldrum thinks that Lavender has gone too far and wants her declared mentally unstable, whilst Teddy is determined to pay Ivy a visit in her room no matter how dangerous the route. A party, thrown for Miss Cissy's birthday, brings a few surprises.

Lady Lavender has now promised her shares to Stokes, and he sees this as a chance to set himself up for life. Meanwhile, Ivy is in trouble for telling Sir Ralph about his wife's indiscretions with Lord Meldrum.

Alf is being blackmailed by the local pawn broker into letting him burgle the house. Lord Meldrum allows Cissy & Poppy to hold an evening of progressive poetry in the dining room. At last the relationship between Alf and Ivy is revealed to James.

Lord Meldrum gives Teddy an ultimatum - marry Madge Cartwright or be sent to work in his factory. Teddy thinks it's a bluff but finds that his brother means every word. Alf discovers that Lady Lavender has got some money stashed under her bed and schemes to relieve her of the burden...

The Prime Minister is coming to dinner but Alf's thoughts are consumed by Lady Lavender. At the factory, Teddy's flirtations with the factory girls causes a mass walk out...

Lady Lavender throws her money out of the window and into the street, naturally some of the money goes astray when Alf gets his hands on it...

Alf has hidden some of the money in one of his Lordship's antique vases - unfortunately Lord Meldrum has donated three identical vases to the Bishop's auction for Distressed Gentlewomen. James and Ivy are in a race to stop Alf retrieving the money...

To protect his master, Alf tells Sir Ralph that Lord Meldrum was wounded in the Artillery. Ivy is over the moon when James agrees to take her to the pictures. Mrs. Lipton is convinced that Alf's divorce is being held up by his wife...

James is embarrassed when his father arrives at the house on the run from the police. The servants decide to hide him until they can arrange for him to flee the country...

Excitement runs through the household when it is announced that the King and Queen of Dalmatia are coming to dinner, although Mrs. Lipton is upset to find that she will not be doing the catering. In addition, Noel Coward is expected to join them after the opening night of his new play...

Alf is being pestered by Mrs. Lipton to finalise his divorce so he gets an old friend to agree to pose as Mrs. Stokes. Meanwhile, he has a brainwave to make some money by fooling Mrs. Lipton into baking some cakes, which she thinks are destined for the local orphanage...

Alf continues to supply the Sunshine Pantry with Mrs. Lipton's cakes. Myrtle pays a visit to the house posing as Mrs. Stokes but can she persuade Mrs. Lipton?...

Having discovered Alf's deception and broken his Lordship's crockery in a fit of anger, Mrs. Lipton is left wondering if she still has a job. On a visit to the Sunshine Pantry, Ivy discovers the truth about Miss Potter's cherry cake...

Miss Poppy annonces her engagement to Dickie Metcalfe but Alf smells a rat! Lord Meldrum is convinced that he must learn more about the lower classes before he can join the board of governors at the BBC and so he invites his factory workers to dinner and serves them fish and chips...

Miss Poppy and Dickie Metcalfe decide to marry and elope to Gretna Green, the rest of the household set off in hot persuit in an attempt to stop them...

Twelvetrees gets an offer to be butler for Sir Ralph and Lady Agatha. Mabel is on the verge of being evicted from her home. Meanwhile, Alf comes up with a drastic solution to Teddy's problem...

Lord Meldrum decides he is going to treat the servants to a picnic in the country. Nobody is surprised however, that upon their arrival at Peabody Hall, Sir Ralph and Lady Agatha are there too...

Miss Cissy leads the house into helping out at the local soup kitchen for the poor. Meanwhile, Teddy is still trying to escape the romantic clutches of Madge Cartwright. This time, Alf thinks he has the perfect solution - he traces all of Teddy's illegitimate children and brings them to the house to face Madge...

Lord Meldrum is intent on sending Teddy to his rubber plantation in Malaya, however the death of Lady Lavender's parrot leads to some bizarre funeral arrangements...

Lord Meldrum decides to inspect the servants' quarters and Mabel has found a purse containing five pounds. Then the staff are invited to the luxurious ball where the employers have to wait upon their servants...

Sir Ralph sacks Selfridge, his butler, who in turn tells him of his wife's long-standing affair with George Meldrum. Sir Ralph sets out for revenge and the staff have to ensure that a mysterious ""accident"" doesn't befall their master...

Meldrum is convinced that Sir Ralph has put a curse on him. In addition, the rubber plantation in Malaya has been ravaged by the Bangokhan beetle. The family face financial ruin!...

Things look bleak for the Meldrums with most of their money lost on the stock market crash and the effects of the Bangokhan beetle. Cissy and Lavender try to save the situation, but the servants have little choice but to look elsewhere for their futures...