Bufetowe

It’s a typical Monday in the canteen. Jean is frantically preparing for her daughter’s wedding, but while she searches for an accordionist, Lisa has an attack of nerves and gets married in secret. Bren and Dolly discuss the weekend’s television offerings in great detail and Twinkle arrives late again. New Human Resources manager Philippa Moorcroft tries to rope everyone in to a group Scottish country dancing session, without much success. And Tony tries to keep everyone focused on actually making some food.

The dinnerladies are very excited about an impending royal visit, though they aren’t impressed to find out that they’ve been allocated Prince James, The Duke of Danby, with the exception of Stan, who met him 30 years before at Catterick Garrison army base. Despite lots of rehearsing, Twinkle finds she’s unable to string a sentence together, while Anita’s mouth runs away with her on the topic of nipples. Dolly and Jean compete with each other to perform the best curtsey, and Bren is shocked at the Duke’s love of sex and bacon.

Bren is horrified when her flatulent mother Petula moves into the car park with her 16-year-old fiancé Clint. His mother Shelagh forms a picket line around the factory, with the national press in attendance. As deliveries gradually stop arriving due to the mob outside, Anita suggests an impromptu Oprah Winfrey-style talk show to resolve the matter; they arrange this with the help of local journalist Carmel, but Clint decides to leave Petula after talking to Twinkle. Meanwhile, a TV researcher visits the canteen to see whether the dinnerladies would make good docu-soap material, but Tony is worried about them filming his cancer treatment.

Tony and Bren arrive early to the canteen in much better moods than usual. Unfortunately, everyone else is in a bad temper. Stan’s had trouble with his father, Dolly and Jean bicker continuously, Anita is convinced her new haircut makes her look like Fatima Whitbread and Twinkle thinks she’s pregnant. Philippa suggests having a "Bring Your Mother To Work" day to cheer everyone up, though sarcastic Enid (Dolly’s mother) and nymphomaniac Connie (Jean’s mother) do little to raise the workers’ spirits. Petula arrives with who she says is her own mother.

A merger with a Japanese company means that the factory’s Christmas Party has an Oriental theme to it. Tony and Bren plan to go as a couple but Petula invites herself along as Bren’s partner. Dolly and Jean are not impressed with their husbands’ flirtatious and ignorant behaviour; Anita gets very drunk at the party and makes a fool of herself, while Twinkle and her friend Tiffany are unimpressed by the older workers’ dancing. Petula flings herself at every man in sight, including Jean’s husband Keith. Bren and Tony try to salvage their night together, fending off the respective advances of Stan and Jean, but Petula mistakes Tony for Stan, and messes things up for Bren.

An unexpected order comes in, prompting the factory manager to ask all the staff, including the dinnerladies, to work a 24-hour shift. With Tony off work having chemotherapy for his cancer, obnoxious temporary manager Nicola Bodeux gives the staff a hard time, resulting in Dolly, Jean, Anita and Twinkle walking out. Realising her constant failure to connect with people, Nicola then resigns and decides to become a lighthouse keeper. Bren prepares for the impossible task of manning the canteen single-handedly all night, but the others, including Tony, return to help.