On the Up

- Season 1

(1990)

Tony Carpenter has come to grips with his wife leaving. She's always been driving force behind the energy in the house and the social climbing that Tony needs as a self made man. As Tony comforts his daughter Stephanie, they wonder if this is the final straw or will she be back. The house is then thrown into an uproar when news comes through Stephanie has run away from school.

Tony worries how he will explain Ruth walking out on him to his mother. Further concerns about her health push Tony to consider getting her to move in with him. Ruth complicates matters by wanting the question of Stephanie's school open day resolved. Tony and Ruth consider reconciliation, conditional whether they can go a week without a fight

Ruth has not returned and Tony asks Dawn to act as a model at his stall advertising his business at an up-coming trade fair. Maggie and Mrs Wembley accompany Dawn to a shop to buy a dress for the occasion,where a woman claims to recognize Mrs Wembley as a Miss Hayward,which she denies. At the fair a group of young upper class louts insult Dawn and Tony and his staff join forces to see them off. Back at the house Dawn expresses her gratitude to the others for coming to her defence and later propositions Tony,though he turns her down. Mrs Wembley explains that she is ...

Ruth visits,accusing Tony - wrongly - of having had sex with Dawn and announcing that she will not be accompanying him to Stephanie's school open day. He takes the staff instead and an angry Stephanie runs off before telling him she is unsettled by her parents' situation. At least Mrs Wembley acquires an influential new admirer,Sir Douglas Hoyle,chairman of the school governors who comes home to cook zabaglione with her.

Tony employs his first woman driver, a strident feminist who almost causes a walk-out. Maggie's dour father also comes to visit and makes it clear he has no truck with working class people living above their stations. Fortunately both matters are resolved thanks to Tony's mum as he organizes her birthday party at his house.

Sam gets a call to drive a mystery woman to the airport. It turns out to be Ruth,who is going on holiday with a new lover but did not have the guts to tell Tony herself and wanted Sam to pass on the message. Tony is,however,much cheered when Sir Douglas,now dating Mrs Wembley,agrees to put in a word for him to join the golf club.

Tony resigns from the golf club in protest at the president's anti-Semitism. He then suggests a holiday in Barbados to Maggie,which she sees initially as a knee-jerk reaction to Ruth's trip with her new boyfriend. She is persuaded after Sam is also invited and later Mrs Wembley,expecting a marriage proposal from Sir Douglas and not the offer of being his cook,also comes aboard. Dawn,being hounded by the press after an affair with a foot-baller,makes up the party. At the airport Tony sees Ruth returning from her holiday,which does not seem to have gone that well.