Spatz

It's opening day at Spatz, London’s latest fast-food sensation. But with only 4 hours to go, the manager, TJ Strickland, has much on his plate: the building is half finished and short-staffed, and Mrs. Frapelli, the owner’s wife, is about to arrive for the grand ribbon-opening ceremony featuring no ribbon and nothing to cut it with. Yet there’s even more chaos on the menu when an uninvited guest turns up and tries to put a squeeze on the festivities

Heavy metal man Vince Powers quickly changes his tune when he realises that the girl he’s got a crush on, Chloe, is a Mozart freak. Music of another sort is driving the staff out of their minds – it’s the brain-numbingly jolly Spatz jingle which Karen has had committed to a loop tape and insists on playing all day long. Meanwhile a customer called Mr. Fox loses his wallet at the same time as Vince becomes inexplicably well-off.

Toni Gordon is a girl with a problem. Two problems, actually: one, her mother and two, her father. The reason? In a moment of crisis and low self-esteem she wrote and told her Scottish parents that she's been promoted to the position of manager at Spatz. When Mr. and Mrs. Gordon unexpectedly turn up, Toni's forced to take control of the situation – and the restaurant. Meanwhile, Dexter loses all control in his bid to be the first employee to sell 500 hamburgers and win a corporate trip to Paris

Karen takes a tip from the Spatz Tokyo outlet and introduces an early morning exercise programme designed to keep the hard-pressed staff on their toes. After Karen has publicly humiliated Vince and Jo during one of the workouts, the duo get together and not only discover that it's Karen’s birthday, but also that she has had a 'nose job'. They decide to organise a knees-up their boss will never forget (including a birthday card with Pinocchio on and full of nose-related puns). Meanwhile, TJ is on crutches after pulling a muscle at the exercise class and now lives in horror at the prospect of letting down his hockey team

While Karen racks her brains dreaming up yet more publicity gimmicks, TJ's much-derided first aid class gets a shot in the arm when Lily uses what she learnt to save a choking customer's life. Karen quickly sees a chance for some free newspaper coverage and plans to exploit Lily's heroic action for all its worth. There's just one problem: Lily adamantly refuses to cooperate because her dad has no idea she’s working here and would be appalled if he did. But when did Karen ever take no for an answer?

Dexter sets his sights high when TV soap star Cindy Stewart blows in for a bite at the restaurant. The question is, will she swallow fast-talking Dexter's outrageous claim that he's not really a greasy nobody but is in fact the son of the Senegalese ambassador? Meanwhile, TJ is having major pay-cheque problems when the central Spatz computer goes haywire and issues a grave announcement – that TJ is dead.'

Freddy joins the Spatz team as they prepare to welcome football star, Gary Lineker - but is Dexter really the friend of the stars he claims he is?

Karen rashly tells her mother that she is engaged to TJ, and the staff get to grips with Spatz's new weapon in the fast-food war - a delivery bike.

Karen calls in an expert to help improve efficiency levels, and Freddy frets about her relationship with boyfriend, Dave.

Karen has her sights set on marriage, and the other staff have their eyes on a cash prize.

TJ's girlfriend, Julie, fills in at the restaurant when Vince goes AWOL, and the staff deal with the annoyance of a faulty fire alarm.

Four doughnuts are missing - and it's not long before the Spatz staff start disappearing too, as an armed man begins taking hostages.

Dexter's new job isn't what he thought it was, and Vince's wind-up hamburger toy venture winds him up in trouble.

Freddy becomes a crucial witness to a serious burglary, and Karen wants to tap into the lucrative American tourism market.

Rivalry between Spatz and Blimpy's raises its ugly head again, when TJ and Willis agree to hold a ballroom dancing competition.

The local mafia put the squeeze on the Spatz management, and while TJ wants to take a stand, Karen is all for giving the mobsters what they want.

Karen's mean-spiritedness backfires when an old woman puts a curse on her, and the rest of the staff prepare for a visit from Lenny the Lion.

Debbie's boyfriend Derek thinks she's seeing another man, and so takes a job as a security guard so he can watch her. Meanwhile, the rest of the staff take to assembling Christmas crackers for a bit of extra cash.