Kenneth starts to regret employing non-English speaking Carmen and offering free treatment at the salon as first prize in the dance contest Joyce is organizing,to be judged by her old flame,professional dancer Cyril Babcock. Janice is puzzled when young Jack,her former stalker,reappears and claims not to recognize her,involving her in a fight with Trudy. However come the contest he sweeps her off her feet confessing it was all a ruse to get close to her. Fortunately Mick comes to her rescue whilst Gavin and Carmen win the competition,releasing Kenneth from giving the prize.

Joyce takes a three day break leaving Les in charge. He is not very good, accidentally attacking Clive and being coerced by Bianca into sacking Mateo for flirting with her, though a full-scale protest with television coverage leads to his reinstatement. The Stewarts prepare to scatter the ashes of a deceased friend but the wind blows away the box, opening it to reveal what appears to be a severed head - actually Les's new wig, as the boxes got mixed up, All this determines Joyce to return to work early, with old flame Cyril, who has escaped from a Thai prison. Madge, meanwhile, is untypically nice to everybody, believing she is terminally ill, but, as she breaks the news to the Garveys a fight breaks out, due to Les's incompetence.

Now appointed assistant manager Cyril organizes an eating contest, Hombre Versus Food though Kenneth does not take part and, encouraged by Liam, goes on a health kick, not that it does him much good. Mick discovers that Madge is not terminally ill, though, when confronted, she blames the doctor for a misdiagnosis whilst Tonya persuades Janice that she needs an expensive make-over at the spa where she is a beauty therapist. Meanwhile Michael and Tiger vie for the attention of the lovely Elena and Michael is delighted when she chooses him. The eating contest goes ahead, causing mass sickness as the meat was obtained from a butcher's dumpster. Joyce prepares to resign but she is saved when Cyril does a runner.

Dominant Crystal Hennessy-Vass, the founder and chief executive of the Solana group, sweeps in, demanding that Joyce downgrade the hotel from a four to a three star, to give the impression that the guests are getting better value for money. After she has left a party of Dutch businessmen arrive and Les and Mateo, in their efforts to make them feel at home, are accused of racial stereotyping. Kenneth leaves hospital to find that Herbert has bought his salon and the Stewarts are invited by their raucous friend Queenie to the Costa Blanca Swingers Association party, where they meet former porn star Pepe De La Cruz and his wife Agnes, who turns out to be an old flame of Donald. Tiger tries to prevent Michael from seeing Elena but, impressed when Michael tricks the warring Dykes and Garveys into making up, tells him that she is waiting for him on the beach.