On The Up

Working class Londoner Tony Carpenter is a self-made millionaire. Having built a run-of-the-mill taxi company into a luxury car hire firm, he now lives in a large house in the capital's leafy surrounds, employing a full-time cook, Mrs Wembley; his best friend since childhood, Sam, as chauffeur-cum-butler-cum-dogsbody; and a private secretary, Maggie, all on top of his drivers and office manager back in town.

Not all is rosy in the Carpenter household however. Despite the comfort he can now afford, Tony remains connected firmly with his Cockney background - something that his wife, the increasingly snooty, upper-middle class Ruth, cannot bear. When they were making their fortune the pair had a connection in their growth - be in social climbing or business - but now at the top of their respective trees, the couple argue and bicker about anything and everything: not least Maggie, Sam and Mrs W, all of whom Tony considers friends.

Worst of all for Tony, their teenage daughter Stephanie is beginning to take after her mother. Away at a high-achieving girls' boarding school for most of the time, she seems to be growing ruder, more spoiled and short-tempered by the week.

As their regular fights lead to Ruth taking increasing time away from the marital home the Carpenters seem on the edge of divorce, but regularly reconcile. The question on Maggie's, Sam's and Mrs Wembley's minds is, just for how long can it continue?