Maria gets her big break when she is asked to audition for The X Factor. Alicia and Mickey accompany her to meet Simon Cowell, but they get a shock after running into out-of-work actor Kris in the queue. Much to Dave's horror, his layabout brother Kevin offers to 'help' fulfil his and wife Karen's desire to have a baby. Back in the café, Angelo is busy trying to make the place more 'American' for the customers and Russell is excited about the prospect of a job interview.

Maria is horrified to hear from Alicia that Mickey P has been cheating on her with a mysterious woman. Meanwhile Mickey P is equally horrified to discover that his secret is out, especially as Alicia is the mystery girl he's been unfaithful with. Kris sees an opportunity to win Maria's affections and offers to 'sort' Mickey out using his stage combat skills. And Angelo, who is still considering the Café Mania offer to buy him out, decides to introduce a suggestion box to the café so he can gauge what his customers think about the place. The results make rather unpleasant reading. Karen suspects that she may be pregnant but Dave is less convinced - he suggests she takes a pregnancy test before decorating the spare room as a nursery. Meanwhile, Shelley engineers a 'chance' encounter with an old flame, who is horrified to see her again.

Romance is in the air at Angelo's. Kris finally works up the bottle to ask Maria out on a date, a marathon day trip on a sightseeing boat down the River Thames. Despite her better instincts, she agrees, but insists that Alicia comes along for the ride. Angelo has a chance at happiness when he is introduced to Russell's recently widowed sister, Angela. Maria is horrified to discover that her dad is 'putting it about' and drops in on his little romantic dinner. An evening out with an old friend leads Dave to face up the fact that his life may be an unmitigated failure.

Angelo is concerned to hear that Café Mania will not have a role for him in their plans to modernise the caff. Maria has her head turned by a group of Fashion College students, who adopt her and promise to make her their muse. The new Maria thinks that Mickey P and Alicia are holding her back. Kris bumps into an old friend from the National Youth Theatre, a hugely popular soap opera actor who Kris clearly despises for his success. Russell discovers that his new career opportunity may be a scam for the vulnerable and Shelley sets up a blind date with a passenger who is unlucky enough to have left his wallet behind in her cab. At a birthday party for her niece, Karen is reminded of her own fertility problems and finds herself being comforted by an overly understanding Kevin.

After her catwalk debut turns into an embarrassing disaster, Maria asks Angelo to sell the caff to Café Mania. Angelo reluctantly agrees. Kris and Mickey P are devastated to hear that Maria is leaving. With Maria no longer speaking to her, Alicia decides to hang out with Shelley but their friendship is cut short when Alicia reveals that she is not quite as innocent as she looks. Russell makes a devastating discovery after bumping into a former work colleague in the caff. Dave is overjoyed to discover that Karen is pregnant at last, but Karen doesn't seem quite as thrilled as he would expect. And a letter from Café Mania holds the key to Angelo and Maria's futures.