Meanwhile, Alf Stokes and Ivy, his daughter, have just been sacked from their jobs in a music hall (Alf took the music hall job after being dismissed for dishonesty as a butler). Alf sees his chance to apply for a job at the Meldrum's house, and after blackmailing his previous employer for references, becomes the new butler, much to the annoyance of James. Following the dismissal of a maid, after a backstairs relationship with the Honourable Teddy, Ivy is brought in by her father as the new maid (to hide the fact that she is Alf's daughter, the two decide that Ivy should use her mother's maiden name, Teasdale).