With his chat show and his marriage both over, Alan is now living at the 3-star Linton Travel Tavern hotel and DJ-ing for the graveyard slot on Radio Norwich. He is desperate for a second series of his chat show, so desperate that he keeps having visions of himself doing lap-dances for BBC Chief Commissioning Editor Tony Hayers, who is he going to be having lunch with to discuss his future with the corporation.

As Alan hasn't got a second series he faces a difficult choice, get a smaller car or make everyone at Pear Tree Productions redundant. He has a date with Jill so it's time for a visit to the local Owl Sanctuary.

Alan has a new gig presenting videos for Hamilton's Water Breaks, a local boating holiday firm. However this is being jeopardised by local farmers, who he has incurred the wrath of after making insulting remarks about farming practices on his radio show.

With the Linton Travel Tavern closed for redecoration, Alan is the only guest. Bored out of his brain, he tries to find ways to occupy himself, including buying tungsten-headed screws he has no intention of using, walking along the dual carriageway to buy windscreen washer fluid from a petrol station and dismantling the trouser press in his hotel room.

Two Irish TV executives are visiting Alan to discuss possibilities for future projects. Alan tries to impress them with his knowledge of Irish things and his "An Afternoon with Alan Partridge" event held in the conference room at the Travel Tavern. Unfortunately his guest, Sue Cook, pulls out, leaving Alan to entertain his mostly elderly audience by himself. Also present is Jed, who is Alan's biggest fan and willing to help out in any way he can.

After resigning himself to judging vegetable contests at local fetes, Alan is overjoyed to learn that BBC Chief Commissioning Editor Tony Hayers has died and will be replaced by the more amenable Chris Feathers, who is much more keen on Alan. If Alan can secure a BBC contract, he will finally be able to leave the Linton Travel Tavern, where he has now stayed for 6 months.