The Reluctant Landlord

Based on a true story, Romesh - has reluctantly inherited the pub of his late, much more exuberant, positive father who relished the role of landlord. Running a pub with a bunch of idiosyncratic regulars couldn’t be further from what hip hop loving Romesh wants to do...Julie’s (his on-hand bar staff) bright sparky disposition rubs him up the wrong way, Lemon who props up the bar has become Romesh’s banter-mate but his flaky mischief is always getting Romesh into trouble.

When pub regular Dirty Harry arrives on the scene after many years in prison, Romesh realises he finally has to deal with the fact that in the past his Dad was bullied and that both he and his son Charlie are currently being bullied. Elsewhere, Natasha sucks Lemon too deep into a juice diet and Julie attempts to add cocktails to the pub menu.

Romesh is annoyed to hear that his rival David Foster is serving posh hipster food in The Dog, his pub down the road. Julie tries her best to introduce posh crisps but not one to be outdone, Romesh decides to have his own specialty food night using a local fantastic new Indian chef who will cook for free - his best mate and pub regular, Lemon! At home, Romesh’s parenting skills come into play when he learns his son Charlie is tired and distracted in class.

Romesh reluctantly helps Lemon out when he asks if his judgemental Mother, Debbie can stay in Rom’s spare room. In exchange for Rom’s help, Lemon offers up Debbie’s babysitting skills and a brand new TV for the pub so Rom’s punters can watch the greatly anticipated ‘big fight’. Lemon, however, conveniently forgets to mention that his Mum’s babysitting approach is a bit unconventional leaving Romesh no choice but to confront her. As this unfolds at home, Natasha waits patiently in a queue for Romesh to join her for dinner – only to get refused entry when Rom doesn’t turn up.

Natasha has borrowed a dog for a couple of days so the family can experience having a pet which leads to Julie making friends with a handsome dog owner. Meanwhile, Rom discovers there’s a Brewery mystery shopper on the prowl so he springs into action, keen to maintain his dad’s stance - to only sell supermarket beer because it is cheaper - at the risk of losing the pub, only to discover the mystery shopper is someone he knows. To make matters even worse, Natasha needs Romesh’s help as she wants to impress her colleagues at a company meal. Romesh agrees to attend but only if he doesn’t get sat next to Nat’s crazy colleague he can’t stand - oh, too late.

After finding a broken pool cue, Romesh installs CCTV to catch the culprit. However, he catches more than he would like - a black shadow. Natasha and the kids are convinced the pub is haunted. Romesh’s Mum, Jayanthi believes it is her dead husband and invites a Sri-Lankan monk to cleanse the pub so he can move on. As if Romesh doesn’t have enough problems, a letter lands from the brewery informing him he has failed his probationary period and is in danger of losing the pub and flat. Elsewhere, Lee stands up for Julie and Rom catches Lemon stealing.

Natasha is on a legal mission to find a loophole in the contract because she doesn’t want to leave her home and move in with Jayanthi. However, Romesh convinced he has to say goodbye to his Dad’s pub has organised a thank you talent evening for the punters - it’s a good opportunity for him to show off his excellent hip hop beats. Overwhelmed by the night and goaded by Lemon, Romesh smashes up the pub. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Julie and Lee give into their boozed-up feelings and Natasha has a good lead, but is it too late?