The Motorway Hotel - Season 1

The hotel is preparing for one of the most important commercial nights of the year: Valentine's. Head Chef James has come up with a whole new menu to try to tempt the M6 motorists and locals through the door and get the tills ringing, but first he needs to convince owners Chris and Dawn it tastes good, or it's all going in the bin.

Motorway Hotel regular Greg, the local motorway breakdown rescue driver, struggles to get a lane closed to recover an elderly couple from the side of the M6 as traffic flies past him at 70mph. Meanwhile, in the hotel bar, can the staff invent a new Valentine's cocktail that meets with drinks boss Becky's approval to go on the menu for the big night? Barman Marcus is up for the challenge.

Motorway bridge repair man Lou pops into the restaurant for bangers and mash before heading out to perform vital repairs on the M6 – can he finish before daybreak and keep the traffic flowing?

It's make or break time for the Motorway Hotel as the wedding season kicks off. Wedding coordinator Emily and Operations Manager Ness are heading to the local wedding fair to try to sell the charms of a hotel next to the M6 to dozens of brides and grooms to be.

Back at the hotel, the staff nervously await the arrival of one of their most demanding regular customers: Ailsa and her coach trip of exacting pensioners. They're popping in for lunch on the way to a military tattoo but as the booze starts flowing the hotel needs to be on its toes! Will they get the blame when the coach doesn't arrive?

In the bar, another demanding customer arrives: VIP pooch Molly, who's treated to a sparkling doggy wine served only to the highest grade customers.

On the roads, recovery driver Greg needs to rescue a stricken ambulance that's blocking up an entire car park of angry HGV drivers.

Hotel boss Emily is thrown a curveball when namesake wedding coordinator Emily announces she's leaving, and The Moat House has to find a replacement sharpish before the wedding season gets into full swing. There are two candidates battling it out for the job: wedding assistant Chloe and long-term member of staff Vicky. Who'll get the nod after the testing interviews?

While all this is happening, outgoing wedding coordinator Emily has to look after the first wedding of the season…

There's huge excitement at the Motorway Hotel as Elton John is expected to drop in off the yellow brick M6 – well, Elton John tribute act Paul - but before the crocodile rocks, new joint wedding coordinator Chloe needs to navigate her first wedding, a massive downpour and some confusion with the bride and groom's names.

The hotel is also expecting a star of the internet to visit: lorry spotter extraordinaire Dave, who's managed to combine a night away for his wife Mandy's birthday at the Moat House with a cheeky filming session at a nearby junction of the M6! Will she tolerate his traffic habit on her big day?

There's also a delivery van stuck on the smart motorway section of the M6 with a huge, shredded tyre blowout, waiting for recovery driver Greg with very little room to manoeuvre.

As the wedding season hots up and with local staff hard to recruit after Covid, mum Jo has spotted a way to get her 17-year-old son Hayden out from under her feet and into gainful employment. Over a meal in the hotel restaurant she engineers him a trial shift helping out with an event. But can he cut the mustard under the exacting gaze of Operations Manager Ness?

There's a big party brewing at the Motorway Hotel: the annual national Maize Maze awards is meant to be in town, but as the guests are due to arrive a huge fall of snow sends the M6 into chaos and threatens to ruin the whole event, sending owner Chris out with his snow shovel. When they do arrive there's some worry over whether entertainer Josh can pull off his edgy "Drag Granny" act to keep the punters amused.

In the kitchen, Head Chef James is trying out apprentice Kaylan, who's quit his job as an estate agent to sweat over a hot stove, but he's tested to the limit with a challenge to cook some very expensive steaks to exacting standards, after a visit to the beautiful local farm where the beef is reared.

For the Lewis family, owners of the hotel, there's a rare moment for reflection as Chris and Dawn share some long-forgotten pictures of the Moat House before it was even a hotel with new supremo daughter Emily. That's before they throw a dinner for all their longest serving staff including some, like pot-washer Ida, who've been there for decades.

On the roads, a courier has slashed his tyres on a damaged kerb and recovery driver Greg is rushing to get him, and his parcels, back on the move. And when he's finished that, he's off to help boss Chris who's driven the ride-on mower into the Motorway Hotel's moat!