-I might as well stand next to the gold one.

[ Camera shutter clicks ] Legend.

Look at that, man.

They are nice.

-[ Laughs ] Christmas present, eh?

-Yeah.

One day.

[ Chuckles ] -The Savoy, its very name synonymous with glamour.

-Winston Churchill, Charlie Chaplin, Princess Grace Kelly, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, and you.

[ Laughter ] -It's the destination for a refined... -Seven-course tasting menu.

-Look at that.

-...and sophisticated Christmas.

-Hello, hello.

-No way.

Oh, my God.

-It's the most critical time of the year.

-There is absolutely no room for error.

-So for the 600 staff, the season of goodwill is a call to arms.

-Ooh-la-la.

I'll tell you what, the pressure is on.

-And torn from their family and friends... -Hey, hey, princess.

-...they do battle for six exhausting weeks.

-The logistic is incredible.

-37 suites, all full.

-We've been gearing ourselves up all year for this night.

-So at this magical time, everyone is pushed to breaking point.

-How long is Charlie gonna be?

I need a time.

-Their table is not ready.

-Don't get narky with me.

-It's alright for you going home soon.

-Merry Christmas.

Ho ho ho ho ho!

-Every Christmas, it seems to be getting busier and busier and busier, you know.

-How many restaurants did we phone up today trying to get bookings at?

-I think at one stage, you phoned 16 or something.

-Yeah, that's right.

-Hey, it's only going to get busier.

-Well, that'll be all part of the fun, yes.

♪♪ -The festive season at The Savoy spans the six weeks from mid-November to New Year's Day.

-Let's put one on the table just to see how it look like.

-There isn't a single department that isn't feverishly preparing... -Wellingtons, we're going to do 60 fillets.

-...for the madness that lies ahead.

-Yesterday, it must have been a thousand people here.

-Butlers are very busy at the moment.

-Oh, my ball has fell off.

All our guests get a gift of some kind.

This is the 70th present I have wrapped.

-One down, 15 to go.

-With a surge in visitor numbers through Christmas and New Year, revenues rocket by a staggering 200%.

-We're doing double the volume during a six-week period that we would do over any other time of the year.

-During the festive season, a normal day would be 1,000 to 1,200 guests who come through our venue.

It's quite a dramatic sum of money.

We're talking around £3.5 million for food and beverage alone.

-Good afternoon.

Merry Christmas.

You just need to be on your toes.

Everybody needs to know what they have to do.

Rocco, table 19, they're ready to order.

-Yeah.

-They've been waiting, yeah?

Let's go.

Come on.

It's just nonstop.

♪♪ -Blueberry pancakes, how long?

-One minute.

-One minute.

Oh, you're on fire today.

Can I have, please, multigrain, left-hand side, please?

-Okay, expedite, let's go, let's go.

-So far, so good, ladies?

-Very nice.

Thank you.

-Whew!

-At the iconic front entrance, customers arrive during the busy buildup to Christmas... -This way, this way, this way.

-...while downstairs, vast quantities of produce are arriving to feed them all.

-How shiny are they?

-In terms of ordering, you multiply your regular order by four.

So some days you receive 50 cases of champagne, and those will be gone within about three days.

Go, go, go.

Rock and roll.

[ Birds chirping ] ♪♪ -I think my artistic side is coming out now.

-After a 40-year career, head butler Sean is well aware of the seasonal spirit that takes hold of his staff of eight.

-I just need to straighten my balls again.

Christmas is a time of joy, a time of peace, a time of laughter.

It's the one time of the year that you see people in a very different light.

Morning, everybody.

It brings out the beauty in us all.

Why was there so many expired service requests?

Were you all asleep here or something?

What I want to stress to people, we have X amount of staff, X amount of suites, which are all full, which is 37 in total.

Want to remind particularly you, Michael, because this is your first Christmas with us.

We need to maintain the service level.

This year we have one butler who -- it's their first time with us, and his name is Michael.

I took this person on without relevant experience.

We are going to have pressure now, guys, till the 4th of January.

-How we doing, ladies?

-Yeah, it's going amazing.

-Delicious, darling.

-I love this breakfast.

[ Both laugh ] -With 160 staff across four venues, director of restaurants Anne... -[ Sighs ] -...is braced for a busy season.

-I have one of the largest teams in the hotel.

Go on, precious.

Oh, look at that smile.

It makes every day worth it.

During the festive period, the amount of diners that you have triple.

There's a lot of pressure.

-While most of the hotel staff work either Christmas Day or New Year's Eve, Anne has been one of the exceptions.

-So, I've been here three years, and I've spent every Christmas here and New Year's Eve.

Thank you, my love.

That's very kind.

I think the last Christmas I had off was the year my daughter was born.

I think.

I was on maternity leave, so you'd hope so.

This year, we're feeling in a very strong place.

We're very excited.

I'm hoping to be able to take Christmas Day off for the first time.

My daughter is called Wilhelmina, and she's 4 years old.

Wilhelmina's very excited.

We've even bought the turkey.

One of the challenges that I face is being able to delegate responsibility.

I'm hoping to be able to get home to put Wilhelmina to bed on Christmas Eve, so she's going to stay up a little bit later -- the mince pies and milk out and the carrots.

I'm very excited.

Okay, let me see.

Give me one second.

Let me fix this one, and then I'm all -- There we go.

We're done.

[ Inhales deeply ] Now just got to make it happen.

♪♪ ♪♪ -Mr. Harris, welcome back.

How are you?

-Alright.

-Driving in from Wales, Mr. Howell Harris has come to stay at the hotel for the festive period.

-Looks like a new coat, huh?

-Well... -Yeah?

-I bought it in the '80s.

-[ Laughs ] -It's like me, getting old.

-When it's good quality, it shows.

-First time I always remember The Savoy is when we were on holidays up in London, the family walking up the Strand, and my father pointing down to The Savoy and saying, "That's where all the film stars, John Wayne and all them, stays."

And now they got Mr. Howell Harris staying.

-He's been coming to The Savoy for many years with his mother.

We always have a cup of tea.

-Look who's here.

Look.

-Welcome back.

-How are you?

-Very good.

-Yeah, he's one of the famous faces of Savoy, like, you know, just such a lovely, lovely fella.

Yeah, I mean, the history with him here is just amazing, you know?

-I'm a working man like everybody else.

-Welcome to your London home, sir.

-I own a little guesthouse in Bridgend, South Wales.

They do them for me, nice cakes.

I joined St. John Ambulance, and I enjoyed that.

I was in it until the year 2000.

I think God wanted that, 'cause I was trained in home nursing and I think to look after Mother.

♪♪ -I've done the table plans for all the venues on Christmas Day.

I'm going to be very positive.

It's looking good.

Father Christmas can visit us on the 24th.

It's a very challenging job to make plans, if I'm very honest, because if I have to be here, then I have to be here.

That's the nature of the beast.

[ Cellphone chimes ] That's not ideal, a small miscommunication, which means I am down a couple of hosts.

That's fine.

It's just not ideal, but it's fine.

There can always be a bump in the road.

As parents, you can really give yourself the guilt.

You just feel constantly guilty.

You know, you feel like you're not enough.

In the back of my mind, thinking that I might have to do Christmas Day, Boxing Day to do some -- offer some support to one of the venues.

Oh, for God's sake.

-Well, we're going to have a great time tonight.

I'm looking forward to... -I'm glad you are.

-37-year-old Michael is new to The Savoy, and working as a butler is a fresh start for him.

-For many years, I wanted to be an actor, but it didn't turn out, and I've had to let go of that dream.

The opportunity to work in a place like this doesn't come around very often.

Four months ago, I was in a call center, and now I'm sitting here talking to you, you know?

Hello.

This is Michael, your butler.

Not a bad place to work, is it?

Let's be honest.

Everyone tells you about Christmas here.

Like, two, three months before, everyone's like, "Oh, Christmas is coming, Christmas is coming.

Oh, you've never seen anything."

And you're like, "Okay, okay, yeah, whatever.

I'm sure it'll be fine."

That's my order.

And then it starts and it's horrendous, in a very charming and exciting and magical way.

But it's horrendous.

[ Glass shatters ] I know my supervisor's in there.

I'm going to knock anyway.

-One of Michael's suites this Christmas will be occupied by a family who spend around 50 nights a year at The Savoy.

-Have you seen the pillows?

How long does the guest have to stay with us to get the pillow?

Is it 60?

-Over 60 stays.

-Over 60 stays.

Hopefully they like the setup that we've done for them.

-With a riverside suite costing £2,500 a night, everything has to be absolutely perfect, including Michael.

-Attention to detail.

Get a few butterflies before you meet the guests 'cause you just really want everything to go well.

If you mess it up, it's going to be, "Oh, do you remember that Christmas?

Oh, it was so terrible, wasn't it?

Do you remember how the butler at The Savoy messed it up for us and knocked over the Christmas tree?"

-You alright there, mate?

-We're all like that because it's such an important time of the year.

-Hello.

Welcome back.

How are you?

-Arriving for their 23rd visit this year are the Sprenger family from Yorkshire.

-This was our first large hotel we ever -- we ever came to, so we were both trainee solicitors, didn't have an awful lot of money, and we fell in love with the place from then.

-Welcome back.

No.

-I know.

I broke my foot.

So attractive.

-We know all the staff here.

It's like we get treated like royalty when we come.

-While dad Jason and son Isaac are at the football, the Sprenger girls have checked in for some last-minute Christmas shopping.

-So I got your wreath on the door ready for you.

-Oh, wow.

Oh, wow.

It looks amazing.

-So welcome to your home away from home.

-Thank you so much.

-Wonderful to have you back.

-Thank you.

-Come on in.

-Oh, my God.

Amazing.

-So you have everything set up for you.

-Aw.

It's better than the one we've got at home.

Gorgeous, as always.

-I'd love to get you a welcome drink.

I know you have some champagne.

-Do you know, please may I have a gin and tonic, actually?

-Gin and tonic is on the way.

-I really want a gin and tonic.

-Yeah, glass of champagne.

-Can we have champagne?

-Glass of champagne and a gin and tonic.

Ice and lemon.

-Thank you so much.

-No problem.

Take care.

-Thank you.

It's our favorite hotel.

I have lost count of the amount of times that we've been here.

Girls.

Happy Christmas.

[ Camera shutter clicks ] -People are going to come and spend Christmas with their families.

They want the Christmas tree.

They want the presents.

You know, everyone is eating wonderful food, and they've saved up for this.

Your welcome drinks.

-Thank you.

-Always a happy sight to see, isn't it?

It needs to be perfect.

Take care.

Bye.

Oh, I forgot the tonic.

-We have like 400 people booked on this menu so far.

Yeah, and just...what we do.

-The Savoy Grill is having its busiest day of the year so far.

-Let's go, then, right now.

-But executive chef Ben is still planning the £250-per-head Christmas Day menu.

-Guys, we got a veg list -- prep veg list for tomorrow.

It's quite an extensive menu, but it's also very challenging.

So, it's a seven-course tasting menu with canapes, amuse, a starter, fish course, main course, pre-dessert, and then dessert.

It's a massive deal for everyone who comes on board.

Half the team has Christmas.

Half the team has New Year.

So it's quite a reduced team.

The guys have to work super hard, and they're under the pressure, under pressure a lot.

-While the kitchen prepares the 240 portions of Beef Wellington and 1,700 Brussels sprouts, the restaurant director is nowhere to be seen.

-Where's, uh -- Where's Thierry?

-This is a very special day for me because my mom -- she lives near Toulouse, in the southwest of France.

Salut, maman.

And I see her maybe once a year, once every year and a half.

She arrived to spend the whole week and Christmas with me.

And, Mum, look.

Even the queen look at you.

She arrived yesterday afternoon, Sunday.

I said, "Mum, you're gonna have tea at The Savoy."

She said, "Amazing.

Can't wait."

"But I won't be able to spend Christmas with you."

I have to work."

And she said, "You're joking."

-[ Speaking French ] -I cannot drink, I need to stay sober.

Of course, I lost my father many years ago, but my mum being at The Savoy -- that will be my best Christmas present.

-A quick one.

Thank you very much.

Merci beaucoup.

But the thing is, right now, for me to come out from Savoy Grill, it's a bit stressful because I know we're very busy.

Joyeux Noel.

-Joyeux Noel.

Merry Christmas everybody.

Cheers, cheers.

We would love to be with our loved ones, family for Christmas, but that's the way it is, unfortunately.

♪♪ -[ Chuckles ] Excuse me?

-Holy popsicles, it's cold.

-Hello?

-You okay?

-Good afternoon.

-[ Laughs ] How are you?

-Lovely shoes.

-Thank you.

I picked out the color of red in my skirt.

Have you got your thermals on?

Alright.

[ Laughs ] -You know.

You know.

You know.

-Don't know if I want to know, Tony.

[ Both laugh ] I'm not sure Mrs. Tony would appreciate this conversation.

[ Both laugh ] -When I'm next to you, I don't need anything.

-[ Laughs ] -I'm hot already.

[ Laughs ] -Let's go up one floor.

Let's go up one floor.

Oh, sorry.

Yes, that's what I need to do.

Let's go -- Sorry.

Let's go back this way.

I just remembered what I was doing.

Hello, Santa.

Being a butler and being an actor, there are a lot of things that we do that are very similar.

That campness that I have, that theatrical side to me.

You're performing.

So, this is one of our chocolate Christmas puddings.

Every single room gets one of these.

Off we go.

♪♪ Merry Christmas.

Butler service.

Another room ready.

Champagne, particular whiskey, chocolate pudding.

I'd say that's pretty good for Christmas Eve.

Right.

Off to our next endeavor.

-Let's go and book this holiday.

Now, let's see.

Um... -Ooh.

That's an early flight to the Maldives, though.

£4,400.

Well, that's your drink.

That's your drinks bill.

[ Both laugh ] -Yeah, we can't not come.

-Can't not.

Cheers.

♪♪ ♪♪ Yes.

Mother and I used to sit... [ Laughs ] ♪♪ -Ooh!

So good to see you!

-How are you?

Yes.

How are you, Rose?

-I'm well.

Thank you for asking.

-Alright.

How's your son?

-He's doing well.

Oh, you always remember.

-Yeah.

-Mrs. Harris, that's so sweet.

-When I was a youngster, we never had a Father Christmas.

We always had a Mother Christmas.

-Thanks very much.

-You're welcome, Mr. Harris.

Father was more excited, as we were, because he never knew what Mother brought us.

-Here we are.

-Lovely to see you, Rose.

-Yeah, likewise.

-Well, we were a lovely family, really.

Last time we were here, I said to mother, "I'll take you and we'll spend Christmas in The Savoy."

"Ooh, that would be lovely," she said.

But unfortunately, she died in June.

She never seen the lights.

I'm the only one left now, so... How are you, Anne?

-Yeah.

How's your room?

-He has some, you know, fond memories here, and I know some of the memories he has are rather more difficult.

-Last time Mother and I were with you, waiting for her breakfast, and she shout out, "Where's my breakfast?!"

Of course, that was her dementia, and that was it really, you know?

Never mind.

Happy memories.

She's like me.

She liked fine dining.

And that's what we used to come up for, you know?

She was my love.

♪♪ -Alright.

Enjoy your breakfast.

-I'll come back later.

-Okay.

Thanks very much.

♪♪ -I check my steps, and I've been doing -- I've been doing 10 kilometers every day.

♪♪ What's stressful about the job is that you're always on a timeline, you're always under pressure, whether it's in-room dining, serving food, and making sure that the amenities they have to go in are correct.

You have to be in more than one place at the same time, and it's impossible.

And when you work with someone like Sean, it's not good to forget things.

[ Cellphone vibrating ] Hello.

Michael speaking.

How may I assist you?

-So, Michael... -There's a card for the -- You mean -- There's a card in front of it?

What, there's two cards to go in there?

-Oh, really?

There was none on -- There's none on any of the plum puddings that I've been delivering.

There's no cards on them.

Well, I'll go to in-room dining and check, but none of the ones that I've -- -Well, I've asked Tina.

So, when you did speak to somebody, speak to somebody who can do something for you.

-[ Chuckles ] I'm gonna go and get the -- -No, I don't want you to do -- Did you listen to what I just said?

I said I've done it.

Michael, I'm gonna repeat myself one more time.

-No one told me there was supposed to be cards on them, so -- -Don't get narky with me, okay?

But I'm telling you now that it's done.

Is that clear?

Do you understand that?

Good.

-Okay.

Thank you.

It's the 24th.

Sean's on our case.

And everything has to be spot on.

There are no margins of error when you work at The Savoy.

♪ It's the most wonderful time of the year ♪ ♪♪ -♪ A Christmas city is big and beautiful ♪ ♪ Bright lights everywhere ♪ -Thank you so much.

♪ A place where you can meet St. Nick ♪ ♪ So join our journey there ♪ -What do you think?

I think we've aged about 20 years each today.

-I'll say.

I had hair this morning when I came in.

-[ Laughs ] Yeah.

I had a bit more, as well.

But listen, you know, we're almost there, or you're almost there.

It's alright for you going home soon.

-[ Laughing ] Hey!

[ Chuckles ] ♪♪ [ Speaking indistinctly ] A lot of work.

I'm not a LEGO person.

[ Laughs ] This is nice for the children, isn't it?

How are you?

Alright?

-Good to see you.

-And you.

-Good to see you.

Welcome back.

-The griffin should have been red.

-Oh, yeah?

Well -- -[ Speaking indistinctly ] The staff and I here got a very good rapport.

I just like people to treat me like I would treat them.

-Yeah.

Take care.

Ta.

-Take care.

In the '60s, to be homosexual, it was then -- [ Exhales sharply ] A sin.

Christmas at The Savoy.

That's why I didn't marry anybody.

Can't help if you fall in love with a man or a woman.

You can't help who you fall in love with.

I haven't fallen in love with anybody.

So I don't know what I am.

[ Laughs ] I'm a mixture.

I'm still mixing in the bowl, waiting to find out what I am.

-There's a little store over there.

-And this is me.

But that's it.

♪♪ -Did you check 650 for me, as requested?

-854?

-6-5-0.

Did you check it, like I asked?

-No.

-Who did I tell you was going in there today?

-6-5-0?

-Yes.

-No.

-Okay.

It doesn't matter.

You may be looking for a job in the next week or two because it's quite a VIP person, it was.

-Did you tell us yesterday in the meeting?

-I told you this morning.

But, okay, don't worry.

I'm going to sort it out.

-Not Mr. Kidd?

He's 854.

-But you should have told me he moved to 854.

I was checking you out.

-[ Laughs ] I did.

I got 854.

It's ready.

-Yeah, you see?

You're not listening.

-I'm listening.

-Okay?

You're not listening.

-[ Sighs, chuckles ] Oh, I can't wait to go home.

I was right, though.

It was 854.

-Merry Christmas!

Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho!

-How's my day been?

It's been.

It's been and gone.

It's been amazing.

You know, I had a little bit of an argument with my boss today.

Who doesn't on a stressful Christmas Eve?

I want to please my bosses, so I'm hoping that by midnight or 12:30, when the final butler shift finishes, we will have accomplished our goal until 7:00 a.m. tomorrow.

And then it all kicks off again.

But I'm not here.

I'm on the couch.

I'm eating mince pies.

I'm downing brandy cream.

So, quite frankly, I wish them all the best of luck, but I couldn't care less.

Good luck, Santa.

-Thank you very much.

-Make sure you got your reindeer ready.

You want to be getting around that hotel quickly.

-Yes, it's tied up outside.

-[ Chuckles ] -Yeah.

God bless.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

♪♪ -[ Sighs ] -It's 4:00 p.m., and Anne is still not sure she will be home for Christmas Day.

-So, I am actually waiting to work out cover and support for tomorrow.

I'm actually just waiting for Nick from -- he's our assistant manager in Thames Foyer -- whether or not he can step in... [ Telephone rings ] ...on Christmas Day.

Hello?

Hey.

♪♪ Yeah.

♪♪ Are you joking?

♪♪ Yeah.

[ Inhales deeply ] Okay.

Bye.

♪♪ -[ Chuckles ] I think we might have done it.

I can confirm that I'll be off on Christmas Day.

[ Line ringing ] -Hello.

-Hello.

You okay?

-Yeah.

You okay?

-Yeah.

-So, I had some news.

-Oh, really?

-We're gonna have Christmas together.

-Oh, really?

-Yeah.

[ Laughs ] Don't act so surprised.

We don't have to freeze the turkey.

[ Both laugh ] Is Willa there?

Hey, hey.

-Hey.

-Are you okay, little princess?

-Yeah.

-What day is it tomorrow.

-Christmas.

Santa Claus is coming.

-Father Christmas is coming!

-[ Shouts excitedly ] -I think you're a little excited.

That's good news.

Alright, darling, I'll speak to you later.

Alright.

Bye-bye.

Love you.

My greatest achievement in life is my daughter, 100%.

♪♪ We're gonna just have the three of us at home, and I'm so excited about that.

Ooh, of course I'm gonna miss the train.

♪♪ ♪♪ -Merry Christmas!

-Merry Christmas!

-[ Laughs ] -Go and kiss your mother.

-Mwah!

Love you.

Merry Christmas.

-Merry Christmas.

-Mwah!

-Ready, guys?

[ Cork pops ] -Whee!

-Christmas Day in The Savoy is special.

-Cheers.

Cheers.

-Darling.

The Savoy does everything for us so, you know, we really have that good, quality family time, which you can't... -Yeah, we do.

-...can't put a price on.

So, this is from all of us, darling.

Merry Christmas.

-Thank you.

Aww!

Oh, amazing.

Thank you so much.

Mwah!

♪♪ -Oh, wow.

♪♪ [ Laughter ] -No way.

Oh, my God.

-How did Santa know?

-It's amazing.

I love it.

Thank you.

♪♪ -On Christmas Day, at Savoy Grill we're very busy.

We have 386 guests, and in the evening, 257.

We can seat 110.

And we turn the restaurant three times.

Tough day today.

We know that.

So I don't want any stress.

The most difficult thing is the timing.

People can stay at their table for three hours, and some people arrive late.

And that's quite challenging because you've got guests waiting.

One mistake, the kitchen will be in trouble and it's gonna be like a snowball.

-12:00, guys!

Doors are open!

[ All shouting indistinctly ] -It's not like a normal day.

Of course I'd rather be at home.

Well, you look amazing!

But let's -- let's enjoy it.

Hospitality is tough.

If you don't keep control of everything, then you're gonna collapse.

♪♪ -Merry Christmas.

We're really busy because from 11:00 until 12:00 everyone's coming for lunch.

20, 30 cars arriving.

There was no taxis, no buses, no trains.

Everyone comes by car.

Come back a little bit.

So, for us, it's the busiest day of the year.

-Thank you, sir.

-Merry Christmas.

-Uh, C.T., no allergies.

Canapes away, please.

-It's 1:00 p.m., and the first of the three Christmas dinner sittings is already behind schedule.

-People are queuing to have Christmas lunch with us.

Their table is not ready.

So they're gonna have to go back in the lobby.

-Cabbage puree.

Where is it?

-Bit stressful the past 20 minutes.

There is no public transport, no taxi today.

Everybody's late, and of course, it's like, you know -- it's like a snowball.

-What's the matter?

-We you want to know the time for 17.

-Can you...come here?

♪♪ It's a... -People are staying longer than expected.

Ooh, la-la.

I'll tell you what.

The pressure is on.

I would love to turn your table after 20 minutes.

But come on.

It's Christmas.

You've got seven courses.

We need a table.

We're already in trouble.

We're already in trouble.

We need the second seating.

Look.

Everybody's coming now.

What are we gonna do?

Well, we'll see.

I might serve outside.

♪♪ -With two of the three lunch sittings complete, Thierry and the grill staff are on the home straight.

-Everybody's happy.

They're all smiling.

They pull the Christmas crackers, canape on the table.

We're getting there.

-♪ Good tidings we bring ♪ ♪ We wish you a merry... ♪ -We are so lucky to have an amazing staff.

Can I have a kiss?

Mm!

Mm!

-Mwah!

Merry Christmas.

-Hello, everybody.

Merry Christmas.

It's because of them that the show is going to be amazing.

For me, I'm just the conductor.

They are the musician.

I wish you a lovely lunch, and I'll see you later on.

Okay?

-Thank you very much.

-I'm just going like, voilà, a little bit of this, a little bit of that.

-Four turkey, one Wellington.

-And they're doing all the rest.

-Three crab, one velouté.

-Service.

-You having a nice day?

-Always.

I live for this.

-Three, two, one.

-Hey!

-Hey!

-It's not the time to stop now.

-It's just a really special, magical day.

Nowhere quite does it like The Savoy.

-This is amazing.

-Cheers.

-Thank you, Thierry.

-Thank you very much.

We'll see you next year, yeah?

-♪ And a happy New Year ♪ -4,500 dishes have been served in the Savoy Grill today.

-My Christmas Day will probably be one day.

I have no idea when my Christmas will be.

♪♪ You know, Christmas is over now.

However, New Year's Eve is coming.

♪♪ -It's been a long day for the staff at The Savoy, but there's one last Christmas gift for a guest that Sean has arranged.

-I met Mr. Harris this morning.

He didn't seem his more cheerful self.

I think he was a little bit sentimental today.

So he might be -- I think it's the time of the year as well.

-Hotel rooms are hotel rooms.

They can be very lonely places.

Right.

So, what I'm going to be doing for Mr. Harris will be trying to create that little magical moments that he had spent with his mother.

Mr. Harris, here you are.

Well, if you'd like to come with me.

-Right.

-Let me show you the way.

-[ Whistles ] -♪ With the flames getting higher ♪ -Mr. Harris, I want to take you for a drive in our Rolls.

I'd like to show you all the Christmas lights.

And I hope that's a nice surprise.

You bugger.

[ Laughter ] Would you mind if I jumped on the other side?

-♪ If you look really hard at the one selling cards ♪ -See you later!

Enjoy!

[ Laughs ] -Where you taking me?

Buckingham Palace?

-Yeah.

We're going for tea with the Queen.

[ Laughter ] -♪ We'll be wrapping up warm tonight ♪ -Pretty, though, the lights, Sean, isn't it?

-For me, I think this is the only way to see the lights.

-Is it bulletproof?

-You're very safe because nobody's going to shoot me, okay?

-I never thought I would be a guest at The Savoy.

-And look at you now.

-Oh, good goodness.

And I think over the years, we've got to know each other, and we just have a good banter with each other now, don't we?

-That's what it's all about.

Somebody asked me the question, did I remember your mother?

Yes, I did.

And, you know, it is great to be able to see you come back on your own.

-Well, she is here with us.

-Of course.

She will always be here.

-Of course she is.

Yes.

She would have loved the room, and she would have been sitting by the window.

-Yeah.

-But she would love the lights and things.

-Yeah.

When you come back now, do you feel at home?

-Of course I do, you silly fool.

♪♪ Being what I am... -Yeah.

-...I wish I had... -Yeah.

-...like a family.

-Yeah.

-But you've got to move on.

And I'll be honest.

You're all a part of my family.

A lovely surprise.

I'll be honest with you, Sean.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -Is that going higher?

Oh, good!

I was about to say, we're missing a bit.

[ Laughs ] -Christmas is so busy, but actually the only time of the year I really worry about the team is New Year's.

There is a lot of stress and pressure for them.

-New Year's Eve is really big at Savoy Grill.

It's almost like Christmas, guests paying £350 per person.

-One case, 2,016.

-They are beautifully dressed, impeccable for that amazing and important evening.

The pressure just come back up.

This, for us, it's so important.

-I'm a lot calmer than I thought I would be at this stage.

-Back from her Christmas break, Anne, with her team of 15 hosts, has over 400 guests to seat in the Savoy's four other venues.

-This is our most expensive night of the year, New Year's Eve.

The tickets range from £300 a head to £495 a head.

-And with a six-course banquet on the menu, Anne's kitchens will be responsible for producing over 2,000 dishes.

Basically, what we have to execute between the time of 7:10 to 8:00 is to seat just under 200 guests downstairs in the ballroom and then just over 200 guests upstairs on a massive scale.

There is absolutely no room for error.

[ Cellphone dings ] We'll just see what's going on.

And so my role is to ensure that that doesn't happen.

♪♪ -What's happened?

-One of our hosts is sick.

Okay.

I hold myself to a very high account, and so that adds stress.

-Where's my two Cristals gone?

-They're probably in the fridge, Sean.

-Oh, yeah, they are.

♪♪ Ah!

Voilà!

-Dilly!

There we go.

That's one.

-Look at that.

Hello, hello.

Listen, don't you want to finish the year with that amazing bottle of Krug champagne?

Can't wait to open it.

-We'll go in the kitchen and put this here.

There is a little bit of a rush.

We have somebody in the Royal Suite, but we didn't realize there was 20 people arriving, which kind of took us off guard.

It costs a lot of money, anything from £12,000 to £18,000.

But the people that come to these rooms don't worry what it's costing.

So, what do you know.

Isn't it good to check?

Because I found a ladybird.

It's made my evening.

Expensive tasteless, this ladybird, okay?

They're very gracious creatures, aren't they?

[ Toilet lid closes ] -It's 6:30 p.m., and while night falls on London, the Savoy is lighting up.

[ Orchestral music playing ] -We have somebody that's a little bit sick, so they won't be able to join us.

That's not to worry.

So, what we'll do is we're gonna divide and conquer.

Kiara, you're gonna stay upstairs now.

Guys, you got this.

Have a lovely evening.

And enjoy it, okay?

Let's go.

-We've been gearing ourselves up all year for this night.

So it's our duty and our job to make this a magical evening for everybody, okay?

Let's have fun, and it's gonna be good, I'll tell you.

-If you'd like to follow me, I will show you through.

-Perfect.

Thank you.

-So, doors have just opened.

It's always a little bit stressful at the beginning, obviously.

Can you grab three trays for me, please, for empty glasses?

Because you don't get two midnights, it's vitally important that you are constantly, constantly ensuring that we're on time.

I'm just a little bit warm.

You'll have to forgive my glow.

It's not the charm of the woman.

It's actually just sweat.

-Shall I just leave it in there?

No problem.

Yeah.

-After having Christmas Day off, Michael is working New Year's Eve, and with half the suites having dinner in their rooms, he will be busier than ever before.

-[ Speaking indistinctly ] -You know, alive.

Just butlering.

Okay, so, we've got two sandwiches.

Wow.

-The fries are inside the hot box.

-Wonderful.

-Champagne there.

-Wonderful.

You look at the people that you work with, and you see how good they are at their jobs.

-There's extra glasses because I think there's about four people in the room.

-Thank you.

That they've given you the privilege of working with them.

Ooh, look at that.

Wow.

For me?

So, New Year is special.

We are, you know, one of the only hotels with that famous view of the river, and a lot of people want to come and enjoy that and stay here and make a night of it.

Egg mayo sandwich.

These people are my people.

I love working with people and pleasing people and looking after our guests.

Good evening.

This looks like my kind of New Year's Eve at the moment.

But, actually, my favorite thing about the job is the sense of self-worth that it gives me.

This is the way to do it.

♪♪ -Perfect.

Thank you.

The best table.

-With half of the 2,000 courses of the night now served... -Squid, tuna tataki.

We like all of it.

We're good.

-...Savoy regulars Monica and Cynthia are assessing their night.

-I brought some food for you.

-We come too often, I'm afraid to say, but we love it.

[ Chuckles ] -Champagne first!

-I need water.

I'm hot.

We even have, you know, like a safe word with the bar stuff so that if we had too much, we know we have to order a taxi and go home.

-[ Laughs ] -We know them that well.

-What's that key word?

-Well, it's actually "dandelion."

Cheers, anyway.

-[ Laughs ] -I'm ashamed of myself.

-Tito, these shells need to be hotter.

Bit up and down, but we're good now.

We've found our groove.

I need, like, 15 more.

-Since the beginning of December, I've been sleeping about four or five hours.

I cannot wait for 2020 to sleep five and a half, not five.

-Give me the glaze on the bar salad.

-I will have a break probably next year.

I don't know yet, but we need now to start working on the Valentine's menu.

-Yeah, send it on the tray there.

-I hope I'm not gonna collapse.

♪♪ -Luca, what are you doing now?

Come with me.

Clearing down your tables.

20 minutes, yeah?

Everybody's getting up and dancing, so now the time our colleagues have got that lovely time to make sure everything's clear and ready to go for the midnight bit.

It will have to go in minutes.

Yeah?

'Cause they're gonna be going out.

We aimed to finish all the food by 11:00, so now it's just coffees, teas, getting those orders ready for midnight champagne.

Three orders of champagne.

Go, go, go.

You are on a very strict timeframe so that your guests can then celebrate New Year how they wish to.

Get around quickly.

Quick, quick, quick.

And so, yes, it is a disaster if you don't deliver to that level.

There is no excuse for it.

Get people with their glasses ready and get them out, yeah?

Next thing is to get all our guests out to watch the fireworks.

Follow the crowd, I say.

Follow the crowd.

And then I can breathe.

-Thank you very much.

-You can come again, and so can you.

Thank you.

[ Laughs ] -Ah, definitely.

-Having cleared all the tables, Anne can focus on the real stars of the show.

-Right.

Five to midnight.

All the guests have got their fizz.

All the guests are outside or in one of the rooms where they can watch the night.

It's now about our colleagues.

-Okay, five minutes, guys, five, five, five minutes.

-Grab your glasses!

It's been a very busy evening, but we said the service would be completed by a certain time.

The service was completed by a certain time.

-Thank you.

-And if you can get those kind of things right, then it's great.

Want to come and celebrate for midnight, come and grab a glass.

-What are we gonna do?

We're having a glass of champagne.

Bye-bye.

Thank you very much.

I think we all deserve it.

-Come on in.

-Poor Michael.

He has never run so fast in his life.

He has actually managed his shift very well.

-This is not a restaurant.

It's a machine.

It's a machine.

-They did a fabulous job.

Guys, I just want to say -- bloody well done!

-Whoo!

-That was fabulous, and you are all really very special people.

To execute such an amazing service is something beyond belief.

-Yeah!

-Whoo!

-And I can't imagine a better team to do it with.

So, thank you very much, and happy New Year.

[ All cheering ] -The team -- they did an amazing job.

-Although it was stressful, I really, really enjoyed it.

-This is a hectic time for us.

I think he's done a great job.

-10, 9, 8... -It's pretty damn spectacular being able to take the hands off and be like, "It's okay.

They got this."

-...3, 2, 1!

[ All cheering ] ♪♪ -I think the team should be very proud of themselves.

-It is amazing, and to say, well done, you guys.

♪♪ -Well, actually, do you know something?

Well done.

-Still alive.

-I am and am not proud of myself.

I-I-I've spent a long time not loving myself, um, for many reasons.

[ Clears throat ] Uh...but I am proud of how I've handled... [ Chuckles ] Yeah.

I'm proud of how I've handled the last few years and, like, you know, not being successful at what you want to do.

And I've handled a new job.

[ Breathes deeply ] Perhaps sometimes they don't realize actually how much it does mean to me, actually, yeah.

♪♪ -The festive season can be a bit exhausting, but it's a really special feeling, really special.

I love Christmas here.

-Look, an amazing story for me were this lovely couple just before Christmas from a little town outside Leicester.

And he said, "Listen, early 1960, and I saw someone from 'Blue Peter' acting as a waiter at the Savoy Grill.

And I said to Dad, 'Dad, one day I will have dinner at Savoy Grill.'

And Dad said, 'Listen, son, we are from a poor family.

You will never be able to dine at Savoy Grill.'"

And he said, "Since then, I've been saving money.

Today is my 65th birthday, and we are celebrating our wedding anniversary.

And I've got to say, what you're giving us tonight is what I've been dreaming all my life."

I could see a tear coming off, you know, from his eyes.

And he left.

And his lady grabbed my arm and she said, "Thank you."

Do you know what?

For me, that was just incredible, probably one of the best moments of my entire career.

I will never forget that.

That's what we are waking up in the morning for.

It's not even a job.

It's a passion.

♪♪ [ Camera shutter clicks ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪