Jedrington's family is incarcerated by evil lawyer Skulkingworm in London's infamous prison The Skint, until they can repay a mysterious and vast debt. Will Jedrington rescue his family in time for Christmas or lose them forever? And is there more to the name Secret-Past than meets the eye?
From the Red Button, a behind the scenes look at The Bleak Old Shop Of Stuff which reveals how the programme is part of a unique experiment. It is the first television programme in over one hundred and seventeen years to be made using traditional Victorian television making techniques. See how the relatively fearless cast and crew coped with steam cameras, on-set urchins and the occasional cholera outbreak behind the scenes.
Jedrington Secret-Past teams up with a charming new business partner, but is Harmswell Grimstone all he seems, or is he actually massively evil? And what is the awful secret behind the cryptic letter that has disturbed Jedrington's wife Conceptiva so greatly that she has made her way to End-It-All Dock? As the Secret-Past family's fortunes rise and rise it turns out that the foundations of their happiness are far from sound.
Using Victorian television production techniques has a dramatic effect on how a production is run. The cast and crew of The Old Bleak Shop of Stuff speak candidly about the production team, in particular the treatment of the various urchins and orphans on set.
Stricken with grief at the apparent death of his wife, Jedrington begins to question the morality of his business empire until on Easter Eve he is visited by three terrifying ghostly rabbits who drive him over the edge of despair. Meanwhile at the hands of Miss Primly Tightclench the governess Mr Wackvile, headmaster of St Nasty's the Secret-Past children suffer the worst extremes of Victorian education until Victor goes missing in a suspicious accident with an automatic caning machine. But who is the mysterious amnesiac woman wandering the East End?
Staying true to Victorian TV production techniques is taking its toll on the team. Digging for coal, steam powered cameras and giant candles are all being employed to create an authentic production.
Reduced to poverty and gin addiction Jedrington is at his lowest ebb, until his loyal and true servant Servegood restores him to sobriety by the gentle application of a massive cudgel. Reunited with Conceptiva, the two take the evil Mr Harmswell Grimstone to court to demand the return of the business and their daughter. But when the judge turns out to be Grimstone's uncle the case seems hopeless. Just when all seems lost, the family find the solution in the most unlikely place.
