Sisters Dawn and Donna might be chalk and cheese but they both share the same slovenly domestic ways and their practically perfect mum has had enough. Can Anthea succeed where mum has failed? With only two days to train them she faces some formidable challenges, especially when she introduces them to the art of pastry making. Back at home the competition hots up as both sisters do everything to get their hands on the coveted crown and win the title of Perfect Housewife.
Mel and husband Simon are never happier than when screaming at each other about the mess in the house, while single mum Justine is jeopardising her relationship with her mother because she can't get a grip on the housework.
Emma is a farmer's wife whose house resembles a pig sty. With young children, two part-time jobs and a full-time degree to pass, it's no surprise. David is a full-time househusband and freelance auctioneer with a compulsion for bargain buying, resulting in a home which looks like a saleroom.
Clare, an Oxford graduate with a one-year-old baby, a husband and a family home, is cursed to live like a slovenly student. Stay-at-home mum Connie is blighted with a split personality - her obsession with cleaning is equalled by her fixation of cramming anything and everything in her full to bursting cupboards.
The trainees are full-time dad Gary, who has absolutely no idea how to keep house, and mother-of-three Danielle, whose laundry lunacy has swamped every single room in her house.
Stephanie and Jenny enrol at Anthea's remedial school and take classes in flower arranging and household organisation, and learn how to knock out a pizza. Once school's out they return to confront their horrendous homes and put their lessons to good use.
Anthea takes on Natalie and Kirsty, who are both busy mothers and hopeless housekeepers. Natalie is hiding a dirty secret, while Kirsty is losing sleep over her nightmare home.
Anthea takes on Tina, a mother of four, and Tracey, a hairdresser with horrendous hoarding habits, both of whom go out to work but get next to no help from their families at home. Who will Anthea crown the perfect housewife?