Hotel is a 1997 eight-episode BBC "fly on the wall" production that followed the general day-to-day running of a hotel giving viewers a rare glimpse of life behind the scenes of the Britannia Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool. The series first aired 3 November 1997 on BBC1 with the first episode receiving viewing figures on 11 million. The series was directed by Neil Grant and narrated by Andrew Sachs.
| Hotel | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Documentary |
| Directed by | Neil Grant |
| Starring | Eileen Downey Brian Burchill |
| Narrated by | Andrew Sachs |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Production location | Adelphi Hotel |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company | Lion Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC1 |
| Release | 3 November – 22 December 1997 |
Employees depicted
edit| Character/ Employee | Position | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Eileen Downey | Hotel Manager | Key Character of the show known as the Ferocious Boss |
| Brian Birchall | Deputy Manager | Famous for the quote – "JUST COOK WILL YER" |
| David Smith | Head Chef | Became famous on Mersey FM following his argument with Brian |
| Christine | Senior Receptionist | known as the pregnant lady with the bump |
| Robert Hallmark | Hotel Porter | Frequently in trouble for mischief & a professional skiver |
| Mrs Owens | Biscuits | Well-known for selling over 300 cups of tea after the ill-fated 1997 Grand National. |
| Paul | Manager | Bearded and generally affable mattress arranger |
| Mal | Security | Eileen's henchman, responsible for escorting an unruly guest from reception |
| Martin Mouse | Bloke | Occasional visitor to hotel rooms |
Just cook, will yer?
editThe phrase "Just cook, will yer?" became famous within Liverpool area, following the scenes in an episode when an argument between Deputy manager Brian Birchall and head chef David Smith resulted in the phrase being bellowed by Brian. The outburst became a local catch-phrase and was printed on T-shirts and various merchandise. The phrase also made it into the charts after it was released as a single by Alternative Radio[1]
Criticism
editFollowing the first episode the Britannia Hotel chain owner reported[2] that he felt the hotel had been poorly portrayed and criticised the BBC for screening scenes that showed the hotel staff trying to handle the situation following the Irish Republican Army (IRA) bomb threat during the 1997 Grand National.
References
edit- ^ "Liverpool Local History – Adelphi – Just Cook Will Yer!". BBC. 22 April 2002. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
- ^ "BBC film 'liberties' irk adelphi's owner – 11/13/1997". Caterer Search. 13 November 1997. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
External links
edit- Hotel at BBC Online
- Hotel at IMDb
