The owner of a Gateshead hotel which will be in the national TV spotlight next week on Four In A Bed has told of her "fantastic experience" in taking part in the show.
Heather Mitchell, who runs Sutherlands Hotel in Windy Nook, will be seen in the newest series of the Channel 4 competition starting on Monday, which will feature another set of hotel and bed-and-breakfast owners go head-to-head to be named the best. And while she can't give anything away about the final result - which will air on Friday - she says that she thoroughly enjoyed taking part.
Heather was accompanied by hotel worker Paul Conroy during filming for the competition which over the week of daily half-hour episodes will follow the four sets of rivals as they visit each other's establishments; judge if they think they're value for money and pay what they feel their stay is worth.
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And it seems that good humoured Heather and Paul ensured there were plenty laughs along the way. When it was their turn to host, they welcomed the groups to the Gateshead hotel and also took them on a trip to Newcastle Keep where proud Geordie Heather took the chance to big up the city and the River Tyne.
She's not sure what parts of the filming - which was constant during the two-week making of the series - will be kept in but she hopes they will come across well. "I went into it with a lighthearted view of the whole thing," she said.
And certainly the publicity will boost the hotel, which has survived the challenges of the pandemic and in tough economic times proudly advertises 'stylish rooms with free wi-fi' and home-cooked dishes. It was 23 years ago that she and fellow landlord Helen Sutherland bought the site in Stone Street of the former Windy Nook Social Club and built the hotel on top, naming it after Helen's late dad.
They previously ran popular pub The Ship at High Heworth from 1996-2007 - which won The Publican Awards for family pub of the year in 2003 - and also a venue in Seaham. The hotel also offers children’s entertainment and evening activities, including karaoke and disco, throughout the week, and below the hotel is a bar with several plasma TVs to show sport, including this Sunday's Wembley Cup Final.
The idea of raising Sutherlands Hotel profile was what finally tempted Heather to do the show, following several previous approaches by the Four In A Bed team who were made aware of the hotel, she thinks, due to its presence and reputation on TripAdvisor.
Once she decided to go for it, there still was a lengthy process to go through, beginning with a Zoom meeting, accompanied by Paul, with the TV team - "even that was such a good laugh" says Heather - and following up with around three further stages before they found out two months later that they had been chosen.
Heather, now 70, admits she was also looking forward to having a bit of a break from work, by touring around the country and stopping off for overnight stays. One of those turned out to be closer to home than expected, at a B&B in Seaburn taken over by a couple relatively new to the industry, then other stop-offs took them to Lincolnshire and to Burnley in the Yorkshire Dales.
"It was a fantastic experience," says Heather. "We met some nice people and travelled all over and it was absolutely great." The payment day episode which always ends the series with the grand reveal of what payments have been made, is often a tense one and previous finales have included frequent accusations of game-playing.
But Heather doesn't seem one for animosity. "I played it straight down the line," she says. "If you're honest you can't go wrong. I didn't change my views on things."
She adds: "It was really exciting on the last day" and says it was like a rollercoaster with some people inevitably being disappointed. She did find all the filming very tiring however, revealing that they had to be up each morning at 7am to discuss their night's sleep on camera and then there would be constant attention, including several scene re-takes.
She and Paul kept up a lively banter and when it was their turn to host at Sutherlands Hotel, Heather helped out with breakfast in the kitchen while Paul kept them laughing with pirouettes as he served. The group trip to Newcastle Keep lasted around two hours and was recorded throughout.
At the top, taking in its citywide views, Heather waxed lyrical about the "wonderful River Tyne" - only to have to do a re-take. "It was really funny," she recalls. "I hope they show it all."
The hotel will be showing each day's Four In A Bed episode itself on a giant screen and a message on its Facebook page reads: "Come along and meet those who were involved and have a few giggles along the way as well as viewing all the hard work and effort our team provide in our hotel. On the finale day we will have our usual bingo, party and disco after the final episode which we would love to share with our local community."
Once the series airs, Heather might well have to brace herself for a new flood of visitors. When she first decided to take up the chance to take part she recalls thinking "you can never get advertising like this - you couldn't afford it". Now she adds: "After it goes out on Channel 4, it then goes to Netflix!"
The first episode of Four In A Bed can be seen on Channel 4 at 5pm on Monday and the others will follow each evening until Friday, March 3. For more information about Sutherlands Hotel see its Facebook page here.
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