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MY DREAM HOTEL C5 9pm
PEOPLE like shows about people who build houses, and people like shows about people who run hotels (usually badly) or about people who move abroad.
And everyone loves that “will the project be finished in time, oh the roof caved in or the glass doesn’t fit and everything is going wrong” type jeopardy.
So Channel 5 have cleverly thrown them all together for this new series. Hotel inspector and all-round hospitality guru Alex Polizzi is at the helm, following six couples who are all taking the incredibly brave (or stupid) decision to give up their homes and their normal lives to try to build their very own dream hotels.
These virgin hoteliers, all full of hope and ambition, are risking everything they have to start their new business – whether it’s reviving a giant crumbling château, building a boutique British seaside B&B or creating a cave hotel in Spain.
The first brave and hardy souls are teachers Aine and Anthony, who have left their comfortable lives in Brighton to travel 600 miles north to the Orkney Islands.
They’ve sold their house, packed up their two sons and sunk everything they own into Victorian mansion Highland Park House – a former care home which had fallen into disrepair – and they have just four months to transform it into a stylish and comfortable B&B.
Youngest son Gerry thinks they’re mad, that it looks like a set from Doctor Who with something spooky and creepy in every room. And local builder Dave probably thinks the same, although he calls them brave and determined instead. And to be fair, they are. Described by Alex as “a family of grafters”, they’re giving the project their all – but as they have to battle against the weather and impress the locals, will it be enough?