“The Hotel”- The Official Launch

In TV-speak we have the TX date (transmission date to you and me)-of The Hotel Sunday April 17th at 8pm. Previously we had been told that the first episode would go out on Tuesday April 26th, and I expect that the date has been brought forward to get in ahead of the mighty brouhaha of the Royal Wedding. Wayne, the General Manager at the Damson Dene, and Paul and Lavinia, who are now his assisstant managers, joined executives from Channel 4 and the staff of Dragonfly, the production company and several dozen representatives of the press (“hacks” in TV-speak) for a preview of the first episode. ​

We were at the plush cinema room in the Channel 4 headquarters in central London. The episode has three main themes- a proposal of marriage (the young couple were also there for the screening), the induction of Amos, a young Romanian recruit, and the story of an elderly couple who were having a short break before getting the results of a test which would show whether or not the husband had terminal cancer. This was the second time I had seen this episode and I found it to be just as funny and moving as the first. Most importantly, the hard, cynical hacks also loved it- in fact the Channel 4 guys said they had never seen such a warm reaction to a preview.
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Afterwards, there was a question and answer session in which Wayne was brilliantly funny. I don’t think he realises what a star he is going to be.