Interview with Gary and Lesley (partners), from ITV's 'The Fortune Hotel'

The Fortune Hotel opens its doors on Monday May 13 at 9pm on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player

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ITV Press Centre

May 7, 2024 – A thrilling and high-octane new reality entertainment event, The Fortune Hotel is produced by Tuesday’s Child exclusively for ITV and STV, the 8 episodes x 60 minutes prime-time series will invite viewers into a luxury Caribbean resort filled with glamour, opulence and deception.

Hosted by the incomparable Stephen Mangan, 10 pairs of contestants will arrive at The Fortune Hotel, where they will be given an all-important briefcase. Inside one case is the ultimate jackpot of £250,000 in cash, eight are empty, and one contains the dreaded Early Checkout Card – whichever pair is left holding that case at the end of each show will see their stay brought to a dramatic, premature end.

Every day the contestants have the chance to try to uncover who has which case through playing compelling challenges, and as the “Whogotit” mystery ramps up for the hotel guests, viewers at home will remain deliciously in-the-know throughout, witness to all of their plans and strategies playing out.

The climax of each episode is the nerve-shredding case swap in the seductive Lady Luck bar where each pair must decide whether to keep or swap their case. Have the couple with the life-changing sum of cash managed to bluff and blag their way free of suspicion? Or will their case be ruthlessly taken off them? And who will be left holding the case containing the Early Checkout Card?

Why have you chosen to visit The Fortune Hotel?

Lesley: Gary saw it being advertised online and asked me if we should apply and I agreed, it was as simple as that.
Gary: Having been off work I was getting cabin fever and wanted to do something different, we’re getting older so want to fit in as many experiences as possible and this just happened to be something that interested us.
Lesley: I just went along with it!

How would you spend the 250K prize money if you won it?

Gary: To use the money to retire early, I’d also like to give some of the money to my son to help him get on the property ladder.

What was the most memorable experience you had during the filming?

Lesley: For me it has to be standing at the bottom of the rapids, it was a total monsoon, I’ve never seen rain like it, we ended up soaked! Another memory I won’t forget was when I danced to the macarena with Jae and Cherish at the breakfast bar, it was hilarious.
Gary: I’ve got hundreds of amazing memories, I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so much my ribs hurt. Often reality TV shows are confrontational so I wanted to stay under the radar but as soon as I walked in everyone was trying to stitch me up in a fun way which meant I wasn’t able to blend into the background as planned. It was all fun and games though.

What was the most dramatic moment you encountered whilst staying at The Fortune Hotel?

Gary: The Night Cap in the Lady Luck Bar was often tense.
Lesley: We genuinely felt everyone was really nice.

What couples did you get on best with?

Lesley: Jae and Cherish, Scott and Tommy, Mike and Adam. We loved Mike and Adam for their humour, Scott and Tommy were young so we wanted to take them under our wing, they were
lovely guys. Jae and Cherish brought the entertainment, they would come alive in the nighttime.

Who did you have the most disagreements with during your stay?

Gary: We didn’t have any disagreements with the other guests but had the odd cross word with each other.

If you could invite any three celebrities to stay alongside you at The Fortune Hotel who would they be?

Stephen Mulhern and Ant and Dec for the fun factor.

What were the biggest perks of being a guest at The Fortune Hotel?

Gary: A free holiday in the Caribbean and meeting such an array of people you wouldn’t meet in everyday life. Everyone was so lovely, the cast and crew were incredible. The people made the experience, we couldn’t have wished for a better bunch of people.

May 7, 2024 3:00am ET by Newsdesk  

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