The Hotel Inspector

The Hotel Inspector
Title card from Series 4–11
Starring	Ruth Watson (2005–08) Alex Polizzi (2008—)
Narrated by	Richard Vranch (2005) Mark Halliley (2006—2015) Alex Polizzi (2016—)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	17 (total) The Hotel Inspector: 12 Returns: 4 Revisited: 1
No. of episodes	109 (as of 30 August 2016) (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	60 minutes (inc. adverts)
Production company(s)	Twofour
Distributor	ITV Studios
Release
Original network	Channel 5
Original release	29 September 2005 (2005-09-29) – present
Chronology
Related shows	The Business Inspector The Restaurant Inspector
External links
Website

The Hotel Inspector is an observational documentary television series which is broadcast on the British terrestrial television station, Channel 5, and by other networks around the world.

Since 2008, each episode sees celebrated hotelier and businesswoman Alex Polizzi visit a struggling British hotel and try to turn its fortunes by giving advice and suggestions to the owner. Between 2005 and 2008, Ruth Watson was featured in this role.

The series began in late September 2005 and was an instant ratings hit; the show attracted 2.5 million viewers at its peak and this prompted Channel 5 to commission another series. The second series was broadcast in July 2006, followed by a third series in September 2007. The show won a Royal Television Society Award in November 2006.

Accompanied with the third series, an additional complementary series, The Hotel Inspector: Unseen ran on Fiver (now 5*), one of Channel 5's digital channels, immediately after the main show. It showed unseen footage, including video diaries shot by the hoteliers, revealing their reactions to the inspector's opinions.

After three series of The Hotel Inspector, Ruth Watson left a message on her website stating that she would not be filming another series, despite being one of the channel's most watched shows. Watson subsequently signed an exclusive contract with Channel 4 and fronted shows such as Country House Rescue and Ruth Watson's Hotel Rescue (which is similar in format to The Hotel Inspector).

Hotelier and businesswoman Alex Polizzi, the niece of Sir Rocco Forte, took over as The Hotel Inspector for the show's fourth series, and has remained in this role since. Polizzi has also hosted five other series: the first in which she inspects and improves failing family businesses (BBC Two's The Fixer), a second and third in which she explores her ancestral Italy (Secret Italy and Italian Islands), a four in which she auditions head chefs for various hotels and restaurants (Chefs on Trial), and a fifth in which she finds employment for military veterans (Help Our Heroes).