We caught up with Four in a Bed Winner, Pete Storey, owner of The George Inn, Barton-upon-Humber, to find out what he thought about the filming experience.
NOTE: The opinions expressed by the programme participant in this interview do not reflect the views and opinions of the Four in a Bed production team, Studio Lambert, or any other party involved. These opinions belong solely to the interviewee and are for entertainment purposes only.
How did you feel when you found out that you had won?
Pete: I was gobsmacked.
I’d done the maths wrong on the day. We got our payments and I think I’d worked it out as if Malaya’s room was on a double occupancy rather than a single occupancy rate. So I had in my head that our payment was 85% and that Cross Farm Cottages was 89%, but in truth, ours was 90%.
Even just filming the rest of that day, which was like a 15 hour day, I’d already got it into my head that we hadn’t won. It wasn’t even like I was being modest. I’d done the maths and knew we hadn’t won.
Then when I read the name out, I was genuinely gobsmacked. Really shocked.
I had to try and make sure I didn’t get too emotional on the telly. It’d ruin my hard-man image, you know, pub landlord and stuff.
It was strange actually because I didn’t think I would get particularly emotional about it, but I think there was just a sense of pride.
I’m a chef by trade and I’ve always felt like I’m just winging it. This is one of the few industries where you don’t need to go to university or anything like that. Anyone can just work their way up the ladder and I guess I’ve always felt like we’re kind of winging it, so when we won, it was like someone was tapping me on the shoulder saying well done. It was nice.
I’m quite humble. I don’t like bigging myself up but it’s just nice to feel like maybe we’ve done something right.
Any favourite moments behind the scenes?
Pete: The week that we filmed was the week the pubs were able to reopen. When we went to Blackpool it was really nice weather and we got an hour or two to ourselves. So me and Alex, and Claire and Cole from Cross Farm Cottages, we actually snuck off from the production team to go to the pub.
We were just sitting outside on the promenade in Blackpool, having a couple of drinks and just enjoying being away. It felt a little bit risque.
To be honest, because of the timing, it was just genuinely really nice to be away. We filmed in April last year, so pubs at that point had been shut for six months. Just the excitement of being away, and being able to leave the house to go and stay somewhere else.
Do you still speak to any of the other contestants?
Pete: Yeah, I’ve spoken to Cole a few times and Alex keeps in touch with Claire.
I’ve also phoned Malaya a couple of times recently. I called him initially when things were getting aired and he was back in India at the time visiting family, so he’d not seen any of the shows. I was just taking short little videos and sending them over to him on WhatsApp, and sending him some reactions that we’d seen on Twitter about people saying how nice he is.
We’ve said we’re probably going to go back to Malaya’s probably later in the summer to see him.
How and why did you first decide to apply for Four in a Bed?
Pete: When we were put into the second lockdown, we were upgrading the bedrooms. I took over the pub about five or six months before the first lockdown, at the end of summer 2019. The rooms were all okay, they were what you’d expect to find above an inn in a small market town. So obviously the lockdown hit and we had a bit more time on our hands, and I found myself watching a lot more daytime television than I would normally. There were a few days where I would binge watch four in a bed in the afternoon and I just thought, actually, we can have a go at this.
I assumed that the process would take quite a while with regards to someone coming back to us, so at the time, I didn’t think much of it. All our rooms had been completely ripped out, the electrics, everything. So I didn’t really think much of it at the time. I just thought, it’ll be fine, we have loads of time.
But someone got back in touch with us. I think I emailed them on a Friday night or a Saturday and someone got back to me the following Monday morning. I think I’d applied at the point where the casting agency had started going through applications and were actively looking for people.
I think I was fairly lucky that I sent an email off just at the right time, and someone got back to us straightaway.
You have to make some little videos, don’t you? Did you enjoy that?
Pete: Yeah. I’ve done a few little videos with the pub and stuff. I did media studies and stuff at college, so yeah, I put a couple of little bits and bobs together. It was good fun and we just thought we’d have a bit of a laugh with it and try to let our personality come across on the camera.
There were a couple of bits we included that at the time we said we’d re-record it, but then going back to it, you think actually that’s quite funny and natural. So we included those bits.
Do you have any top tips or advice for people who might want to apply to Four in a Bed in the future?
Pete: Definitely make your application fun and light-hearted. It is an entertainment show at the end of the day. That is the key thing; this is a television show.
It has to be entertaining for viewers to watch.
I think at the point of application, you’ve just got to show what you’re about. Show a bit of personality and show that you can have a bit of fun with everything as well.
So when it came to actually filming and taking part, what surprised you the most?
Pete: Probably how long the days were and how tiring it is. You do get breaks and you get well looked after by the crew. They’ve always got refreshments and are looking after you with regards to lunch and meals and things like that.
You also don’t realise how much work goes into making these TV shows as well. There was a bit that literally lasted two seconds on screen and I think that took us probably half an hour to film. It was literally two seconds on screen and that was us walking down the street into shot.
It was a little bit more challenging because of COVID, because we were having to make sure that we were all walking at a similar pace and keeping the right distance. Making sure someone wasn’t walking too fast compared to the others. You’ve got to walk in a straight line and look like you’re enjoying the fact that you’re just walking down the street with random people.
You’re not allowed to look at the camera and you shouldn’t look down at your feet too much.
They give you little markers as to where they want you to finish walking and you need to hit your mark, so even just two seconds of walking on screen is half an hour of work.
Was the experience worth it? Did you benefit from it?
Pete: It’s definitely been worth it.
Just the reaction that we’ve had from the town has been incredible and the support that we’ve had from the local community. There’s been a real sense of pride from the town, seeing it on telly. We were lucky with the weather too, so it was kind of a good advert for the town, and not necessarily just for us as a business.
For ourselves, business has definitely been up. The week after, our sales were up probably about 50 or 60% than what they would normally be.
People were just popping in for drinks or a coffee. People also wanted to come in for meals as well as the room bookings. We’ve had quite a few bookings off the back of the show because people just want to come and try us out for the weekend.
We really enjoyed it and I still find it a bit weird that I keep getting asked for selfies with people as well. I’m no Johnny Depp, but yeah, it’s been great seeing people’s reactions and how pleased they are, not just for us but for the town.
About The George Inn
- Owned by Peter Storey and his fiancee Alex Muse
- Located in Barton-upon-Humber
- No. of rooms: 8
- Dog friendly
URL:
Social Media:
Instagram: @the_george_inn_barton
Facebook: The George Inn, Barton
Four in a Bed info:
What is it?
A popular tea-time show aired on Channel 4, Four in a Bed is a week-long competition taking place over five daily episodes.
Owners of four boutique hotels, B&Bs, holiday lets or glamping sites, try to convince their competitors that their business offers the best value for money.
Each week is a different competition. In the first four episodes of each week, the owners take it in turns to host their opponents. In the final episode of the week, everyone reveals how much they are prepared to pay for the visits to each of the businesses.
It’s a consistently successful show on Channel 4 and first began in 2010.
How do I take part in Four in a Bed?
Interested in applying to appear on Four in a Bed? Want to showcase your business on TV to the nation?
Apply to appear on the show!
Head to the Studio Lambert website and head to the ‘Take Part’ section.
To apply for a future series of the show, email your full name and name of your hospitality business to:
fourinabed@studiolambert.com
You can also check out their Instagram, where the team often share casting updates: @fourinabed
Want to learn more?
Back in April 2020, Luxury BnB Magazine’s Editor, Juliet Horner, interviewed the Executive Producer of Channel 4’s Four in a Bed, Mark James.
Mark gave Juliet a glimpse behind the scenes so that you, our readers, can discover the inner workings of the popular tv series.
Find out what the producers look for when reviewing applications submitted by business owners just like you!
Read online for free or check out the April 2020 magazine.
You can also check out the interview with Four in a Bed winners, Gables Pod Camping in our April 2020 magazine, to find out what it’s like to appear on the show.
