Hotel (1997)

The first in an eight-part documentary series about the Hotel Adelphi, a Liverpool landmark, starts with 20,000 racegoers stuck in the city when an IRA bomb alert delays the Grand National. The scenes are sometimes hilarious, sometimes hysterical, as the busiest time of the year for the hotel revs up. Hundreds of desperate punters need rooms and the banqueting room is opened with mattresses at £45 each. The organised chaos, a mixture of Blitz spirit and commercial concern as prices go through the roof, is intensified by the forced removal of a tired and emotional customer and an exotically dressed working girl, plus the scenes of jockeys trying to lose weight in the sauna after bingeing.

Rubber Studies. Arch enemies banqueting manager Brian Birchall and executive chef David Smith come to blows over preparations for a conference of the world's rubber-producing countries, which aren't going entirely to plan.

Front-of-house manager Katy is having problems recruiting a receptionist while hall porter Mark and nightclub manager Carl find their jobs in jeopardy.

A health inspector is called in when several recent guests at the hotel fall ill. Meanwhile the chef unexpectedly has to provide lunch for stranded airline passengers.

A shortage of housekeeping staff leads to a rebellion against hotel manager Eileen Downey, while the operations department has limited resources to cope with three white weddings.

The hotel staff are put under pressure when a large group of army veterans congregate at the Adelphi. Complaints, a vandalised room, aggressive customers and difficult requests only serve to make matters worse.

A coded bomb threat at the Adelphi causes an evacuation and a thorough police search. There's conflict in the kitchen when the banqueting boss and a chef clash over vegetarianism, and the manager has to put a damper on a student function.

Concluding the series which takes a glimpse behind the scenes at Liverpool's Adelphi hotel. Pop music fans attending the annual Beatles convention ensure the hotel is full to the rafters. Meanwhile a group of 326 stranded holiday-makers turn up unexpectedly seeking somewhere to sleep.

First of two update programmes on life at Liverpool's Adelphi hotel six months after the series was first broadcast. Tonight recalls the frantic time when a conference for the world's rubber-producing countries arrived at the hotel. Life is still hectic for general manager Eileen Downey, but now she faces customers who are turning up to meet the stars of the TV series.

Second of two updates on life at Liverpool's Adelphi hotel six months after the series was first broadcast. A new series will be shown in the autumn. Tonight recalls the time when the operations department had limited resources to cope with three white weddings. Now Michelle and Tony, who had their wedding at the Adelphi, have had a strapping 12lb 6oz boy, while Christine, the senior receptionist, has given birth to a daughter.