Inside Claridge's
GenreFactual
Directed byJane Treays
ComposerJohn Lemke
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes3 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Magnus Temple
  • Emma Tutty
  • Clare Paterson
ProducerJane Treays
Production locationLondon
Running time60 minutes
Production companyThe Garden
Original release
NetworkBBC Two
Release3 December (2012-12-03) –
17 December 2012 (2012-12-17)

Inside Claridge's is a British documentary television series that first broadcast on BBC Two on 3 December 2012. The final episode aired on 17 December 2012. The series documented a year behind the scenes of Claridge's, a five-star hotel located in Mayfair, London.

Episode list

# Title Directed by Original air date UK viewers
(millions)[1]
1"Episode 1"Jane Treays3 December 2012 (2012-12-03)3.09
The housekeeping staff at Claridge's prepare the whole of the third floor for foreign royalty.
2"Episode 2"Jane Treays10 December 2012 (2012-12-10)4.25
The importance of tradition is explored, as well as the hotel's clientele.
3"Episode 3"Jane Treays17 December 2012 (2012-12-17)4.46
Delegations arrive for the 2012 Summer Olympics held in London.

Reception

Ratings

The first episode attracted 3.09 million viewers on BBC Two.[1] It was watched by 13% of the television viewers during its original broadcast.[2] The second episode was viewed by 4.25 million people with an audience share of 16.8%.[1][3] The final episode received 4.46 million viewers and an 18.5% share of the audience.[1][4] The first episode was the second most watched programme on BBC Two for that week, behind MasterChef which was watched by 3.24 million viewers.[1] The second and final episodes were the most watched on BBC Two for their weeks.[1] The Independent called Inside Claridge's "a soaraway ratings hit".[5]

Critical reception

Claridge's in 2002

Inside Claridge's received positive reviews. Gerard Gilbert, a journalist writing for The Independent wrote:

ITV's 2010 documentary series about the Savoy came across as a monumental puff-piece for the refurbishment of that landmark London hostelry, but the new series about Claridge's (home from home for Tom Cruise, Madonna and various royal families) is something else entirely – by dint of it being the work of Jane Treays, a film-maker unafraid to ask a blunt question and capture a telling moment.[6]

John Crace writing for The Guardian said:

From its opening shot of one of the staff doing the nightly clean of the 800-piece chandelier to the final credits, Inside Claridge's was an exquisite piece of documentary-making that never put a foot wrong. Director Jane Treays never actually appeared on camera, but she was a presence throughout with her off-screen questions. Unlike some documentary-makers who have the knack of putting their subjects on the defensive, she gnawed away at hers with love and was repaid time and again with delightful indiscretions, such as the correct way to address The Edge.[7]

The Times's Alex Hardy called the documentary series "a great recruitment ad: the hotel staff seem as content as Tom Hanks's toy tester in Big."[8] Rachel Cooke wrote in the New Statesman about her surprise by the hotel's decision to allow the BBC to film a documentary there and called the series "a little stretched" because there were not enough characters to fill up the three episodes.[9] BBC Two controller Janice Hadlow praised the series "for not showing people's foibles in a cruel way."[10]

After the series concluded, visits to the hotel's TripAdvisor page increased by 1769%.[11]

Awards

Inside Claridge's was shortlisted for the Grierson Awards' British Documentary Award in 2013.[12] It was also nominated as the best documentary series in the Broadcast Awards 2014.[13]

Home media

The DVD edition of Inside Claridge's was released on 20 January 2014.[14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "BARB Top 30s".
  2. ↑ Millar, Paul (4 December 2012). "ITV's Royal Variety Performance enthralls 8.2m, peaks with over 9m". Digital Spy. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  3. ↑ Millar, Paul (11 December 2012). "BBC Two gets five-star service from 'Inside Claridge's' series". Digital Spy. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  4. ↑ Millar, Paul (18 December 2012). "ITV's 'Poison Tree' drama overtaken by BBC Two's 'Inside Claridge's'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  5. ↑ Dent, Grace (22 December 2012). "Grace Dent on TV: Inside Claridge's, BBC2". The Independent. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  6. ↑ Gilbert, Gerard (1 December 2012). "Television choices: Book in for a rich experience at celeb-rated London hotel". The Independent. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  7. ↑ Crace, John (3 December 2012). "TV review: Inside Claridge's; The Fear". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  8. ↑ Hardy, Alex (11 December 2012). "Last Night's TV: Inside Claridge's". The Times. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  9. ↑ Cooke, Rachel (13 December 2012). "Rich pickings inside Claridge's". New Statesman. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  10. ↑ "Hadlow on the hunt for comedies". BBC. 9 May 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  11. ↑ "Claridge's documentary sees interest soar". The Telegraph. 17 December 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  12. ↑ "Jimmy Savile and 7/7 films up for new documentary award". BBC News. 1 October 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  13. ↑ "Broadcast Awards 2014: winners in full". Broadcast Now. 5 February 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  14. ↑ "Inside Claridges (DVD)". BBC Shop. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
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