ITV The Fortune Hotel's Stephen Mangan hits back at comparisons to The Traitors
ITV's gameshow The Fortune Hotel is back tonight, with a new cast of contestants hoping to take home a suitcase carrying £250,000 from the Caribbean resort. Hosted by actor Stephen Mangan, the new series is set to kick off with a major twist - as one couple is kicked off the show before they even make it to the hotel.
Since premiering last year, the show has faced some comparisons to BBC One hit The Traitors - however, Stephen has insisted that the two series are very different. "I don't mind at all - The Traitors is a great show and there's plenty of room for more than one show," he told The Mirror in an exclusive chat.
"I think it's clearly very different. We have those really tense sessions at the end but there's also a lot of fun in our show. It's really fun to watch. People are hilarious in it.
"But I'm flattered by those comparisons. The proof of the pudding is always in whether people watch it and a lot of people watched out first series so that's the best thing really."
Stephen Mangan spent a month in the Caribbean to film ITV 's The Fortune Hotel, but it wasn't all plain sailing - with the TV presenter admitting that it was 'tough' being away from his family for that long.
The 57-year-old, who shares two sons with wife Louise Delamere, said: 'It was during term time so my family couldn't join me.It's hard phoning home when your wife's doing the school run in the rain in November and you're complaining about it being too hot on the beach. It doesn't go down very well.'
As tensions rise and couples squabble, Stephen reveals that he struggles to watch the contestants bicker on the beach - which they do several times in the series. 'I don't like people falling out in front of me,' he says. 'I know some people go through life creating that drama but I'm not one of those people.'
With the show now under his belt, Stephen admits that he now has no excuse not to do I'm A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here. 'I would like to say that I wouldn't want to go away from my family for that long to the jungle but clearly I'm doing it,' he says.
While he's not too keen for the jungle, Stephen wants to bring back classic Channel 4 sitcom Green Wing after two decades. 'That would be fun to see them 20 years later,' he says. 'Comedy will always be my first love and I'll always come back to it.'
The Fortune Hotel airs tonight at 9pm on ITV1.
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