3 days ago
The Fortune Hotel feud erupts over £250,000 prize money
Guv and Gurks told Yahoo UK that they had off-screen beef with fellow contestants Maz and Max
An off-camera feud broke out between two of the pairs at The Fortune Hotel, the ITV show hosted by Stephen Mangan.
Guv and Gurks told Yahoo UK that they had beef with fellow contestants Maz and Max over the £250,000 fortune in the Caribbean.
The reality show's premise is similar to The Traitors because it's ruthless. Contestants are swapping briefcases to try and find the one containing the £250,000. One of the main differences between The Fortune Hotel and The Traitors is the sun-scorched setting in Grenada.
Best friends Guv and Gurks, who were the latest to receive the early checkout card, said their rivals Maz and Max took it a little bit "personally" when they grilled them over whether they had the money in their briefcase.
Asked about what happens off camera, Guv said: "OK, so this ties into why we have a beef with Maz and Max! Sometimes it's like you can be so involved in gameplay that when it is time to switch off — let's say we have our breaks, we have our lunches, our breakfasts — you can sometimes overthink it a bit too much with how people are.
"So if you're going in [to The Fortune Hotel], I'd say to you, don't worry about that too much, enjoy your lunch, enjoy your food. When it's time to switch off, switch off."
In good humour, Guv and Gurks had a good laugh about how they were still feuding even now.
The Fortune Hotel feud
The feud started when Guv and Gurks had narrowed it down to two couples who potentially had the money in their briefcase — Maz and Max or fortune holders Fred and Min.
They said that Fred and Min were "lovely" people who didn't get upset when they asked them about the money.
However, Guv said Maz and Max took it a bit "more personal" when they questioned them over the fortune.
Gurks explained: "It was the way they [Maz and Max] were acting differently towards us. And because their whole energy shifted at one point. That was literally it." Their change in attitude actually made Guv and Gurks think Maz and Max did have the money.
He added: "We were certain it was Fred and Min [who had the money] but because Maz and Max's energy switched off, then we were like it has to be them! We ran with that literally. We didn't hold back. We just fully went for it."
Final edit
Filming long hours for a reality show means not everything makes the final edit of the show. "I say to people that you're seeing 50% of what's actually happening," Guv said.
He added: "Obviously they had to chop it all up and you're probably wondering as a viewer, between episode one and two, what has Maz and Max done to Guv and Gurks? You haven't seen any interaction. We all speak [outside of what is shown on the show] so you have to take that into account. We were cool and then we did see a shift in energy. It was never personal."
The best friends were just playing the game.
After that, the happy-go-lucky stars felt like they had a target on their backs but they had "no regrets". "Everything happens for a reason," Gurks said.
The Traitors vs The Fortune Hotel
Guv and Gurks admitted the main difference between The Fortune Hotel and The Traitors was its sunny filming location compared to the Scottish castle.
Recently, Yahoo UK spoke to The Fortune Hotel host Mangan and he set out how the reality shows were different too.
He told Yahoo UK: "I think they are very different games. I can see why people want to talk about them. It's Oasis and Blur, isn't it? People will have their favourites.
"Ours has the sunshine and the speedboats and the sand, and the games are very different and there's a lot more money at stake in The Fortune Hotel.
"But hey, it's very flattering. The Traitors is hugely popular, so, it's all good. Hopefully they'll both run side-by-side for a while to go."
The Fortune Hotel airs at 9pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
