Four Northern Ireland hospitality businesses are booked in to appear on the popular Channel 4 series ‘Four in a Bed’ next week.
The Castledawson Inn operated by former Lord of the Dance star Ciaran Devlin and his business partner Lorraine Donnelly, Des and Mandy from Drumrush B&B in Kesh, June and Stevie from Ballylough House in Bushmills and Neil and Rush from The Wylies in Lisburn will all stay in each other’s premises before paying what they think their stay is worth at the end of the week.
The Castledawson Inn kicks off the programme’s week in Northern Ireland when their episode airs on C4 at 5pm on Monday.
Nestled on the banks of the River Moyola, The Castledawson Inn offers an 80-seater restaurant and bar, as well as 15 modern double/twin ensuite rooms.
The popular show is produced by Studio Lambert, the production company behind a range of hits including The Traitors and Gogglebox.
Each week, the programme sees four sets of accommodation owners stay at each other’s premises and rate their experience.
After treating their guests to a local tourist experience and offering B&B for the night, guests are asked to rank their hosts, the cleanliness of their accommodation, the facilities, how they slept, and the quality of the breakfast served.
Contestants are then asked to pay the advertised rate but can overpay or underpay depending on how they found their stay, often leading to some compulsive viewing come payment day.
Speaking about their experience of filming the programme, Ciaran Devlin, originally from Bellaghy, who before moving into the hospitality sector delighted audiences for 16 years as a lead performer in Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance, said: “Since taking over The Castledawson Inn two years ago, we’ve worked hard to make it a place people enjoy and return to again and again.
"A big part of that is the fantastic local tourism offering we have on our doorstep in Mid Ulster and our position at the heart of Northern Ireland as a fantastic base from which to source the best local produce and explore.
"We had some good old Ulster humour moments across the week, so I know there are going to be both cracking and cringeworthy moments on display, but hopefully the show highlights how we can all be proud of what we have to offer visitors to this special part of the world.”
Lorraine Donnelly, Ciaran’s co-founder at The Castledawson Inn, is also urging viewers to tune in: "As a relatively new hospitality business, we're so grateful to have had the opportunity to take part in such a beloved TV series.
"Ciaran and I have also been best friends for over 25 years and have been so busy since we opened The Castledawson Inn, so this was a fantastic chance to step back, have some fun, and learn from other inspiring hospitality business owners.”
Tune in to Channel 4 at 5pm on Monday for Four in a Bed or watch back on channel4.com to see how The Castledawson Inn fares.
