The Hotel Inspector | Series 18 Preview (Channel 5)

In this brand-new series, Alex Polizzi casts her net wider as she comes to the rescue of a beleaguered hospitality industry.

This year, the cries for help have been coming in unprecedented numbers from businesses across the land. Staff shortages, spiralling costs and customers with less money to spend, mean more and more places face imminent closure. Everything from Hotels and B&Bs, cafes and pubs to wedding venues and tourist attractions.

For many it’s just too late, but others still have hope. This time, the Hotel Inspector is to the rescue as she comes to the aid of any desperate business that has service at its heart.

Alex’s missions in this series are diverse, desperate and delightful: from a cave visitor attraction in the Yorkshire Dales and a theatre cafe in Brighton to hotels, pubs and guest houses in York, Scalford, Essex and Redcar.

It's a tough industry, where only the fittest will survive. For a lucky few Alex Polizzi will use her decades of hospitality wisdom and come to the rescue. Expect Alex’s signature tough love and fireworks as she comes to the rescue.

This time, it's a race against the clock to stop a wannabe hotelier from losing everything before she’s even opened the door.

In the north east seaside town of Redcar, single mum and part-time Lollipop Lady Manager Claire, supported by her two sons, is following her dream to open a town centre bar, with its own unique six-bedroom hotel occupying the two floors above, housed in a former bank.

Claire may be a new kid on the block in hospitality, but she’s a true champion of her hometown and she's hoping her distinctive accommodation can lead the charge in Redcar’s transformation: and she's called in Alex Polizzi, The Hotel Inspector, to help.

Alex quickly unravels the issues: she spots interior chaos, with haphazard decor without much thought for the basics, but fundamentally, she learns that the project hasn't been signed off by building control yet.

This bombshell means that the hotel can't open, and at worst, it could close the hotel for good. With a bridging loan on her shoulders, it's a race against time to let the rooms and bank some money before the loan repayments are called in.

Claire’s closer than ever to achieving her dream but guest safety is paramount, and despite Alex's careful guidance, will Claire have done enough to satisfy building control and launch her project of a lifetime?

The Hotel Inspector returns Tuesday 10th October at 9pm on Channel 5.