Stephen Mangan admits to being the 'worst person' to host The Fortune Hotel
Stephen Mangan has fronted ITV1's The Fortune Hotel since 2024, but the comedian thinks he - "in some ways" is the "worst person" to host the game show.
Stephen Mangan admits he is the "worst person" to host The Fortune Hotel.
The 57-year-old star fronts the ITV1 game show, which sees 10 contestants have a briefcase upon arrival at The Fortune Hotel, with one containing the £250,000 jackpot, and eight being empty, and one holding an "Early Checkout Card", and the competitors play a series of challenges to uncover who has which briefcase.
But Stephen, "in some ways", does not think he is the right person to present the show - which began to air in 2024 - because he hates people not getting on and is too compassionate.
In an appearance on the latest episode of the Table Manners podcast, Stephen told hosts Lennie Ware, 74, and Jessie Ware, 40: "In some ways, I'm the worst person in the world to host something like that, because I just don't like people not getting on.
"Whenever anyone would be upset or start to get emotional, I would want to sort of make it okay.
"But of course, that stuff makes really good television. So, I had to sometimes sit on my hands."
The two series of The Fortune Hotel were shot in Grenada, and Stephen joked he agreed to present the show to get a trip to the Caribbean island.
The comedian quipped: "Of course! How is that even a question?"
But Stephen teased that a potential third series of The Fortune Hotel would be filmed in a new country.
He said: "We film the first series in Granada, and then we film the second series in exactly the same place.
"But I think if it goes again, we'll go to other parts of the world."
Stephen and his wife, 56-year-old actress Louise Delamere, have been married since 2007, and they have three sons - Harry, 17, Frank, 14, and Jack, nine - together.
The star filmed The Fortune Hotel during school time, and he joked that the hardest thing about doing the show was not making Louise jealous of him being in Granada when the pair video called each other on FaceTime.
He quipped: "It did fall during school time. I have to say the hardest work I did on that job was finding somewhere to FaceTime my wife that didn't have a rum shack or a palm tree behind me.
"I had to do a lot in cupboards."
Table Manners is released weekly on all podcast platforms.
