Four in a Bed winners, The World’s End in Northamptonshire, reveal all about their Channel 4 experience

This week, a Northamptonshire hotel, restaurant and bar appeared on Channel 4’s Four in a Bed.

The World’s End, in Northampton Road, Ecton, appeared on the show from Monday (February 13) until Thursday (February 16) – and took home the top spot after both sets of visitors paid the full amount for their stays.

Owner Andrew Chapman and his son Chris Chapman represented the venue on the show, which was filmed for two weeks in October 2021 – for a minimum of 12 hours each day, Monday to Friday.

Andrew has owned the rural bed and breakfast, which has a fresh food restaurant, bar and 22 rooms to let, for 16 years and says the restaurant has proved popular.

His son Chris has worked as the operations manager for The World’s End for the past 13 years, joining his father three years into his venture.

The pair took on Duplex Relocations in Bradford and Taypark House in Dundee in the second week of the new series, which has been 18 months in the making.

The first time the father and son duo had seen the episodes was this week and they were pleased they won, but do not feel the editing portrayed exactly what happened at the time – making scenes appear “more tense than they actually were”.

The first episode was the visit to The World’s End, followed by the trip to Bradford on Tuesday, up to Dundee on Wednesday and the payment day on Thursday, as the fourth competitors had to withdraw due to a Coronavirus outbreak just days before filming was set to take place.

Andrew and Chris were praised for the “value for money” to stay for up to £85 per night including breakfast.

The guests also enjoyed a visit and tour of Silverstone and admired the good working dynamic between Andrew and Chris as a father and son duo.

However, comments about the beds in the twin room being too close together and a lack of hash browns at breakfast, both made by the hosts at Taypark House, appeared to make the pairs agree to disagree.

Chris said: “We were so pleased to win but the portrayal didn’t come across exactly as it was. Scenes were edited to make it more tense.

“The hash brown incident was made into a much bigger deal than it was at the time. Round the table on payment day it was said tongue in cheek.

“We didn’t agree but it was never a massive issue.

“When you record something over two 12-hour days for a 24-minute show, you hope for balance. The payment day was light hearted and the show made out as though it wasn’t.”

The final bill averages saw Duplex Relocations receive 68 percent of their total, Taypark House receive 82 percent, and The World’s End receive 100 percent – after the £85 and £76 rooms were paid in full.

Andrew and Chris underpaid Taypark House by 20 percent for their £225 stay, which amounted to £50, due to the disturbance experienced by a plane taking off at 6am from an airport outside.

Chris said: “The disturbance wasn’t reflected in the way we experienced it.

“A stock image of a small plane at an airport was used, instead of a recording we took at 6am of what we actually experienced – which was passed onto the producers.

“They chose not to use that, which would have been a fairer and truer reflection.”

The pair says the dynamic changes as the week goes on and they went into it with an open mind, which is why the final payments they made were done in percentages.

Andrew said: “How can you compare a country house hotel in Dundee with what we visited in Bradford? The room costs differed widely and the only way we could judge fairly was by paying in percentage terms.”

Overall, Andrew and Chris were very pleased with the positive comments they received as it “reflects what they have tried to produce over the years”.

Their winning plaque was put up at the front of the establishment the day after the final episode aired (February 17) – taking pride of place for all to see.

They have received lots of praise on social media since the final result was announced, with the exception of a few negative comments – but Andrew and Chris were pleased on the whole with how they came across and they hope this will lead to more positives in the future.

When asked if there is anything people would be interested to know about Four in a Bed, Andrew spoke about the time taken to film and the amount of takes needed for each shot.

“When we were greeted in Dundee, it was recorded five or six times,” said Andrew. “It appears unnatural and wooden as it’s not the first time we’ve done it.

“As they only have a couple of cameras, there are many takes from different angles.”

Andrew and The World’s End was first approached to take part in Four in a Bed a few years ago but turned it down.

After coming out of the pandemic, he was offered the chance again and believed it would be an interesting way to relaunch the business after being closed during the pandemic.

To keep up with The World’s End’s journey following their win on Four in a Bed, you can find their Facebook page here.