Genre Reality Original language(s) English | Country of origin United Kingdom | |
Also known as 'Three in a Bed (2010–11, 2015) Voices of Stephen Mangan (Three in a Bed)
Mike Adams (Four in a Bed) No. of series 3 (Three in a Bed)
9 (Four in a Bed) | ||
Four in a Bed (previously called Three in a Bed from 2010–11 and 2015) is a British reality television game show that has been airing on Channel 4 since 21 April 2010. The show involves four B&B owners, who take turns to stay with one another – and pay what they consider fair for their stay. The winner is the establishment named best value for money.
Contents
Format
Each pair of B&B owners (or single owner, in some cases) visits each others' B&B. At the start of their visit, they are told how much their room is worth. The owners then inspect the room, picking up on anything untidy or out of place. After, they take turns in some sort of entertainment activity before going to bed. Upon waking up in the morning, they then have breakfast. Finally, they each fill in an anonymous form telling the owners of the B&B about each aspect of the hotel (cleanliness, etc.) before giving saying if they'd stay there again. They also them a disclosed amount of money based on the value of the B&B – if a host believes it wasn't worth the money, they underpay. If they do, they pay exactly. On rare occasions, however, hosts have paid each other more than the value of the B&B, particularly if they felt the establishment was very good.
After each B&B has been visited, the hosts confront each other about comments before revealing who the winner is – not based on the amount of money, but value for money (i.e – a B&B worth £80 could win over one worth £130 if it was deemed better).
Controversy
In February 2013, business owners appearing on Four in a Bed sought the help of KwikChex, after receiving abuse following their television appearance. In the most extreme case police were called in to investigate abuse that included the sending of excrement through the post and threats of physical violence. Other businesses and owners claim to have suffered abuse via the placing of alleged fake reviews on TripAdvisor, e-mails, phone calls and letters.
International versions
A French version of the series, called Bienvenue chez nous, began airing on France's TF1 on 30 January 2012.