Second hotel series plans break down

A disagreement bet-ween the BBC and Britannia Hotels has led to plans for a second fly-on-the-wall Hotel documentary series to be axed.

The BBC held negotiations with the owners of Liverpool's Adelphi Hotel for a follow-up to last year's controversial eight-part series. But the talks broke down when Britannia said it wanted more control over what was broadcast.

A BBC spokesman said: "We do not grant editorial control to anyone. We are disappointed we are unable to continue with a second series from the Adelphi Hotel.

"The first was a great success and we believe much of the appeal lay in the fact that the audience knew they were getting a taste of real life at the Adelphi, as it happened."

More than 12 million viewers watched the BBC1 programme each week, which resulted in the hotel receiving a deluge of industry criticism.

The first episode showed staff coping with a city-wide accommodation crisis that followed the IRA bomb scare at the Grand National. It included a room being auctioned at more than double its rack rate and mattresses in function rooms being offered at £45 a night.

Britannia Hotels refused to comment on the BBC's decision.