Have you seen the Channel 5 show ‘The Hotel Inspector’? Well, I have and I love it. Actually, I love Alex Polizzi who presents it.
Alex Polizzi is a successful Hotelier who helps struggling establishments improve their business. Each episode she stays in a rundown hotel or Bed and Breakfast and gives them help on how best to improve their service from the decor to staff management.
Having been a fan of the show (I love a makeover programme), I was thrilled to be asked to help with hair and makeup on one particular episode. She doesn’t have a regular makeup artist for the show but this one was different and the premise was that she was going undercover and therefore needed a disguise.
This was an exciting opportunity for me and I packed my hair and makeup kit and headed down to Devon to meet Alex and find out more about the top-secret filming.
Of course, meeting Alex was great and she is as she appears on TV, warm and friendly but she’s also strong, passionate and direct.
During dinner, Alex and the producers explained the plan. The crew were going back to the Hotel to do some additional filming the following day but the owners weren’t told that Alex would be there. She was in fact, to look like part of the crew and dressed in disguise as a boom op. After a couple of glasses of wine, some slightly outlandish ideas were bandied about but we sensibly settled for a very plain look with Alex just wearing a long straight wig, the opposite of her naturally curly short hair. The aim was for her to blend in and not be recognised so we decided on a look that wouldn’t draw attention.
The next day was shoot day. One thing I hadn’t been asked…. ‘Would I mind being filmed as well, putting the wig on?’ Well, I’m definitely happier behind the scenes but how could I say no?!
Alex is naturally very glamorous so we decided on a minimal makeup look and she was not going to wear her trademark dangly earrings. As part of the getting ready process, I was filmed putting on lots of comedy wigs, silly hats and glasses on Alex before we chose the final look, which was a long dark wig and some geeky looking spectacles. She also wore a cap and black T-shirt to blend in with the rest of the crew. And off they all went!
I was desperate to know if she had been recognised and if our mission had been a success so I called the production manager who confirmed all had gone to plan.
Now, I had to wait for the transmission day….
I just had a text from a friend asking if I knew Alex Polizzi as she thought she just saw me on TV!