ONE of Tynemouth’s oldest guest houses is to star in Channel 4’s Four in a Bed reality show, competing against three other establishments, in a bid to win the ‘Best Value’ title.
No 61, the 18th century guest house and tea room on Tynemouth’s Front Street, right in the heart of the village, was taken over by Stephen Minns and his husband, Neil McWhirter, in September 2017. Since then the couple have worked to transform it into a boutique-style hotel offering high standard en-suite accommodation with a friendly, welcoming service.
The couple who relocated from Leighton Buzzard to Tynemouth to take over the business have embraced village life. “A while ago one of Neil’s cousins suggested we should move to the North East and run a B&B, it was a bit tongue in cheek really, but a year later here we are.”
“Moving to Tynemouth was a great life choice for us,” said Stephen who has worked as a Business Development Director in the hotel industry most of his life. “Neil was working as a Manager for UCL Medical School, so this was a great opportunity for us to utilise all our experience and run our own business.”
“We found No 61 and fell in love with it. It is full of period features, is just 100 metres from the coastline and Tynemouth Priory and Castle, it is just an amazing location to be in.”
When Stephen and Neil were approached to take part in the show in February they jumped at the chance.
“I was really keen to take part in the show. It is a great opportunity to really put No 61 on the map and to be able to showcase Tynemouth to a huge audience.
“We’ll be sitting watching the show with all our friends in the local when it airs Monday 8th – Friday 12th October on Channel 4 at 5pm and we can’t wait for everyone to see what a gem No 61 is.”