Back in May we were invited to an amazing event at Cbeebies HQ in Manchester. We were shown around the set of the Furchester Hotel, which is a new show set to air on Friday September 26th at 5pm. I was brought up watching Sesame Street and The Muppet Show and my children have the box sets and enjoy watching the classic episodes. It is fair to say that I was really rather excited!
The Furchester Hotel is a series aimed at 3-6 year olds which is set in an ‘almost’ world-class hotel run by a close-knit family of cheerfully chaotic monsters. There are brand new characters introduced in the series, but it also welcomes the beloved Elmo and Cookie Monster from Sesame Street.
The children were both excited when we arrived, and my husband enjoyed the fact that there were daleks and a TARDIS in reception! We were shown around the set, which was amazing. It was all raised up, so that the puppeteers didn't have to kneel down. The team had built an entire inside of a hotel and the attention to detail was fabulous! I was particularly impressed with the wallpaper, which I wish I could order!
After we had been shown around the set, we were then surprised with a visit from the cast. They took a break from filming and made their way upstairs to see us all. They took their time and worked their way around the room, ensuring that all the children got to meet them all.
Now that we are running a B&B, I think it will be really interesting for the children to watch. Perhaps they can pick up some tips on how to treat the guests when they come to stay! The owner of the Furchester Hotel is Funella Furchester, who works with her husband, Fergus Fuzz and their daughter Phoebe Furchester-Fuzz. Elmo is Phoebe's cousin who is on an extended stay and Cookie Monster, who is working as a waiter.
The boy enjoyed meeting Cookie Monster, who works as a waiter in the dining room in the Furchester Hotel and also brings room service to the guests. Hopefully no-one orders any cookies, because I can't imagine they will get them!
Obviously I had to take the opportunity to get a selfie with Elmo! We watched part of an episode and it was fantastic. Full of singing, dancing and catchy songs. It also enables children to creatively solve problems.
The puppeteers for the series include Louise Gold (Funella), Andrew James Spooner (Furgus) and Sarah Burgess (Phoebe) joined forces with Sesame Street puppeteers David Rudman (Cookie Monster) and Ryan Dillon (Elmo) to bring all the characters to life in The Furchester Hotel. Puppet captain was Mak Wilson who also performs resident guest Harvey P Dull. They work so hard. We watched them filming and the amount of effort that went into a three second clip was astounding!
My daughter was slightly overwhelmed when the characters came in, and I was really impressed with the way that Elmo won her round!
The Furchester Hotel starts on Cbeebies on Friday September 26th at 5pm. I am really looking forward to it!
Disclosure: We were invited to Cbeebies to meet the cast of the Furchester Hotel for the purpose of this review. This had no impact on my post, which is honest and fair.
