This week on Friday 26th September at 5pm the very first episode of The Furchester Hotel airs on CBeebies. We will be watching on Friday afternoon and recording the show because one viewing will not be enough for Diva G. Make sure you tune in and set your recorders too, allow me to tell you why this is brand new CBeebies show is a must see.
Back in May we were lucky enough to be invited to the BBC at Mediacity for an exclusive behind the scenes tour at The Furchester Hotel we learnt all about The Furchester Hotel and met the cast and production team. The Furchester Hotel has been created by CBeebies in partnership with the Sesame Workshop team and is aimed at 3-6 year olds. It is set in an ‘almost’ world-class hotel run by a close-knit family of cheerfully chaotic monsters “The Furchesters” – think Sesame Street meets Fawlty Towers! Here’s Diva G and her BFF checking in at The Furchester Hotel event …
My own nostalgic childhood memories include the characters from Sesame Street and The Muppet Show so I was just as excited as my two little buddies about this show as my beloved favourites, Elmo and The Cookie Monster. There are new faces to meet so let me introduce you to the close-knit family of cheerfully chaotic monsters that run The Furchester Hotel.
First let me introduce you to Funella Furchester, I could definitely see glimpses of Sybil Fawlty but a furry yellow version! Funella is the owner and proprietor of the hotel which she runs with her husband and daughter and the various staff. She loves her family more than anything else in the world but her job comes a close second. She loves to make her guests happy and will go to extraordinary lengths to cater to all their different tastes. She can be loud and a little daunting in her enthusiasm but is very good hearted. She enjoys the social side of the hotel but gets very upset if anything goes wrong and tends to think that small problems are catastrophes. She also gives good hugs too!
A very special intro to this purple princess, who was without a doubt Diva G’s favourite, allow me to introduce you to Phoebe Furchester-Fuzz. Phoebe is the daughter of Funella and Furgus Fuzz, she is also cousin of Elmo. Phoebe is a highly independent 7yo monster with a quick and creative mind which is always working to come up with solutions to problems. When Phoebe has a particularly inspirational idea, she and Elmo rush to put the plan into action – although they don’t always think through the repercussions. Her most treasured possession was also admired and very much coveted by Diva G and her BFF is her skeleton key necklace.
Elmo needs no introduction but to explain why he’s here, this exuberant monster is Phoebe’s cousin and he is on an extended visit to The Furchester Hotel. Elmo is gobsmacked by the hotel and all it has to offer: lift buttons to push, rooms to explore, phones to be answered, lots of new friends to make. Random fact – did you know Elmo is only 3.5yo? I love him even more now! Meeting Elmo was such a highlight for me and the girls we were all fan girling over the little cute red one!
Another beloved favourite of mine is Cookie Monster who has landed his dream job at the Furchester Hotel as room service and dining room waiter. There is plenty of opportunity for cookie advancement as Cookie Monster’s priority remains finding and devouring cookies and he was just as wild, crazy and fun in “real life” as you would expect!
Who wouldn’t want to be welcomed by these furry arms at The Furchester Hotel? Standing between Funella and Phoebe is Furgus Fuzz, Husband to Funella, dad to Phoebe and he’s holding Isabel the cutest little pink furry monster with a bell on top. I bet you can’t wait to check in to The Furchester Hotel now!
The scale of this production cannot go unmentioned, the physical size of the set is huge, raised around 4-5 foot off the ground and so detailed, it took my breath away. Raising it allows the puppeteers to deliver their performances standing up, the size and number of puppets was immense, we are talking hundreds of puppet visitors checking in at The Furchester throughout the series. The production team is amazing and all going to huge lengths to capture just a few seconds of footage for an episode, they’ve worked tirelessly for weeks to create an entire series for us to enjoy. Having been allowed a sneak, almost finished, peek at the first show and we really can’t wait to see the finished episode and series.
Between now and Friday we are enjoying the clips and games on the CBeebies website, there’s a new character and game every day to discover behind the window of The Furchester Hotel.
Here’s the trailer for the show ahead of the first episode which airs on Friday 26th September at 5pm on CBeebies.
