Ruth Watson
Encyclopedia
Ruth Watson is an English hotel
ier, broadcaster
and food
writer
.
, Ruth Watson was educated in London and at Westonbirt School
in Gloucestershire
. After taking up a career in graphic design
, she became an inspector for the Good Food Guide
.
In 1983, Watson and her husband David bought Hintlesham Hall in Hintlesham
, Suffolk
as a restaurant
and cookery school from Robert Carrier
, which over six years they turned into a 33 room hotel, with an 18 hole golf course
. In 1990 they bought the Fox and Goose Inn at Fressingfield
, launching it as one of Britain's first ever gastropub
s. In November 1999, Watson and her husband bought the Crown and Castle hotel in Orford
near Woodbridge, Suffolk
, which they have fully restored and run as a modern country house hotel.
to be a contributing food editor on Sainsbury's Magazine. Watson subsequently became food editor of the Daily Mail Weekend
magazine, for which she was shortlisted for a Glenfiddich Award
as newspaper cookery writer in 2001, and won twice as Cookery Writer of the year - in 1997 and 2000. Watson has written three books: the Really Helpful Cookbook published in October 2000 by Ebury Press
; the slimming book Fat Girl Slim, while her cook book Something for the Weekend is in its third edition.
. In each episode of this observational documentary series, Watson would visit a struggling British hotel and try to turn their fortunes by giving advice and suggestions to the owner. Watson's direct style appealed to viewers and The Hotel Inspector has became one of Channel 5's most popular series of the 2000's (the show won a Royal Television Society
Award in November 2006). Despite this, Watson decided not to undertake a fourth series, and was succeeded on the programme by hotelier Alex Polizzi
.
In November 2007, Ruth Watson signed an exclusive two year deal with Channel 4
to front a number of television shows, the first of which explores the commercial development of Britain's country houses. Titled, Country House Rescue
, the series was broadcast on Channel 4 on Tuesday nights in December 2008 - January 2009, and gained audiences of up to 2.7 million on its first run. A mini-series of catch-up episodes were broadcast a year later. A second series of Country House Rescue was commissioned by Channel 4, and started airing from March 2010.. A third series aired from March 2011, and a further series of catch-up episodes began airing from August 2011. However, Watson has stated on her own website that she will not present any more series of Country House Rescue in the future.
Watson also starred in another TV show that she described as "Grand Designs
meets The Hotel Inspector" where she helped aspiring hoteliers start their businesses. The programme, titled Ruth Watson's Hotel Rescue
, premiered on Channel 4 at 8pm on Wednesday, 30 September 2009, and continued to air throughout October of that year. However, Ruth Watson's Hotel Rescue was not re-commissioned for any further series.
In April 2010, Watson guest-presented the Funk & Soul Show on BBC 6 Music
, standing in for Craig Charles
.
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
ier, broadcaster
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
and food
Cooking
Cooking is the process of preparing food by use of heat. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely across the world, reflecting unique environmental, economic, and cultural traditions. Cooks themselves also vary widely in skill and training...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
.
Early life and career
Born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Ruth Watson was educated in London and at Westonbirt School
Westonbirt School
Westonbirt School is an independent day and boarding school for girls located in Gloucestershire in South West England. Founded in 1928, it is a member of the Allied Schools organisation...
in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
. After taking up a career in graphic design
Graphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
, she became an inspector for the Good Food Guide
Good Food Guide
The Good Food Guide is an annual guidebook to the best restaurants in the UK, published by Which?books.The Good Food Guide was first published in 1951 by Raymond Postgate, an enthusiastic gourmet, who was appalled by the standard of contemporary catering. He recruited an army of volunteers to...
.
In 1983, Watson and her husband David bought Hintlesham Hall in Hintlesham
Hintlesham
Hintlesham is a small village in Suffolk, England, situated roughly halfway between Ipswich and Hadleigh.The village is notable for Hintlesham Hall, a 16th Century Grade I listed country house that was restored and turned into a hotel by the famous chef, restaurateur and food writer Robert Carrier...
, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
as a restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
and cookery school from Robert Carrier
Robert Carrier (chef)
Robert Carrier OBE was an American chef, restaurateur and cookery writer, whose success came in England, where he was based from 1953 to 1984, and then from 1994 until his death.-Biography:Born Robert Carrier McMahon in Tarrytown, New York, the third son of an Irish...
, which over six years they turned into a 33 room hotel, with an 18 hole golf course
Golf course
A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...
. In 1990 they bought the Fox and Goose Inn at Fressingfield
Fressingfield
Fressingfield is a small village in Suffolk, England, east of Diss, Norfolk. It has a population of over 900, with two shops a medical centre and three churches, with Anglican, Baptist and Methodist congregations. Fressingfield once had five public houses...
, launching it as one of Britain's first ever gastropub
Gastropub
Gastropub or Gastrolounge refers to a bar and restaurant that serves high-end beer and food.The term gastropub, a portmanteau of gastronomy and pub, originated in England in the late 20th century. English pubs were drinking establishments and little emphasis was placed on the serving of food. If...
s. In November 1999, Watson and her husband bought the Crown and Castle hotel in Orford
Orford, Suffolk
Orford is a small town in Suffolk, England, within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB.Like many Suffolk coastal towns it was of some importance as a port and fishing village in the Middle Ages. It still has a fine mediaeval castle, built to dominate the River Ore.The main geographical feature of the...
near Woodbridge, Suffolk
Woodbridge, Suffolk
Woodbridge is a town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England. It is in the East of England, not far from the coast. It lies along the River Deben, with a population of about 7,480. The town is served by Woodbridge railway station on the Ipswich-Lowestoft East Suffolk Line. Woodbridge is twinned with...
, which they have fully restored and run as a modern country house hotel.
Food writing
Ruth Watson's hotel experience brought her to the eye of various publishers, and was asked in 1994 by friend Delia SmithDelia Smith
Delia Smith CBE is an English cook and television presenter, known for teaching basic cookery skills. She is the UK's best-selling cookery author, with more than 21 million copies sold....
to be a contributing food editor on Sainsbury's Magazine. Watson subsequently became food editor of the Daily Mail Weekend
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
magazine, for which she was shortlisted for a Glenfiddich Award
Glenfiddich Food and Drink Awards
The Glenfiddich Food and Drink Awards were intended to recognize achievements in writing, publishing and broadcasting on the subjects of food and drink...
as newspaper cookery writer in 2001, and won twice as Cookery Writer of the year - in 1997 and 2000. Watson has written three books: the Really Helpful Cookbook published in October 2000 by Ebury Press
Ebury Publishing
Ebury Publishing is a division of the Random House Group Ltd, and is a well-known publisher of general non-fiction books in the UK.Under its umbrella are the imprints BBC Books, Ebury Press, Rider, Time Out and Vermilion—each with their own, distinct identity and specialist areas of...
; the slimming book Fat Girl Slim, while her cook book Something for the Weekend is in its third edition.
Broadcasting career
In Autumn 2005, Ruth Watson's public profile greatly increased when she became the star of the Channel 5 television series The Hotel InspectorThe Hotel Inspector
The Hotel Inspector is an observational documentary television series which airs on British terrestrial television station, Channel 5. The series is also broadcast by networks around the world....
. In each episode of this observational documentary series, Watson would visit a struggling British hotel and try to turn their fortunes by giving advice and suggestions to the owner. Watson's direct style appealed to viewers and The Hotel Inspector has became one of Channel 5's most popular series of the 2000's (the show won a Royal Television Society
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
Award in November 2006). Despite this, Watson decided not to undertake a fourth series, and was succeeded on the programme by hotelier Alex Polizzi
Alex Polizzi
Alessandra Maria-Luigia O Polizzi Di Sorrentino is a British hotelier, and the presenter of the British TV series The Hotel Inspector on Channel 5, taking over from Ruth Watson....
.
In November 2007, Ruth Watson signed an exclusive two year deal with Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
to front a number of television shows, the first of which explores the commercial development of Britain's country houses. Titled, Country House Rescue
Country House Rescue
Country House Rescue is an observational documentary series which airs on British terrestrial television channel, Channel 4. The series has also aired on BBC Canada, ABC1 in Australia and Living in New Zealand....
, the series was broadcast on Channel 4 on Tuesday nights in December 2008 - January 2009, and gained audiences of up to 2.7 million on its first run. A mini-series of catch-up episodes were broadcast a year later. A second series of Country House Rescue was commissioned by Channel 4, and started airing from March 2010.. A third series aired from March 2011, and a further series of catch-up episodes began airing from August 2011. However, Watson has stated on her own website that she will not present any more series of Country House Rescue in the future.
Watson also starred in another TV show that she described as "Grand Designs
Grand Designs
Grand Designs is a British television series produced by Talkback Thames and broadcast on Channel 4 which features unusual and often elaborate architectural home-building projects....
meets The Hotel Inspector" where she helped aspiring hoteliers start their businesses. The programme, titled Ruth Watson's Hotel Rescue
Ruth Watson's Hotel Rescue
Ruth Watson's Hotel Rescue is an observational documentary television series which aired on British terrestrial television channel, Channel 4 in 2009....
, premiered on Channel 4 at 8pm on Wednesday, 30 September 2009, and continued to air throughout October of that year. However, Ruth Watson's Hotel Rescue was not re-commissioned for any further series.
In April 2010, Watson guest-presented the Funk & Soul Show on BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music is one of the BBC's digital radio stations, was launched on 11 March 2002 and originally codenamed Network Y. It was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years....
, standing in for Craig Charles
Craig Charles
Craig Joseph Charles is an English actor, stand-up comedian, author, poet, radio and television presenter, best known for playing Dave Lister in the British cult-favourite science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf...
.