Alex Polizzi returns to Channel 5 as The Hotel Inspector this week (Thursday June 10, 2021)
TV viewers also know Alex for presenting Restaurant Rescue and The Fixer.
But how did she become famous, how old is she and is she married? So many questions about her!
Here’s everything you need to know about The Hotel Inspector.
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Who is Alex Polizzi and what is she famous for?
Alex Polizzi is an English hotelier and businesswoman, who made the move into television.
Since 2008, she has appeared on the TV show The Hotel Inspector on Channel 5.
At the beginning of the show, Alex tells viewers she’s “worked in top hotels for over 30 years”.
In fact, Alex comes from a family of hoteliers.
Her maternal grandfather is Lord Forte, an Italian-born Scottish hotelier who founded the leisure and hotels conglomerate that ultimately became the Forte Group.
Her mother is Olga Polizzi, a hotel designer who is Lord Forte’s daughter and the sister of Sir Rocco Forte – also an English hotelier and the chairman of Rocco Forte Hotels.
So she certainly has hoteliering in her blood!
People may not know that Polizzi read English at Oxford University.
She also trained at the Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong, and worked for Marco Pierre White.
Alex also started a wholesale bakery, Millers Bespoke Bakery, with her husband, and manages the Hotel Endsleigh in Milton Abbot, near Tavistock in Devon.
On her Instagram, she says: “You might know me as the Hotel Inspector, but you might not know I’m also a mum and total foodie!”
Alex isn’t the only foodie in the family, either.
Her brother-in-law is restaurateur and Great British Menu judge Oliver Peyton.
Which TV shows has Alex Polizzi been in?
Alex has fronted The Hotel Inspector on C5 since 2008.
In the series, she travels across the UK attempting to help struggling hotels.
As a result of The Hotel Inspector’s success, Alex was given another C5 series called The Fixer in 2012.
The programme saw Alex turn around family businesses which were struggling to attract customers.
In 2014, she presented her own travel show Alex Polizzi’s Secret Italy, followed by Spectacular Spain with Alex Polizzi in 2017.
And is it just us, or would she make a fabulous Strictly contestant?
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How old is Alex Polizzi and where is she from?
Alessandra Maria Luigia Anna Polizzi di Sorrentino (say that after a few pints) was born on August 28 1971.
She is currently 49 years old.
Alex was born in London, but has Italian ancestry.
She explored her Italian roots in Alex Polizzi’s Secret Italy on Channel 5.
In the series, viewers saw Alex explore the culture, cuisine and history of Italy.
Is Alex Polizzi married?
Alex married baker Marcus Miller in 2007.
Together they have two children – daughter Olga, 12, and a son Rocco, seven – and live in London.
She has joked that she’s a “very bad wife” because “her husband is so far down the list he barely appears on it”.
Alex and Marcus were “bonkers about each other” when they first got together in 1995.
They were together for two years but broke up, before reuniting and marrying in 2007.
Alex Polizzi tragedy
Devastatingly, Alex was only nine years old when her dad died in tragic circumstances.
The Italian marquess Alessandro Polizzi di Sorrentino was killed in a car accident in 1980.
She has said that despite her dad’s premature death, she “had a very happy childhood”.
Alex also revealed that her life changed dramatically around that time.
Speaking to the Metro, she said: “There were lots of changes in our lives in a short space of time.
“My dad died, my mum went to work and I went to boarding school.”
She also admits her dad’s death left her mum quite “fearful” about her children.
The Hotel Inspector episode one: Coach and Horses, South Perrot
Alex Polizzi returns in a new series of The Hotel Inspector.
She arrives in Dorset to help James and Yvonne, the owners of the Coach and Horses.
They are struggling to attract business, despite it being the only pub in the village.
Alex is instantly shocked at the first impression of the Coach, its rooms and also its owners, but can she get their business back on track?
The Hotel Inspector airs on Thursday June 10, 2021 at 9pm on Channel 5.
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