The Fortune Hotel season 2 cast: Verdict on confirmed line-up and who is most likely to win £250,000 prize
Meet the 11 pairs taking part...
A second season of The Fortune Hotel has begun, and the stakes have been raised once again.
Hosted by Stephen Mangan, the second series will see 22 new contestants check into the hotel in pairs. They'll each be handed a mysterious briefcase. Most are empty - eight, to be exact, while one hides a life-changing £250,000 in cash, and another conceals the dreaded ‘Early Checkout’ card.
Across the eight episodes, the teams must use strategy, observation, and a good poker face to figure out who’s holding the fortune - and try to steal it - all while dodging the early elimination card.
As the show airs on ITV1, read on for everything you need to know about the cast including our verdict on who we think is likely to win.
The Fortune Hotel season 2 cast
Below is a full cast list:
- Marilyn and Maxine
- Chelsey and Briony
- Atholl and John
- Jake and Mike
- Allan and Jacob
- Gurks and Guv
- James and Yasmine
- Nella and Tope
- Sue and Jeremy
- Fred and Min
- Martina and Briony
For more on the cast keep scrolling...
Atholl and John - Most likely to win
Ages: 30 and 58
Jobs: Waiter and retired police officer
Relationship: Father and son
This father and son duo is ready to get their hands on the £250,000 cash prize. Coming all the way from Scotland, they travelled far for the show, so they didn't plan to go home empty handed.
"A lot of people are drawn to me, I'm quite a friendly person. My dad can deal with who the liars are as he's a retired police officer so has done a lot with body language," Atholl said. "Even when I was growing up, I could never lie! From being his son, I'm a great judge of character. If I have an inkling on something, I'm never normally wrong. I also remember details well, my memory is really good."
Ex-police officer John added: "It's the ability to listen to people and gather information. Body language does tell you a lot."
Oh we reckon these two are going to be the ones to watch. As an ex-police officer, John is going to be very good at reading others and Atholl's sociable nature will hopefully make him some alliances in the competition.
Gurks and Guv
Ages: 28 and 35
Jobs: Commercial manager/ poker player and energy Salesman
Relationship: Friends
"We both have telepathy with one another, we just give each other a look. We know [who to trust and who to be wary of]!" Guv said.
"It's all about asking people a question and seeing how they respond, you can see what's genuine and who was playing a game," Gurks added.
Could this be our winning pair? With a poker player in the mix, Gurks and Guv may just be able to pull the wool over the other players' eyes and sail through to the end. We reckon there'll be some fierce competition between these two and Allan and John.
Marilyn and Maxine
Ages: 46 and 41
Jobs: Mental health practitioner and Tech Strategist
Relationship: Friends
Best friends Marilyn and Maxine (better known as Maz and Max) are heading into The Fortune Hotel.
"I'm a deep thinker, I can be sassy but I'm loyal!" Maz said.
"I'm definitely an adventurous girly in every sense of life! Since COVID I try to never say no to anything so I've been travelling - I'm 34 countries down now and cracking on! I'm also really compassionate, I always try to be there for all the people be there for all the people I love," Max added.
Based on their jobs, we think they could stand a very good chance on the ITV1 show. Maz's deep thinking skills will surely come in handy.
Chelsey and Briony
Ages: 34
Jobs: Cleaning business owners/ content creators
Relationship: Friends
Another bestie duo taking part is Chelsey and Briony, who hail from Wigan.
"We felt like we were having an early mid-life crisis, we were working and being mums so we wanted an adventure and something different," Chelsey said.
"I watched the first series and absolutely loved it! We wanted to enter it as it's an adventure with your best friend in a lovely sunny destination. Yes please!" Briony said.
As best friends, these two will be really in sync, which should give them an advantage. But, we all know what it's like when around your bestie and you're trying not to laugh, which could make it difficult for these two to keep a straight face when it comes to it.
Jake and Mike
Ages: 29 and 33
Jobs: Construction Worker and energy surveyor
Brothers Jake and Mike are also from Wigan like Chelsey and are only brothers in the competition.
"We didn't watch the first series but as soon as I saw there was a holiday in the Caribbean and quarter of a million pounds to be won, I was like let's do it! It was a no brainer," Mike said.
Jake agreed: "A holiday in the Caribbean, who wouldn't?"
Their sibling connection could give them an advantage in the competition, so I'd watch these two if I was one of the contestants on The Fortune Hotel.
Allan and Jacob
Ages: 38 and 33
Jobs: Events and aviation staffer / cabin crew
Relationship: Couple
Allan and Jacob from Aberdeen and Huddersfield recently made a big change in their life - moving to London. They've been together 10 years and have hinted that if they were to win, they'd use some of the money to finally get married.
Speaking of the show, Allan said: "The most memorable thing we've done in our lives! To be chucked out of a plane, on to a boat with 20 other strangers all trying to fight for a suitcase, was just the most bizarre thing that we've ever done. To do it as a couple, it was the most remarkable thing we've done together!"
"It was just amazing, everyone was so nice, we had the best time. It just took over our lives, leading up to it and filming it, it was incredible," Jacob added.
Having been together 10 years, Allan and Jacob will know each other very well, which will help in the game for sure.
James and Yasmine
Ages: 45 and 23
Jobs: Carpet fitter and teaching assistant
This dad and daughter duo from Huddersfield are one of the pairs in this year's competition. Ahead of the show, the pair revealed the heartwarming reason they decided to take part.
"To experience something I'd never do in my everyday life. My son, James got diagnosed when he was 19 with Hodgkin's lymphoma, and we wanted to give something like this a go. When I got through he told me, "Do it, just do it! What an amazing thing," James said.
James is in remission and was going back to uni so Yasmine decided to join her dad, adding: "We wanted to show people after you hear the word cancer, life can carry on."
Another relative team, James and Yasmine's closeness will certainly come in handy on the show. We'll have to see how good their poker faces are though...
Nella and Tope
Ages: 31 and 34
Jobs: Senior financial accountant and finance business partner
Relationship: Couple
Nella and Tope were in a fairly new couple at the time of applying for the show and admitted that it could have made or broken them.
Nella explained: "It would've been make or break for us in our relationship! We'd only been together for two and a half years when we applied for the show. If we didn't work well together it could have been make or break! But luckily enough for us, the show made our relationship stronger. I was like wow-he's wow- he's actually right sometimes!"
Will the length of their relationship put them at a disadvantage? We'll have to wait and see...
Sue and Jeremy
Ages: 59 and 23
Jobs: Residential property management and tech broker
Relationship: Mother and son
Sue and Jeremy are the only mother and son duo this year and are convinced they can win!
"I'm very driven, competitive and I'm quite a strategic person. I like to think I'm quite convincing and deceiving," Jeremy said.
"I think I'm very good at reading people, but it was more difficult and complicated than anyone will ever realise. It tested my brain power, it really did! When you're there everyone is playing a game!" Sue added.
Last year's winners were a mother and son duo, so they could get lucky, although I think there are some really strong pairs this year...
Fred and Min
Ages: 60 and 59
Jobs: Retired
Relationship: Couple
Life partners Fred and Min from Blackpool decided to join the show, with Min saying: "No amount of money could buy that experience. It was just amazing."
Fred added: "[The Fortune Hotel] Probably was the best experience we've had to date. Can we go again please?"
Their plan?
"Bluff them, blag them and fake it til you make it! It was our last hurrah!" Fred said.
While it's probably the plan I'd use, I'm not too sure this be enough when coming up against an ex-police officer and poker player. That said, it's never smart to underestimate players on shows like this, as it's often the underdogs who go unnoticed and sail through to the end.
Martina and Briony
Ages: 68 and 32
Jobs: Office manager and declutter
Relationship: Mother and daughter
Another parent and child combo, Martina and Briony are determined to win the £250k brief case.
"At my age, people would think you couldn't do something like this, I wanted to prove them wrong. Briony rang me and said do you fancy going to the Caribbean for a holiday? holiday? And I said yes!" Martina said about joining the show.
Briony admitted she wanted to win to use the money for fertility treatment and a new car.
I sure hope their mother and daughter gives them the upper hand.
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