Max Beesley

A final slice of sugary-sweet shenanigans from perhaps the worst five-star hotel in creation - you'd probably have a better time at Fawlty Towers to be honest. There's something about this series that hasn't quite gelled, with the ongoing plot of whether Sam and Juliet will get back together not setting the world alight. Not to insult his many fans, but Nigel Harman just ain't Max Beesley, and if there's going to be a fifth series, a rethink is needed. It's still fun to an extent - but is that enough any more?

Mark Wright, The Stage, 14th August 2009

We're used to the idea of Hotel Babylon attracting a stream of familiar faces, guest-wise. In fact, most weeks it's almost like a little game of I-Spy, running entirely separately from the central plot.

But one of the arrivals this week is of more than just a passing significance. It's former deputy manager Charlie Edwards (Max Beesley) - who has good reason to show his face again.

As for the current staff, they're intrigued (like a good many of the guests) by claims that a stash of emeralds was hidden in the hotel many years ago, at least according to the posthumously published biography of a notorious criminal.

Oh, and back on the subject of guest stars, you get six points each for spotting an ex-member of the Blackadder cast and a former Avenger.

The Daily Express, 3rd July 2009

Hotel Babylon, BBC1's celebrity-sprinkled, glorified soap, is back for a third series. So far, this stilted comedy drama about preposterous shenanigans in a five-star hotel has proved remarkably popular. The programme may be in for a struggle, though, now that it has lost its best star, the sexy Tamzin Outhwaite. Max Beesley, her erstwhile henchman, now promoted to hotel manager, has never exactly oozed leading-man charisma, and he failed to electrify in last night's opener.

Still, there was something sneakily enjoyable about the episode, which pivoted on the unlikely possibility that vain receptionist Anna (Emma Pierson) cared about fair-trade garment manufacture. Although it was the incidental trivia rather than the plotline that provided the amusement. "Sorry I'm late, I had an early morning dental appointment," said head of housekeeping Jackie (Natalie Mendoza), as she tumbled in, dishevelled, to a meeting. "Oh you poor thing, did you get drilled?" fired back Anna.

Perhaps Hotel Babylon's secret is that it offers a parallel universe where we can laugh at people who behave with a shamelessness we secretly rather envy.

Serena Davies, The Telegraph, 20th February 2008