How do you unwind at the weekend?
I used to work weekends, but now my rest day is Sunday. I visit my mother Molly in Omagh, where I grew up. I have seven brothers and two sisters in the area – I was the only one to leave the village – and I see them too. Frankly, I used to hate doing hotel breakfasts. You'd have 100 hungry, hungover people arriving 15 minutes before the end of breakfast and 10 of us serving. The key thing in hospitality, though, is to have a great attitude. There's a huge amount of interaction with the public and that's seven days a week, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. When I'm off, though, I'm off and rely on my team. They did a full-on banquet for 500 when I was off with Covid.
What do you recall most about weekends growing up?
The boys were out playing football or in the mud but I'd do Irish dancing or acting. My friend Joan Mulgrew and I were selected for the National Youth Theatre and acted in A Kestrel for a Knave. As a gay young man, I would have struggled. I didn't come out to my family until I was 39 or 40 – you do it when the time's right. It was on a weekend; I sat down with my parents on a Saturday in my mother's kitchen and told them. I rang my two sisters afterwards and said "I've done it".
Do you have a must-listen weekend radio programme or podcast?
On Saturday morning, I wake to the lovely tones of Dermot O'Leary. And it has to be Elaine Paige's show as I love musical theatre.
Is there a must-watch TV show or Netflix?
I'd give all terrestrial channels up for Netflix and am in the middle of series four of Ozark. It's got it all: Chicago, drug cartels, murder, violence. But I'm finishing Virgin River which is soft and fluffy.
Is Sunday still special?
I was brought up in a small community and went to church. Our family has a 100-year history of providing sacristans and my father took on the role. I wouldn't say I am godly but I'm probably spiritual. I believe in living your best life and being kind to each other.
Do you have a favourite eatery or is it a takeaway?
My partner Joseph and I would go to The Muddlers Club in Belfast, whose tasting menu is superb.
How do you feel on Sunday night about Monday morning?
Well, everybody hates a Monday, don't they? Recently I've started going in at midday which helps. I've enjoyed doing the programme The Hotel People, and my catchphrase is "Love it, love it, love it". I don't watch myself on the programme, though...
:: The next episode of The Hotel People, which goes behind the scenes of the Hastings Hotel Group, is on BBC One NI on Monday at 10.40pm. The series is also available on BBC iPlayer.
Jane Hardy
