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Who is former Hotel Inspector star Ruth Watson and where is she now?

RUTH Watson is nationally-known as the original presenter of Channel 5's show The Hotel Inspector.

Here's everything you need to know about the TV star.

Who is Ruth Watson and when was she on The Hotel Inspector?

Ruth Watson is an English hotelier, broadcaster and food writer. 

Born in London in 1950, she was educated at Westonbirt School in Gloucestershire.

After deciding to take up a career in graphic design she became an inspector for the Good Food Guide.

Then In 2005, Watson began presenting the Channel 5 TV series The Hotel Inspector.

Ruth Watson former Hotel Inspector presenter
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Ruth Watson former Hotel Inspector presenterCredit: Not known, clear with picture desk

In each episode, she would visit a struggling British hotel and try to turn their luck around by giving advice and suggestions to the owners.

It wasn't long till the show became one of Channel 5's most popular series of the 2000s, making Watson a well-known star.

The show even went on to win a Royal Television Society Award in November 2006.

But in 2008, Watson decided to finish with the show, making Alex Polizzi the new presenter.

More on The Hotel Inspector

What else is Ruth known for?

In 2008, Ruth signed an exclusive deal with Channel 4 to front several shows including Country House Rescue, which also consisted of a mini-series that continued to air until March 2011.

In 2009, Watson starred in a TV show called Ruth Watson's Hotel Rescue which aired for two months.

Sadly the show was not recommissioned for any future series.

In 2010, she guest-presented the Funk & Soul Show on BBC 6 Music, standing in for Craig Charles, and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate for her services to hospitality by the University of Suffolk.

Then in 2013, she presented Ruth Watson Means Business!, a 15-part series on Channel 4.

Aside from TV, Waston has written three books including The Really Helpful Cookbook, Fat Girl Slim, and her cookbook Something for the Weekend.

Is Ruth married and does she have children?

In 1981, Watson married her husband David Watson. 

The pair bought Hintlesham Hall in Hintlesham, as a restaurant and cookery school from Robert Carrier, which over six years they turned into a 33-room hotel.

In 1990 they bought the Fox and Goose Inn at Fressingfield, launching it as one of Britain's first gastropubs.

Then in November 1999, Watson and her husband bought the Crown and Castle Hotel in Orford, which they managed to fully restore and run as a modern country house hotel.

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The couple live in a 16th-century farmhouse in Suffolk, which contains a 120-acre organic farm, harvesting some produce for the Crown and Castle.

It is not known if she has any children.

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