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"Mr. Bean in Room 426" is the eighth episode of the British television series Mr. Bean, produced by Tiger Television and Thames Television for Central Independent Television. It was first broadcast on ITV on 17 February 1993 and was watched by 14.31 million viewers during its original transmission. This was the first episode to consist of a single storyline and was shot entirely on location in Southsea.

Plot

Part One

Mr. Bean visits the Queens Hotel for a bank holiday. He checks in at the same time as a quiet man and they end up in adjoining rooms. Bean tries to beat the man to his room, but struggles to unlock his door and fails.

Once inside, Bean toys with the features of his room, such as the lights, telephone, and remote. Upon realising there is no bathroom, he drills a hole in the wall to access his neighbour's. The vibration of the drill is heard by the manager, who knocks on Bean's door to investigate, only to find that the man in the next room cannot open the door. Unbeknownst to them, Bean has locked the door and is taking a bath. He hides the hole with the shower curtain and his wardrobe afterwards.

Part Two

At lunch, Bean takes double of whatever food his neighbour is taking from the buffet. He then sits at the table next to his neighbour and gluttonously eats whatever the neighbour is eating at a certain time. When they start on their oysters, Bean eats all of his quickly, but the neighbour notices an odd smell coming from his oysters and asks the waiter about it. The waiter says that they have gone off and apologises to the neighbour, while Bean realises that he has just eaten bad oysters.

That night, Bean wakes up feeling hot and undresses. He hears loud music coming from next door and goes outside to shush. After the music stops, Bean proceeds back to his room, but the door swings shut, locking itself in the process and leaving him trapped outside his room naked. Bean covers himself with door signs and makes his way to the lobby in the lift. Upon reaching the lobby, he sneaks into the manager's workspace as the manager speaks to Danny La Rue, who is performing at the hotel. Bean hides inside La Rue's suitcase and slips into his spare gown before the porter arrives to take the suitcase out to the car. In his disguise, Bean asks for the key to his room, but as the manager looks for it, La Rue confronts Bean for stealing his dress and yanks an earring off Bean's ear.

Cast

• Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Bean
• Matthew Ashforde as the hotel porter
• Michael Fenton Stevens as the man in Room 425
• Roger Brierley as the hotel manager
• Danny La Rue as himself
• Phyllis Calvert as old lady (uncredited)

Production

This was the first episode to incorporate only one storyline instead of separate acts or sketches as well as the first to be shot entirely on location. The episode was filmed at the Queen's Hotel in the seaside resort of Southsea, Portsmouth, Hampshire. Principal photography began on 1 October 1992.

It was also the first full episode to be directed by Paul Weiland, previously the series' specialist director for film sequences. Another episode-length story, "Mind the Baby, Mr. Bean", was also filmed in Southsea.

This was also the first episode to be commissioned and presented for the ITV network by Central Independent Television following the loss of Thames' ITV franchise in London. Central would also oversee commissioning and compliance for a number of other Thames independent productions, such as Minder, Wish You Were Here...? and Strike It Lucky, until the ITV Network Centre removed the requirement for a 'commissioning company' in the late 1990s.

References

1. "Timeline". mrbean.co.uk. Archived from the original on 22 September 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
2. Rae Beth Gordon (2001). Why the French Love Jerry Lewis: From Cabaret to Early Cinema. Stanford University Press. pp. 223–. ISBN 978-0-8047-3894-1.
3. Queenshotelportsmouth.com

External links

• "Mr. Bean in Room 426" at IMDb

• Mr. Bean episodes
• 1993 British television episodes
• Television episodes set in hotels
• Television shows written by Rowan Atkinson
• Television shows written by Robin Driscoll