He’s a man with a taste for, shall we say, the finer things in life.
So when Spencer Matthews landed on the stunning Greek island of Ios to stay in a luxurious hotel, one can imagine it all felt like one home from pampered home.
After all, the old Etonian was well used to holidaying at his wealthy parents’ opulent Eden Roc resort on the Caribbean island of St Barts.
However, as he arrived at the Relux Ios – a chic, minimalistic hotel, which describes itself as a ‘romantic oasis’ – this time, Spencer wouldn’t be waited on hand and foot.
Instead he would be the hotel manager after signing up for E4 reality series, Five Star Hotel.
Those accompanying him certainly weren’t quite what he was used to either: fellow ‘stars’ included TOWIE’s Joey Essex, who was the venue’s bellboy. All were competing to win employee of the season in the three-week show back in 2018.
At the time, Spencer’s fame had rocketed after several years on Made In Chelsea, with his public profile aided by the fact he was just a few months away from marrying Irish model Vogue Williams, who was pregnant with their first child.
Sources on the show say he ‘really thought he was quite the bomb’.
Spencer Matthews arrived at the Relux los Hotel in Greece ready to be pampered, but instead he would be the hotel manager after signing up for E4 reality series, Five Star Hotel
Also accompanying Matthews, certainly weren’t quite what he was used to either. TOWIE ‘s Joey Essex, joined as the venue’s bellboy
Also taking part in the programme was Charlotte Dawson, the outspoken daughter of the late comedy icon, Les Dawson
Also taking part in the programme was Charlotte Dawson, the outspoken daughter of the late comedy icon, Les Dawson. Then an actress and model, the brash northerner was keen to elevate her profile and earn some cash.
Born in Blackpool, she couldn’t be more of a contrast to Spencer, whose upbringing was soaked in privilege – something that was all too apparent. Indeed, when she entered the hotel, as a late arrival to the show, his snobbish disapproval of her was evident.
Spencer said: ‘I think Charlotte and I might disagree a little bit when it comes to kind of, what a five star service is.’
Turning to her, he then said: ‘I feel as though you’re, kind of, quite keen to have a real, really like, good time.’
Charlotte replied: ‘Oh yeah, I want a belting time,’ with Spencer adding: ‘We are working, like you do know that?
Charlotte retorted: ‘Tell you what, this place is not gonna know what’s hit it. Soon as it’s got the Dawson mark on it it’s just gonna be more and more fabulous.’
The celebs then toasted Charlotte, welcoming ‘Chazza’ as the newest member of the team.
Spencer, speaking to camera away from the rest of the group, said: ‘I’ve seen this type before and I can just tell she’s just gonna be a f****** nightmare.’
Yet despite this shaky start, I can reveal that after just a few days on Ios, a lesser-known Greek island nestled between Naxos, Mykonos and Santorini, Charlotte, then 25, won over posh Spencer.
Despite their social differences, he began to throughly enjoy her fun-loving company, a turnaround which, I’m told, raised eyebrows amongst their co-stars and production staff.
Little wonder perhaps: Spencer’s childhood took in many glamorous locations – from his home, Caunton Manor, a 30-acre estate in Nottinghamshire, to regular holidays at his parents’ St Barts’ hotel. One of his older brothers, James, is married to the Princess of Wales’ sister Pippa Middleton, while the other, Michael, went missing in 1999 while climbing Everest. The 22 year old’s body has never been found.
Any ex-girlfriends of his had been straight out of Tatler Magazine. Before meeting Vogue in 2017 while they were appearing on Channel 4 show The Jump, he had dated well-connected Made In Chelsea stars like Lauren Frazer-Hutton, Lucy Watson and Louise Thompson. There was also a fling with Chloe Green, the daughter of shamed retail magnate Philip Green.
Meanwhile, Charlotte, now 32, grew up just outside Blackpool and would spend so much time at its famous pleasure beach as a youngster that she often refers to it as her ‘second home.’ Devastatingly, her father, Blankety Blank host and legendary standup comedian Les Dawson, died of a heart attack when she was just eight months old in 1993.
While she grew up in a £1.3million home called The Bumbles with her mother Tracy, she wasn’t raised with any airs and graces.
When Dawson entered the hotel, as a late arrival to the show, Matthews snobbish disapproval of her was evident
When Matthews was speaking to the camera away from the rest of the group, said he could ‘just tell she’s gonna be a f****** nightmare’
Previously, she had taken part on E4 dating show Celebs Go Dating, where she had a brief fling with former X Factor badboy Frankie Cocozza.
A show source tells me: ‘Spencer and Charlotte could not be more different. While they might have both been used to the limelight and were appearing on the same programme, he put himself above her.
‘Spencer came across as a bit of a snob at the beginning. He didn’t think a lot of Charlotte’s brazen, no-nonsense manner. He is used to women who are more refined. He hadn’t met many people like her before.
‘Charlotte was a waitress on the show, while Spencer was the manager. In one episode she was seen flashing her bum while covering the breakfast shift. Her skirt was so short the guests she was serving were distracted when she bent over.
‘You can only imagine what Spencer would have made of that.’
Just days later, though, Charlotte’s larger-than-life personality caught Spencer’s attention and it was during a conversation where she joked about having a sausage for breakfast that they really bonded.
Spencer, who was yet to become teetotal, and Charlotte joined the other contestants on drunken nights when the cameras stopped rolling and they soon became firm friends.
‘Charlotte had a great time with Spencer,’ said a source close to her. ‘She loved the show, it was super fun and the pair of them loved a good drink. They bonded over having a raucous time.
‘In fact, during filming things became so lively that Charlotte fell and knocked her teeth out. It was Joey who found her and then producers had to fly her to another island to get her teeth fixed. Spencer was so supportive of her throughout all of that. He was so kind to her.’
Spencer, now 36, went on to win the show, something he said ‘made him so happy’ – but his pleasure was short-lived. His victory came in the same week his father David was charged by French police with sexually assaulting a teenage girl two decades ago.
David is alleged to have carried out the attacks on a teenage girl between 1998 and 1999, with the accuser saying one attack occurred in Paris and the other in St Barts. It is understood the complainant lives in London and once had close links to the £5,000-a-night Eden Rock Hotel, which David bought after visiting French-speaking St Barts in 1975.
He vehemently denies the allegations.
Three months after his reality TV victory, Spencer married Vogue in a picture perfect wedding, which took place at the loch on the 10,000 acre Inverness-shire estate owned by the Matthews family.
The glowing bride was six months pregnant with the couple’s son Theodore, and the family soon attracted many lucrative commercial opportunities, thanks to their perfect domestic image.
At the time she met Spencer, Charlotte had been dating her now husband, the former rugby league player Matt Sarsfield for two years. In 2020, he proposed to her in front of her father Les’s statue in the Sunken Gardens in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire. They now have three children.
Sadly, Spencer and Charlotte’s busy lives meant their friendship didn’t continue. ‘It was one of those friendships that lasted while they were in the same place, but once normal life resumed they didn’t really keep in touch,’ said a show source.
‘But Charlotte loved telling anyone who would listen about her new mate Spencer,’ said a friend of hers. ‘Yes, she thought he was very different to her but they found a way to get on.
‘You wonder if Spencer was quite so keen to tell his posh Chelsea circles about his commoner friend. Probably not. She’s not very Chelsea.
