Babylon? life inside; Singing cowboys, chandeliers and the visitors who want to do more than just sign the guest book... why nothing ever fazes the staff at city's Adelphi As a new TV series promises to expose hotel antics, Kate Mansey finds out what really goes on.

Byline: Kate Mansey

IT IS a world most of us rarely even hear about, let alone experience.

But the real-life incidents that have taken place in the city's top hotels over the years would give new TV drama Hotel Babylon a run for its money when it comes to quirky, if not debauched, tales.

The BBC show, which stars Tamzin Outhwaite and Max Beesley, focuses on the sometimes sleazy and always scandalous behaviour of a list of rich and famous hotel guests at the fictional Hotel Babylon.

Modelled on Imogen Edwards-Jones' book about tales from a real London hotel - where the super rich have every whim catered for day or night - it promises to lift the lid on just what goes on after hours.

So, intrigued to find out just how true-to-life the show really is, I took a behind-the-scenes look at Liverpool's most historic hotel, the Britannia Adelphi - itself the subject of a fly-on-the-wall documentary in 1997.

Stories of bungled chandelier thefts, missing vibrators, and horses roaming the corridors are rife at the Adelphi.

There's nothing much left that would shock most of the members of staff, from the chambermaids to the management.

Head of housekeeping Joyce Logan, has worked at the hotel for 19 years and is in charge of 52 workers.

She remembers curtseying for royal guests Princess Anne and Prince Philip and has seen the likes of Billy Connolly, David Essex, Darren Day, Ken Dodd, Adam Faith, John Cleese, Eddie Izzard and Glenda Jackson stay in her rooms.

Singing cowboy Roy Rogers visited the Adelphi in 1954 when he was playing at the Empire.

Fans came to see him outside the hotel but he was ill in bed with flu so Trigger the horse had to go out and see the crowds instead.

And the horse, who stayed in the room with Rogers and his wife, even signed the guest book with a pencil between his teeth. Joyce says: "A couple of years ago we had another horse in the corridors when there was a re-enactment of Trigger's visit for the Liverpool Biennial.

"He was walking down the corridors and there was a bit of a mess in the lounge that we had to clean up.

"Then not long ago we had Richard De Veer who was in panto in Liverpool staying at the hotel with Bernie Winters' old dog Schnorbitz the St Bernard.

"Well, Scnhorbitz had a little chomp on the door handle so we've had to have it totally redecorated."

But some of the funniest times have been moments the public rarely gets to hear about.

Joyce adds: "Sometimes the maids have walked in on amorous couples - you just have to apologize and get out quickly.

"We have seen knickers hanging from the chandeliers."

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TRUE TO LIFE? The cast of BBC's Hotel Babylon