The business running the former home of Gogglebox stars Steph and Dom Parker has declared bankruptcy leaving 33 people without jobs.

Staff at The Salutation in Sandwich were sent home from work on Friday after being delivered the news.

The doors to the Grade I listed manor house remains shut and all bookings for both its 17 boutique bedrooms and 60-seat restaurant have been cancelled.

This includes bookings made for during The Open 2020 golf championship which is being hosted in the same town in July.

Its gardens, The Secret Gardens of Sandwich, is also out of bounds with the award winning gardening team also left without work.

The business was being run by John Fothergill who has a five-year lease with owners Steph and Dom Parker, formerly of the popular Channel 4 show.

He has been running it as The Salutation Hotel Ltd since 2016.

Dom Parker told KentOnline said: "We are sorry to confirm that The Salutation Hotel Ltd, which has been managing The Salutation has indeed become insolvent.

"We are in discussions with other interested parties and we aim to have the hotel back up and running very soon, under new management.

"Our thoughts are with the staff who have been affected by this."

It is understood all jobs would then be reinstated.

KentOnline has made attempts to approach Mr Fothergill for a comment via the company's email and telephone number but to no avail.

The TV couple first set eyes on The Salutation and the Secret Gardens of Sandwich in 2004 and spent five years restoring both attractions to the glory they had when architect Sir Edwin Lutyens designed them in 1912.

Speaking in 2009, Mr Parker commented on the high price of maintenance, saying: "I had no idea it was going to cost so much to run with all the gardeners and ancillary staff that come with it but it was like finding a diamond in a river and I thought 'oh my God I have got to have that'." The pair now reside in London.

Mr Fothergill took over in 2016 and reopened the venue in the summer of 2017 after a major renovation programme aimed at making the hotel and restaurant a prime destination.

He welcomed a new Michelin star head chef, Shane Hughes.

2019 was an award winning year for the gardening team who took home the Tudor Rose gold award at Chelsea Flower Show.

Read more: All the latest news from Sandwich