IT was the cheeky sitcom that both celebrated and mocked Brits abroad at their lager-chugging, tanline-touting best.
Now there are whispers that ITV favourite Benidorm could be making a comeback.
And just like that first sip of Sangria by the pool, it’s news we can all savour.
Because as well as whisking us off to the frivolous world of the Solana all-inclusive resort, Benidorm will bring an all-too-welcome dose of sunshine to the dismal world of TV.
The Sun told yesterday how the award-winning show is set to return for an 11th series, eight years after it was brutally axed.
Channel bosses are in secret talks over its revival and hope to reunite the all-star cast for a new era of naughty storylines.
Favourites included Tim Healy’s cross-dressing bartender Les and loud-mouth matriarch Madge Harvey, played by Sheila Reid — who famously chain-smoked while driving around on her mobility scooter.
Then there was hunky Mateo, regularly seen strutting his stuff in teeny, tiny swim trunks.
That trio alone captured what viewers loved about the comedy, which hilariously portrayed British holidaymakers mixing with quirky staff.
There were fart jokes, near-the-knuckle sex gags and constant chuckles over the culture clash between the tourists and Spanish locals.
A TV source said: “Benidorm was cheeky and bawdy, but never took itself too seriously.
"Nowadays, a cross-dressing barman, gratuitous crotch shots and the like would have regulators grappling for their trigger warnings. But Benidorm managed to tread the line between outrageous and offensive so brilliantly.
“Just like the naff cocktails served at the Solana Hotel, what the storylines lacked in substance, they made up for in the fun factor.
“It’s the kind of show TV is seriously lacking right now, so the industry has been unsurprised to hear ITV is interested in reviving the comedy.”
While around 10million of us dutifully tune into one of our soaps each night, it is fair to say the big three — Coronation Street, Emmerdale and EastEnders — have lost their glow.
Corrie, for example, failed to muster even 3million viewers for the Christmas departure of cobbles legend Gail Platt, played by Helen Worth.
It is busy tackling sombre storylines such as Dee-Dee’s rape, premature labour and emergency hysterectomy.
Meanwhile, EastEnders is drowning in grief over Martin Fowler’s death, while Linda and Avani battle their drink demons.
And over on Emmerdale, it’s poverty, incest and child abuse.
A TV source added: “That evening spot usually dominated by the soaps has been in desperate need of a shuffle for years now.
The soaps have become miserable, laden down by issue-led plotlines and severely lacking in fun
A TV source
“The soaps have become miserable, laden down by issue-led plotlines and severely lacking in fun.
“Benidorm would be just the tonic — with a hefty slug of Solana’s gin, of course.”
Sherrie Hewson, who played hotel manager Joyce Temple-Savage, let slip on a podcast that she has been approached for the reboot.
And a channel source has confirmed to The Sun that very early talks are under way, although ITV has not formally given the green light.
After the news broke, show creator Derren Litten shared a somewhat cryptic response online.
He said: “This rumour comes up every couple of years. I guess it’s testament to how successful the show was at the time.”
He added that a new series had not yet been commissioned and there was “no way on God’s Earth” a full series would be ready to air this year.
But he added: “I hope that’s cleared a few things up and some of the clever ones might be able to read between the lines and get more information from this.”
Derren’s fancy footwork, in which industry folk noted he failed to deny the early talks, has added to the clamour around Benidorm’s return.
The sitcom, which was first aired in 2007, was scrapped in 2018, two months before winning Best Comedy at the TV Choice Awards.
It is true that Benidorm punched above its weight throughout its decade-long run.
As well as the regular cast, which saw Jake Canuso play Mateo, Tony Maudsley portray Kenneth Du Beke and Janine Duvitski in the role of Jacqueline Stewart, a galaxy of guest stars checked in at the Solana.
The soaps have become miserable, laden down by issue-led plotlines and severely lacking in fun. Benidorm would be just the tonic - with a hefty slug of Solana’s gin, of course
TV source
Those included superstars Cilla Black and Dame Joan Collins, who loved the camp comedy so much they agreed to take part.
Cilla played herself in a small cameo, when she got in touch with her diva side for an on-screen row, but Joan’s role spiralled.
Her stint as hotel owner Crystal Hennessy-Vass was only supposed to be a one-off, but the character proved so popular, she appeared in four episodes in total.
Viewers still remember Crystal’s performance of Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend at the Pride of Benidorm awards — and her low point of sleeping with Johnny Vegas’ pub quiz champion Geoff Maltby.
Joan wasn’t the only Dynasty diva to grace the Solana.
The US soap opera’s Kate O’Mara played novelist Barbara Simmonds in Benidorm.
Other famous faces to stop by included Sheridan Smith, who played a love interest, and Janet Street-Porter as a hard-nosed news reporter.
Pop group Bananarama even stopped by Neptune’s bar for a performance.
For a frivolous teatime comedy, Benidorm also had a surprising hand in shaping some of our biggest TV stars.
I’ve huge respect for ITV — a show that’s getting five and a half million viewers and still picking up awards, but they’ve cancelled it. That takes balls
Darren Litten
Hannah Waddingham played Tonya Dyke in the sunshine sitcom for seven episodes in 2014.
She is now a global success, having appeared in Ted Lasso, Hocus Pocus 2 and The Fall Guy, and has a role in this year’s upcoming Mission Impossible film.
Meanwhile, Danny Walters, who played Tiger Dyke in Benidorm, was soon cast as ill-fated EastEnders hunk Keanu Taylor.
Comedian and co-creator of Inside No. 9, Steve Pemberton, featured as Mick, head of the Garvey family.
And Siobhan Finneran played his wife, Janice, but was also one of TV’s leading ladies in Happy Valley, Downton Abbey and is currently in ITV drama Protection.
Siobhan hit the nail on the head when she discussed a possible return in 2022: “You should probably never say never to anything so popular.”
By JESS LESTER
EASTENDERS, Coronation Street and Emmerdale are losing viewers in their millions amid a storm of dark storylines and schedule cuts.
Corrie hit a 14-month low this January, with fewer than 3million watching. That’s a far cry from the 27million who saw Hilda Ogden’s farewell in the 1980s.
It hasn’t been much better on Albert Square, as EastEnders viewers tussle with the grief of much-loved Martin Fowler being killed in The Queen Vic explosion.
Emmerdale, meanwhile, sparked outrage with an incestuous child sex abuse plot involving father and daughter. It followed a domestic abuse storyline featuring Tom and Belle King.
Fans have fumed on social media that the same soaps which used to be their escapism are now “depressing”, “sick”, “twisted” and “too stressful to watch”.
And it’s not just the scripts that are struggling.
ITV announced it was slashing 200 jobs last year and cut costs by over £50million amid falling advertising revenue and declining viewership.
In 2023, the BBC said it would air 1,000 fewer hours of new content.
ITV will cut Emmerdale and Corrie from six to five episodes a week, while Channel 4’s Hollyoaks was reduced from five to three episodes, alongside cast cuts.
The crisis has only worsened by the departure of big name soap stars, from Corrie’s Sue Cleaver (Eileen Grimshaw) and Emmerdale’s Lesley Dunlop (Brenda Walker) to EastEnders’ Natalie Cassidy (Sonia Fowler).
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