This tale of working-class Brits on the lash in sunny Spain has no pretensions. It is simply… funny. Steve Clarke soaks it up
It wasn’t subtle or drooled over by metropolitan TV critics, but ITV’s long-running double-entendre-laden sitcom Benidorm, set in a fictional package holiday resort in sunny Spain, was a minor classic of what is today a dying genre.
Landing a hit mainstream comedy has always been a highwire act; nailing it takes nerves of steel and a willingness to take risks. Kudos, then, to commissioners ITV and producers Tiger Aspect. Benidorm, which ran over 10 series from 2007-18, got away with its off-colour gags and boundary-pushing cast of misfits by virtue of the quality of the writing and its consistently authentic performances.
Nearly 70 years ago, Benidorm was a pristine Spanish fishing village. Today, it rivals Manhattan for density of skyscrapers and is a byword for mass tourism. As the Sex Pistols wryly observed, we Brits love our holidays in the sun, and that’s fertile ground for TV comedy.
Like many of the best sitcoms, at its core was a cast of well-observed characters who didn’t take themselves seriously. Some of those topping up their tans, trying to negotiate a holiday romance or simply getting legless might have stepped straight out of a Victoria Wood sketch.
Once the show established itself, there was no shortage of stars queuing up to fly to the Costa del Sol. Joan Collins (several episodes in series six through to nine) and Cilla Black (series four) made the journey and joined in the fun and bickering of a week or two at Solana. Hannah Waddingham, Johnny Vegas and Steve Pemberton were also cast at various times in Benidorm’s run, and Pemberton had a writing credit too.
The show’s creator and writer, Yorkshireman Derren Litten, was a jobbing actor and former professional magician. In 2003, Catherine Tate, who knew Litten from drama school, invited him to write sketches for her TV show. He had no writing experience but clearly was on to something. Benidorm, originally a half-hour series later extended to an hour, quickly found an audience when it made its debut in February 2007.
Litten has said: “I grew up watching traditional sitcoms – Are You Being Served?, Porridge, Rising Damp – and that was my grounding. If you’re going to be an electrician, you serve an apprenticeship. My apprenticeship was served between the ages of six and 18 when I just watched sitcoms and became obsessed with comedy.”
But Benidorm is traditional only up to a point. For a start, it’s expensively shot on location in Spain, and while its endearing campness is of the end-of-the-pier variety, Litten adds a layer of subversion to this comedy of Brits behaving badly on all-inclusive package holidays. There is middle-aged swinger Jacqueline (Janine Duvitski); an outrageous and cantankerous granny, Madge (Sheila Reid), who gets up everyone’s nose as she trundles around on her mobility scooter; and, best of all, there’s cross-dressing Les (aka Lesley), the warm-hearted Geordie barman, played by Tim Healy.
Yes, there are stereotypes – such as camp hairdresser Kenneth (Tony Maudsley), sexually frustrated resort manager Joyce (Sherrie Hewson) and Spanish bartending Lothario Mateo (Jake Canuso) – but this needn’t spoil our fun in the sun.
Just pour yourself a Cuba Libre and binge to your heart’s content
Much of the action unfolds by the pool, the perfect spot for eyeing up the talent and downing another cut-price cocktail... or pushing your granddaughter in, hoping she’ll quickly learn to swim! Just don’t expect an Instagram-style display of beautiful people.
Benidorm has been described as a satire. For my money, this misses the point. Working-class Brits have always been good at sending themselves up, and this is where Benidorm scores.
There has been recent talk that ITV might revive Benidorm. How it would be made acceptable in the age of identity politics is another question. So, for now – if you can overlook the odd offensive joke – just pour yourself a Cuba Libre (that’s rum and coke for the uninitiated) and binge to your heart’s content on the past glories of Benidorm for an all-inclusive titter.
Benidorm is available on ITVX and Prime Video
