Benidorm
- TV sitcom
- ITV1
- 2007 - 2018
- 74 episodes (10 series)
An ensemble sitcom that focuses on the adventures of a group of British holiday makers staying at the Solana holiday resort in Spain. Stars Jake Canuso, Janine Duvitski, Tim Healy, Adam Gillen, Tony Maudsley and more.
Streaming rank this week: 640
Episode menu
Series 2, Episode 1
Further details
Once again the Solana, Benidorm's premier all inclusive resort, plays host to its usual mix of holidaymakers all looking for sun, sea and savings - although not all of our regulars planned on being there...
Kate and Martin have gone to a nearby picturesque village but find more than a chocolate on the pillow in their room - Donald and Jacqueline have been using the room for some 'interesting' adult activities.
The Garveys also return with several new additions - Telle's baby Coolio and Madge's new 'boyfriend' Mel, he's the owner of five sunbed shops and Didsbury's answer to Julio Iglesias.
The Garveys holiday doesn't get off to the best of starts when Mel's diving competition with The Oracle leads to a near fatal accident.
Gavin and Troy arrive at the hotel to scenes of complete chaos - Mick is trying to revive a knocked-out Mel, The Oracle is arguing and Michael is choking.
Broadcast details
- Date
- Friday 28th March 2008
- Time
- 9:30pm
- Channel
- ITV1
- Length
- 30 minutes
Cast & crew
| Jake Canuso | Mateo |
| Janine Duvitski | Jacqueline Stewart |
| Elsie Kelly | Noreen Maltby |
| Sheila Reid | Madge |
| Steve Pemberton | Mick Garvey |
| Siobhan Finneran | Janice Garvey |
| Oliver Stokes | Michael Garvey |
| Johnny Vegas | The Oracle |
| Kenny Ireland | Donald Stewart |
| Nicholas Burns | Martin Weedon |
| Abigail Cruttenden | Kate Weedon |
| Hugh Sachs | Gavin |
| Paul Bazely | Troy |
| Hannah Hobley | Chantelle Garvey |
| Crissy Rock | Janey York |
| Geoffrey Hutchings | Mel |
| Derren Litten | Man at Airport |
| Andy Lucas | Hotel Manager |
| Melissa Batchelor | Actor |
| Francisco Jose Devesa Perez | Actor |
| Derren Litten | Writer |
| Sandy Johnson | Director |
| Geoffrey Perkins | Producer |
| Sophie Clarke-Jervoise | Executive Producer |
| John MacDonnell | Editor |
| Heather Gibson | Production Designer |
| Mark Thomas | Composer |
Press
Benidorm was lame, hackneyed and cliched first time round, and it doesn't seem to have gone anywhere new. It says something about the quality of the writing when the funniest thing about a show is Johnny Vegas failing to dive into the pool, again and again. I think he's trying to tell you something about the show: it's a big, wet belly flop.
Sam Wollaston, The Guardian, 29th March 2008Return of the sometimes tasteless and occasionally funny comedy set in a Benidorm holiday resort, featuring eccentric working-class characters playing out their darkly peculiar lives. Like Five's Suburban Shootout, the comedy is hit and miss, but the performances are universally good, and so Benidorm deserves points for trying.
Abi Grant, The Telegraph, 28th March 2008When this broad sitcom was launched last year it definitely seemed to have something. Painting a tacky picture of life at a Spanish resort hotel, it created a memorable allery of grotesques.
OK, it was a vision of holiday hell, but performances from the likes of Kenny Ireland (as a predatory swinger) and Steve Pemberton (as the father of a chaotic family) gave it comic bite. It was never quite going to be Royston-Vasey-by-the-sea, but there was a hint of that.
Sadly, the opportunity to take that to the next level for series two seems to have been fumbled. The vivid characters are all back (including a strangely under-used Johnny Vegas), but the "sit" part of ther com never quite sparks into life.
David Butcher, Radio Times, 28th March 2008A sitcom that harks back to early-1990s BBC drama Eldorado (basically EastEnderson-Sea). Take a cast of crazy characters and put them in a Spanish resort. In the case of Benidorm, add some intentional jokes. And stand well back.
The idea had promise, but no amount of real Spanish sunshine is going to disguise a certain lack of conviction from its makers.
The trouble is, it's hard to know whether we're supposed to be laughing at or with these people. Are we with the posh lot stuck in package holiday hell? Or do we love an allinclusive deal and wonder why so many of the jokes are on us?
That said, Benidorm does have its genuine sunny spells. There are some great exchanges between members of Steve Pemberton's chaotic extended family. And Johnny Vegas's stunt diving is a thing of awe.
Baywatch it ain't. But despite the unfit body count, it's still able to raise a smile or two.
The Mirror, 28th March 2008