Benidorm - TV Series

Benidorm Bastards? Love it!!

I loved the first two series (they're on YouTube in America). Kinda lost me after that, but Madge should be a DL icon.

My British friends are embarrassed by it, for whatever reason.

Madge, sun worshipper.

Madge is a cliche but totally funny. They somewhat combined Tan Mom and Magda.

Weird, I just saw an advertisement for this show today and looked it up with plans to download from somewhere. The ad made it look funny, at least!

[quote] My British friends are embarrassed by it, for whatever reason.

Then you need new friends! The last two series have been a bit wobbly but it's still holding up well. I assume Darren Litten is gay?

Loved the early series, have the dvds, Series 3 is the best with Sheridan Smith as Brandy - but it went downhill rapidly once the Garveys and Madge left - can't bear the idiotic replacements and the cringe-inducing last couple of series. I could murder that dopey guy .... but Mr Kenneth still is amusing .... and Jacqueline and of course Sherri as Joyce Temple Savage, and Joan Collins is fun too.

I think the first few seasons are good. The first season is trying to find its feet, but by Season 2, the hilarity ensues. The most recent season though has been very mediocre. But I think Madge is one of the funniest characters on tv.

I think Mateo (Jake Canuso) is very sexy. And there's one episode where he's completely nude, except hands over genitals. There's also an episode where it's not shown but alluded to that Troy gives him a blowjob.

Some of the later characters are funny. Les/Leslie and his weird son Liam. And I like Kenneth the hairdresser and his silly t-shirts.

I love the old mother with the overweight son and the season when the son gets a girlfriend and the mother keeps calling her Rubella. And of course Jacqueline and Donald's weird sex life.

But the Dyke family is boring and then Tiger and his dumb friend are useless characters. And the Siobhan Finneran/Steve Garvey replacements with the spoiled daughter aren't that interesting, but they do have a sexy blonde son.

Fun fact: Leslie Jordan is in one of the episodes playing a Texas lawyer.

And thank God they haven't ruined the show by making an American version like several other British shows.

[quote]And the Siobhan Finneran/Steve Garvey replacements with the spoiled daughter aren't that interesting, but they do have a sexy blonde son.

Oops, I meant Steve Pemberton.

I watch the show for Mateo. The laughs are like a cigarette after sex. But Mateo is the main attraction.

It was hilarious too when Matteo was in drag and arrested for prostitution. and when the girl group Bananarama turned up and everyone thought they were a tribute act. Una Stubbs was very funny too as the snooty mother of the guy with Brandy in Series 3. the gay couple Troy and Gavin were a riot too.

The annoying grandfather of the Garvey replacement family drives me nuts, and I literally can't watch those new dopey young guys. Its had its day. So funny too that Madge goes around on the mobility scooter though she can walk perfectly. I was at a theatre in London a few years ago and she walked in and sat directly in front of me. She was actually a serious actress, Sheila Reid - I saw her in plays in the 70s at the National with Maggie Smith.

[quote]So funny too that Madge goes around on the mobility scooter though she can walk perfectly

I think it's in the very first episode she says something like "I'm on holiday, why should I have to walk everywhere?"

And I agree about the annoying grandfather. And this season, they added an old lady to try and recapture Sheila Reid's brilliance. But it didn't work.

And yes the dopey young guys are boring. The only reason they keep asking Tiger back is because he has a hot body. But he can't act for crap. I'm assuming Darren Litten keeps him around for eye candy because he doesn't seem to know how to plot his storyline.

I've been wanting to see this but I hate watching shows on YouTube. Is there any other way to see it and why isn't it on acorn or something?

And isn't it a coincidence that these same people keep coming back the *same* week as all the other people.

[quote]I've been wanting to see this but I hate watching shows on YouTube. Is there any other way to see it and why isn't it on acorn or something?

Do you know how to access or download these from sharing sites?

Yes R15 but being an "elder" I really prefer it on my tv.

Hook your computer up to your tv.

Sorry, I thought you meant the show "Benidorm Bastards". My mistake. It really is full on funny though.

I am the OP.

One thing I like about Benidorm is that its 100% on, every performance is fully charged, very broad and the script is super loaded. Its not a series I can put on for background I have to pay attention to take in every little bit of satire and commentary. Its not deep though, just funny. I also have to pay attention because many of the accents are hard.

Agreed about the first few seasons being really funny, but once everyone started dying/leaving, I stopped watching.

What's up with the Asian restaurant owner who laughs manically? I can see having him on the show once or twice, but he's on every season. Did he save Darren Litten's life one time and now Litten's indebted to find work for him?

Steve Pemberton and Siobhan Finneran are respected actors here in the UK and busy a lot - she was O'Brien in Downton Abbey - and bring a lot to the Garveys couple, particularly his bickering with tightwad father in law who owns the mobility shops. Its not been the same since they left. Loved that episode when they turn up at Cilla Black's villa which they think Madge now owns (Cilla yells "Consuela" as she calls for the maid) .... and they find Cilla in the sauna with swingers Donald and Jacqueline, who were endlessly amusing too and got away with a lot of smut: "Sugar rim?" and Brandy clicking that Troy and Gavin are gay - she loves the gays, always up for a laugh despite their tragic lives with all their friends dying of Aids and being rejects from society ...

Benidorm is back for Season 10!

In episode 1, Gay Kenneth can't get any cell phone reception. He says, "I've been off Grindr for 3 hours, people will think I'm dead." LOL

Absolutely awful, laugh free piece of shit.

[quote]Absolutely awful, laugh free piece of shit.

We don't watch it for the laughs. We watch it for that hot Mateo.

What a fabulous piss take on the hordes of white Brits who hit the Spanish beaches each year on package holidays. Talk about being able to poke fun at yourself.

Binging it now on Britbox and SCREAMING. Just finished the episode where Madge got invited to swing with Donald and Jacqueline.

love it but haven't watched in like 3 years.

So is Benidorm basically the Panama City Beach of Western Europe?

Yup, I'm a fan. It is gloriously trashy! Some truly great characters on that show - Lesley the very rough tranny, the hairdresser whose name escapes me, and Madge of course. Mateo is great eye candy too, and Lesley's son is quite sweet too.

Yes love it OP. Very funny and a massive piss take of the trashy Brits on holiday. Very gay friendly obviously too.

If there a way to watch seasons 6+ in the USA.? Britbox stops a season 5. My partner is addicted to the show.

Sorry if this has been answered, but it seems at least half of the responses are greyed out and unreadable.

I've got seasons 1- 10 on Amazon Prime R32. Maybe do a free trial and then cancel? It is Amazon after all.

Benidorm to return as a movie in 2020.

I discovered this in spring of 2019 while in London. I caught a bad cold on the plane coming over (wound up losing my voice!) so didn't go out as much as I ordinarily would have. When I was feeling too ill to play tourist, I binged Benidorm and it was a bright spot. Several seasons are on YouTube now. It definitely goes downhill, but the first three or four seasons are gems.

[quote]My British friends are embarrassed by it, for whatever reason.

As they should be. These characters are not that far removed from Brit trash that typically infest cheap beach resorts in Southern Europe.

There was going to be a US adaptation set in a Mexican resort but it never got made.

Adam Gillen, who plays Lesley's hapless son, has barely worked in tv since leaving Benidorm but played Mozart in the National Theatre's revival of Amadeus and was nominated for an Olivier last year for Killer Joe (he played the Emile Hirsch role).

Jake Canuso is amazing as Matteo. He's not acted in any other shows I've seen and it's so odd seeing him speak in his normal accent.

And Hannah Waddingham who plays Tonya Dyke was the witch in Into The Woods in the Regents Park Open Air Theatre production but she's probably more famous her bell ringing.

I can't find anything about Jake Canuso's personal life.

Derren Little's wiki page says he and Canuso are partners.

Janine Duvitski (Jacqueline) was also on the classic Britcom [italic] Waiting for God[/italic] as a pathetic lady-incel type.

[quote]There was going to be a US adaptation set in a Mexican resort but it never got made.

I immediately thought of the Redneck Riviera (Florida panhandle) when I started watching.

Derren Litten opened a themed bar in Benidorm called Mateo's a few months ago, decorated with props from the show. One of the signature drinks is The Madge.

So sad what became of poor Madge.

Benidorm 6+ is not available on Amazon Prime in the USA.

Sheila Reid was first and foremost a stage actress.

Olivier was clearly a fan.

I am binge-watching the show. I admit that the first season was rough, but good enough to keep me watching. Love the early seasons. I love the gay couple the swingers couple, and Noreen. But, of course, what makes the show is the hilarious bickering of the Garveys. From the "later" additions I like Joyce Temple-Savage (what a name!), Leslie and his son Liam. I am just at the beginning of the 8th series and so put off by the grandfather who, I guess, is supposed to be the new Madge, but comes off like a full on scary sociopath. Madge was a wonderful poison tongued villain twirling her mustache while the grandfather pushes his granddaughter in the pool when he knows she can't swim. That's so fucked up.

The interaction of self identified transvestite Leslie with his son Liam, who loves his dad unconditionally, are really great and heartwarming.

Love Matthew Kelly as Cyril or "Squirrel" showing up now and then.

Apparently, there was supposed to be a Benidorm movie, but the pandemic must have put a stop on that project.

Jaqueline: I once sang with Bananarama.

Piano player, horrified by Jaqueline's bad singing voice, with a deadpan delivery: That checks out.

The later seasons have a lot more male eye candy. The early seasons relied way too much on Mateo.

Anyone catch the semi-musical stage version that toured the UK from 2018-2019? I would have run to see it had it been playing anywhere near me, but I live in NYC.

I doubt the 'transvestite' storyline would be able to be done now, let alone play by a cis straight actor. Fun fact, he is Matt Healy's (the 1975) father.

r49 I never understood his supposed sex appeal. And making him bi later on was kind of dumb

The kid who played Tiger was gorgeous, IMO. I kept watching just for him and Mateo. And the cameos from Dame Joan, of course.

Handsome, but he reminds me of Olly Murs too much facially, whom I really do not enjoy, so its off-putting

R52, I think Olly is cute as well...hadn't recognized they do have similar features. Olly is annoying, though...I have to watch his IG vids on mute.

It's a bit odd though that the show used the "is he or isn't he gay?" plot three times during the show's run. And everytime the guy turns out to be straight. Guess that was the comedy bit.

First was Geoff The Oracle - when his mom, Noreen, suspects all of a sudden that her 40 year old son (nowaday he would be considered an incel) is gay. After misunderstanding during a conversation Noreen outs her son during Karaoke night singing YMCA while the gay couple, the swinger couple, and Mateo dance in the background dressed as the Village People.

Then there was Aspie Liam and the running gag that he's gay, or in denial, because he prefers to hang around his Tranny dad and his gay friends.

And in the final seasons it was Rob who had two separate storylines where in one he's carried to his room by a gay mate from college and later his parents see him sleeping in the same bed as Joe and Tiger. And in the final season his parents get a text he would bring along someone named Cyd and the parents think it's a guy because of a texting error.

Seasons 6–10 are up on Britbox US.