TV series Benidorm is “coming back” to our screens, one of the stars of the show has let slip, but the Solana Hotel isn’t exactly ready for its close up…
Sherrie Hewson, who played hotel manager Joyce Temple-Savage, revealed she’s been approached to appear. The actress let slip on a podcast: “Benidorm is coming back,” and her comments have since sparked a frenzy.
However, there might be one small hiccup standing in the way of the reboot… The hotel it’s filmed in is currently surrounded by rubble and in the middle of a refurbishment.
Benidorm star reveals TV show is ‘coming back’ to our screens
According to The Sun, ITV is in talks over a Benidorm comeback. And it’s hoped that some of the biggest stars will return.
It’s been claimed – by Sherrie – that the cast of the hit show are currently being approached.
So could we see Tim Healy’s cross-dressing bartender Les and chain-smoking matriarch Madge Harvey, played by Sheila Reid returning to the resort on her mobility scooter?
One source claimed: “Benidorm was adored by millions when it was suddenly cancelled. Fans will be thrilled to hear ITV wants to bring it back. An 11th series hasn’t been commissioned yet, but there’s major excitement building as early talks begin. Producers have started to reach out to the show’s stars and are hopeful a decision can be made later this year.”
Why Benidorm was axed
After 10 series, ITV announced the show was being scrapped. It first aired in 2007, but the final series coming 11 years later in 2018.
It was claimed at the time that ITV was “disappointed” that only 4.3 million viewers tuned into the first episode of series 10.
Bosses said it had “run its course”. And they added that they wanted it to go out while it was still ITV’s longest-running and arguably most-loved comedy series.
TV’s Solana Hotel is currently a building site
However, with reports that Benidorm is coming back to our screens, apparently helped by a resurgence of views on ITVX, the programme’s makers could hit a small snag…
The hotel where it’s filmed, the Sol Pelicanos Ocas, is currently a building site. And, while it’s due to be finished later this week, will it look anything like the Solana Benidorm fans remember?
Pools drained and sunbeds removed
ED! visited Benidorm last month and naturally wanted to take our mobility scooter for a whizz round the famous hotel. However, after hoping to snap a selfie where bartender Matteo mixed cocktails and flirted with the holidaymakers, we were left sorely disappointed.
The hotel was surrounded by green boarding and, after having a peek through the gaps in the railings, the famous pool area was nothing more than a pile of rubble.
The Solana’s famous swim-up pool bar was no more. In its place was a drained pool sitting in the middle of a building site, making it entirely off limits.
Piles of bricks, pipes, builders’ sand and fencing could be seen scattered around. And all the sunbeds, tables and chairs and even the floor had been removed.
Fears as Benidorm hotel undergoes ‘modern’ transformation
Online, it’s been reported that the three-star hotel is undergoing a transformation. It’s reported to have started in the off-season, in November 2024, with the refurbishment due to be completed on April 11, according to What’s The Jam.
You just have to hope that they don’t lose the essence of what made the Solana, the Solana.
Reports suggest the hotel’s makeover will be a “modern” one. And that’s sparked concern among fans online. Visiting the hotel is the highlight of a trip to Benidorm for fans of the show. Tours of it can even be booked if you want to really reminisce and grab a few photo ops.
“Hope they don’t change it too much,” one fan posted on TikTok. “Hope we still recognise it, it’s a national institution,” said a second.
“It’s great they’re renovating it,” another exclusively told ED!, “but you just have to hope that they don’t lose the essence of what made the Solana, the Solana.”
ITV had no comment when approached by ED!.
Read more: From Holby City to Benidorm – all the TV shows that should have NEVER been axed
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