Benidorm gets a second series
Benidorm, ITV1's newest sitcom, has been re-commissioned for another season. Derren Litten's comedy, which is currently showing on Thursday evenings (episode five of six goes out tonight), is about a group of British holiday makers at The Solana holiday resort in Spain. The comedy stars Johnny Vegas, Steve Pemberton, Siobhan Finneran, Sheila Reid, Nicholas Burns, Abigail Cruttenden, Paul Bazely, Hugh Sachs, Kenny Ireland and Janine Duvitski.
The news has just come through that Paul Jackson, Director of Entertainment and Comedy, has decided to give the comedy - his first sitcom commission since taking up the position - another series and that it will be an extended run this time. The announcement comes as somewhat of a surprise because it is generally agreed that the first series of Benidorm under-performed.
The sitcom received a lukewarm reception from fans when it debuted four weeks ago and it was ripped to shreds by the critics too (one quote from the papers was: "The only thing it lacks is a reason for existing - oh, and real characters, humour and anything to stop you falling asleep whenever it's on". Ouch).
Benidorm's ratings haven't been great either. They have been lower than ITV1 normally gets for its 10pm slot. That said, the audience share has been recovering from the ratings crash, an encouraging sign for any TV programme. Episode four last week got an acceptable, but not amazing, 3.7 million (it should be noted it was still the lowest figure in the 10pm weeknight slot for ITV though).
Paul Jackson's response is: "The decision was made to re-commission the sitcom after the fourth episode as it became apparent that the series maintained healthy ratings against some tough competition. I am thrilled; we had such a great cast involved and the writer Derren Litten is one of the finest comedy talents I've come across in years."
Many are speculating that this re-commission is ITV signaling to the industry that they are going to stick to their commitment to produce more comedy. There has been speculation the channel might give-up following the disappointing start it has made.
Tiger Aspect will begin filming the eight new episodes of the comedy on location in Benidorm later in the year (getting paid to go on holiday... it's alright for some!).