Ian Reddington

It's bucketing down in Benidorm so the staff are pulling out all the stops to take the guests' minds off their flooded rooms.

That means free cocktails, super prize bingo, line dancing and karaoke - a nightmare concoction guaranteed to make you glad you're still at home.

Benidorm has once again managed to capture all the horrors of a package holiday for us to enjoy, safe in the knowledge that we can switch off after an hour and that we aren't actually stuck there for two weeks.

This week, Noreen's daughter Pauline falls off the wagon (and on to a small dog) Michael experiences his very first holiday romance, Malcolm and Jacqueline remain their batty, upbeat selves despite being told Malcolm has only three months left to live, and Janice Garvey is floored by the reappearance of an old flame from the 80s.

Former EastEnders and Corrie star Ian Reddington pops in out of the rain at the Hotel Solana playing Johnny Neptune. It's a part simply crying out for a middle-aged man with a ponytail.

Jane Simon, The Mirror, 25th March 2011

Quite a dolorous entry for this fourth season of Benidorm. Yes, there are still ample doses of vulgarity, bad behaviour (alcoholic Pauline goes on a bender) and eye-watering cross-dressing (Tim Healy's Lesley does country and western). Otherwise, the storm cloud over the Solana Resort mirrors the mood of the holiday-makers. Donald gets even worse health news, young Michael and nitwit Liam are unlucky in love, while Johnny Neptune (Ian Reddington) turns up and gives Janice the shock of her life. Be it gutsy karaoke, almost heroic head-butting or controlled heartache, this series has demanded much of Mrs Garvey, and Siobhan Finneran is simply magnificent.

Patrick Mulkern, Radio Times, 25th March 2011