By turns excruciating and endearing, Benidorm got a rough deal from schedulers on its first outing and really hasn't had the recognition it deserves. So it's great to see all the regulars back at the Solana resort this week for a second series of all-inclusive sun, sex and scoffing.
Not that everyone means to be there - yuppies Kate and Martin (Abigail Cruttenden and Nicholas Burns) try to go to upmarket Altea this time, but an overbooking leads to them ending up... well, no prizes for guessing. The Garvey clan - Steve Pemberton and Siobhan Finneran as long-suffering parents Mick and Janice, Sheila Reid as chainsmoking grandma Madge, Hannah Hobley as teenage mum Chantelle and Oliver Stokes as ADD-afflicted Michael - are back in ever greater numbers, what with Chantelle's baby Coolio, and Madge's new boyfriend, sun-bed magnate Mel (Geoffrey Hutchings). And then there's the geriatric swingers Jaqueline and Donald Stewart (Janine Duvitski and Kenny Ireland), the geeky Oracle and his mum (Johnny Vegas and Elsie Kelly) and honeymooning gays Gavin and Troy (Hugh Sachs and Paul Bazely).
Great ensemble playing from the cast and a fast-paced script from Derren Litten augur well for another excellent series. This week, Mel's micro-trunks cause a bit of a stir. Delia Pemberton
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