Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
SEASON SIX
The cast of TV comedy Benidorm hardly need an excuse for a party as the hit show gets set to celebrate its 10th birthday, says star Sherrie Hewson.
They have such a great time making the sitcom that Sherrie has had to call time on the partying as it was taking too much of a toll on her health.
Sherrie, 67, says: “We are drinking ourselves to death. I’ve never been on a girls’ holiday because my mother was a very strong, dominant woman, so I always had to go with her.
“So when I first started Benidorm, I thought this is what it must be like. I was out every night, it nearly killed me. It had to stop. ”
Filmed on location at the Sol Pelicanos in Spain’s Costa
Blanca, the cast and crew take over half the hotel and are only divided from holidaymakers by a plastic hedge.
And as the show has grown in popularity over the past decade, a steady trickle has become a flood of fans who treat a trip to Benidorm like a religious pilgrimage.
Former Coronation Street and Emmerdale favourite Sherrie says: “It’s incredible. We’re making Benidorm in Benidorm and it’s like the Beatles in Liverpool.
“Fans queue in 40 degrees for hours to be extras. There’s a guy who has every character tattooed on him. I was relieved that my picture is by his ribs.”
Sherrie recalls filming a scene with guest stars Hale and Pace in the upcoming series when two fans were heard whispering through the hedge: ‘Is that Sherrie Hewson? That’s Sherrie Hewson, isn’t it!’
She says: “Hale and Pace nearly fell off their sunbeds laughing. But Dame Joan Collins has been my favourite guest star. She’s so much fun.”
Sherrie has played Solana hotel manageress Joyce Temple-savage since series five in 2012.
As Benidorm marks the 10th anniversary with a new series and special this month, she admits that there are plenty of similarities between her and Joyce.
She says: “A lot of her is me, in the sense that I’m silly and camp and outrageous, and I’m a frustrated old bag.
“I’ve been on my own for a very long time. Joyce is like that.”
Mum of one and grandmother of two Sherrie We all have similarities to our characters – [Benidorm writer] Derren Litten says I’m slowly morphing into Kenneth.
My most outrageous fan moment was when a lady asked me for a selfie by the pool and she was topless. I wouldn’t do it unless she covered herself up, so she got a shopping bag and put her boobs in the bag and her arms through the holes. So funny. We have some great guest stars - I was so excited when Bananarama came on, that was my favourite scene.