Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Fans will queue in 40 degrees to be an extra. There’s a guy who has every character tattooed on him... I am on his ribs
the Carry On genre.” Despite working 14-hour days, Sherrie admits the cast are infamous for their big nights out at karaoke bars in the Spanish town. She says: “I am the only person in the cast who can’t sing.
“One year I’d had a few gin and tonics and started to sing Kung Fu Fighting. The bar owner said, ‘Come on, love, can you get off the stage?’ I was so rubbish he asked me to leave the bar.”
Sherrie reveals her favourite scene was when Joyce knocked out Kenneth’s front teeth in a fight by the pool.
But she’s quite happy that she’s the only cast member who doesn’t have to wear a swimsuit.
She says: “I’m always suited and booted. I’ve not worn a bikini since I was 12, I’m not going to start now.” Next week in tribute show Benidorm: 10 Years on Holiday, the show’s creator and writer Derren Litten will guide viewers around Benidorm, revealing filming secrets.
The cast past and present, including Steve Pemberton, Siobhan Finneran and Sheila Reid, talk about their roles.
Sherrie says: “It has been successful for 10 years because it’s the quintessential British humour. “When you look back over the years at all the characters, you just warm to the show immediately.”
She adds: “The characters are so solid. We’re out there for such a long time and we’re very strong as a family together.
“For me, I’ve had such a good time over the last few years. I’ll never forget Joyce Temple-savage. She’s everything I could have wished for in my career, to play this character.”
And she reveals: “Watch out for Benidorm Live in September. It will be me, Tony who plays Kenneth, Jake who plays Mateo, Adam who plays Liam, Shelley who plays Sam and Janine who plays Jacqueline. It’s like a musical!”
Sherrie gave up drinking as part of a “Lose the booze” pledge for January.
She says: “When I was young and very unhappy I would do crazy things like hide alcohol in cereal boxes. I didn’t necessarily drink it, I hid it, which psychologically is a very strange thing to come to terms with.
“It was about having a secret... I do feel that giving up alcohol must be good for you. I could give it up for good.”
But then, laughing, Sherrie says: “I do like what we call ‘day wine’ in Benidorm, which is rosé – because we all know that rosé doesn’t have any alcohol in it, so you can drink as much as you want!”
Benidorm: 10 Years on Holiday is on Tuesday, February 20 on ITV at 9pm and Benidorm, Series 10, starts on ITV at the end of February.