Scarborough
Diehard fans of Benidorm may be disappointed by Scarborough; this is a good thing. Whatever merits Derren Litten’s ribald resort sitcom may once have had were lost somewhere on the Costa Del Panto by the time it limped to a close in 2018 after 10 series. Litten’s follow-up (excluding Sky’s The Spa which got lost in the shuffle of the channel’s once unquenchable thirst for warm comedy-dramas) is a different beast: less frenetic, more gentle observational comedy, and all the better for it.
Anchoring the action, such as it is, are Jason Manford’s Mike and 2019 Strictly contender Catherine Tyldesley as Karen, lovers reunited but now on another break after she caught him kissing another woman (Claire Sweeney) behind a crab stall. Stephanie Cole, Maggie Ollerenshaw and Steve Edge are among the old hands ensuring that events on the periphery hold the attention, while Benidorm’s Jake Canuso (aka barman Mateo) pops up as another comedy wrong ’un Tony Peroni. The sense of place is impeccable and affection for it palpable – this is a Yorkshire seaside town subsisting on tea, gossip and karaoke. If there are more smiles than laughs, it’s an improvement on its predecessor. Gabriel Tate