Benidorm was a hugely popular British comedy show that aired for 10 series. The series first launched in 2007, before finishing in 2018 as audience dropped significantly.
Although the show is no longer on our screens, it still has a huge following and it can be streamed on Netflix. One of the biggest reasons the show has such a large following is because of the many memorable and quirky characters.
While on air, the show received plenty of awards. This includes National Television Awards and TV Choice Awards, even a BAFTA nomination. The show has even inspired many visits to the Spanish holiday spot.
Hannah Hobley and Oliver Stokes, who played the roles of siblings Chantelle Garvey and Michael Garvey in Benidorm, appeared on Loose Women this week. Loose Women host Charlene White revealed that she had a statement from ITV regarding the return of Benidorm in the future. She stated: “ITV say, ‘We’ve spoken to one of our sources over here and there’s nothing commissioned yet’, but we’ll keep our fingers crossed.”
It has been seven years since Benidorm was last on our screens. We have rounded up some of the main characters and where they are now. You can read about them below:
Siobhan Finneran – Janice Garvey
Siobhan Finneran played Janice Garvey on Benidorm from 2007 until the show’s seventh run in 2015. She and Steve Pemberton announced their decision to leave the show during Benidorm’s sixth series.
The actress explained to What’s on TV at the time: “We were in a terrible state. It was our decision to stop, but it was still heartbreaking. A lot of guest stars – brilliant people like David Bradley – have said it’s a treat of a job, and they’re right.
“So it was really, really upsetting to say goodbye to the cast and crew. You know you’re not going to work with them ever again. Then to come home and think, ‘Blimey, we’ve actually done it’, is quite something.”
She is perhaps best known for her roles as Sarah O’Brien in Downton Abbey and Happy Valley as Clare Cartwright. More recently, she has appeared in Protection (ITV), The Reckoning, and Inside No. 9.
Other TV appearances are The Moorside based on the disappearance of Shannon Matthews, the BBC comedy series The Other One, and last year’s Netflix thriller, The Stranger.
Steve Pemberton – Mick Garvey
Steve left Benidorm at the same time as his on-screen wife, Siobhan Finneran. He played Mick Garvey on the show from 2007 until 2015.
After leaving the ITV show, Steve has continued appearing on comedy anthology series Inside No. 9, appeared in Amazon Prime Video fantasy series Good Omens, played Mr Braithwaite in Worzel Gummidge, and joined the cast of Killing Eve season 3 as the villain Paul.
Sheila Reid – Madge Harvey
Madge Harvey was played by Sheila Reid across the first six series of Benidorm. She also returned for a recurring role in the seventh series and a guest stint in the eighth series in 2016.
Since leaving Benidorm, Sheila has appeared in Channel 4 sci-fi drama Humans in 2018 as Iris, along with a role in BBC One daytime soap opera Doctors as ‘Speedy Sue’ in 2020. In her career, she has also starred in other roles in Call The Midwife and Doctor Who.
Oliver Stokes – Michael Garvey
Oliver played the role of Michael Garvey in the first seven series of Benidorm from 2007 to 2015. He went on to have a role in two episodes of Casualty as Sean McKern in 2017.
He was just eight-years-old when he was cast in the role, and on Loose Women this week, explained how he would spend around three months at a time in Benidorm filming, with a tutor coming to do school work with him for up to five hours per day.
He took a step back from the spotlight after appearing in Benidorm, and told the Loose Women that he’d been focusing on being a dad to his son Archie. He previously told The Mirror he has found success as a tradesman.