Who will Mateo be serving at the pool bar in this series?

At long last 2013 has arrived and anticipation is building in Benidorm for the arrival of the crew and cast, for the hotly awaited start of filming for the 6th series. Ever since Derren Litten, writter and creator of the hugely popular series made the announcement back in September that Series 6 was confirmed, people have been asking when exactly it will start. Derren was presented with an plaque by the Mayor, Agustin Navarro and British Consul Paul Rodwell in recognition of his contribution to increasing tourism to the town by basing his comedy sitcom here.

Well I can now exclusively confirm the dates having spoken to the production company, Tiger Aspect. Filming will begin on 25th March and continue until the end of June, so all those lucky enough to be coming over for Easter will certainly get a chance of spotting one or two of the cast about town.

Benidorm Mayor at the "Solana Resort" on "This Morning"

The scripts have just been submitted and castings are only beginning - so at present no news on who may be appearing in any cameo roles. All the regulars will be back, the most important of which are the Garvey clan and the bar certainly wouldn´t be the same without the return of Jake Canuso, aka Mateo, which will definitely please the ladies! But one character who will not be returning in this series is bitchy drama queen Gavin, played by actor Hugh Sachs. He originally appeared as part of a gay couple with partner Troy, but in the last series was seen holidaying without him, instead bringing his "camp"work colleague Kenneth. By the end of the series Kenneth, actor Tony Maudsley has opened his own salon within the Solana Resort, cheekily named "Blow n´Go"and has become a firm favourite with fans!

In the meantime, Derren has been very busy on other projects - he has written and completed another comedy "The Spa" which is being aired next month on Sky Living and marks his return to acting... remember, Derren was an actor long before he started writing which many forget.

Even I got a snap with Jake - well it would be rude not too!

Last year the streets were totally devoid of the regulation Primoti hire vans which accompanied the film crew on location. Normally they are parked up behind the Sol Pelicanos hotel, which incase there is anyone out there who still doesn´t know, it is the fictitious Solana Resort.

Series 5 was filmed back in the Autumn of 2011, so its understandable that fans are itching to see the cast and crew return - not to mention the local bars and restaurants too! The cast are always very accommodating to the hundreds of fans who wait around for hours in the hope of getting a photo with them. Some are even shocked to find them sitting at a table next to them in one of the many local restaurants - yes they do have to eat too! 

In the meantime, don´t forget to cast your vote for Benidorm at the National Television Awards http://www.nationaltvawards.com/vote

Auditions for extras will probably start taking place at the beginning of March, but I will update you when I have a definite date and location - most likely the Melia again. Since the series began, various television shows have broadcast from the fictitious Solana resort including ITV Daybreak and This Morning, such is the magnet that surrounds this infectious comedy success.