Location of presentation

How many would have guessed that when the very first episode of the ITV comedy series Benidorm hit our screens back in 2007, it would become the huge success that it is today. Believe it or not even I was an extra in that first series. To date five series have been commissioned and produced by Tiger Aspect - repeats of the last series have been on ITV2 every Sunday night. Even celebs are vying for cameo appearances which to date have included Matthew Kelly, Cilla Black, Kate O´Mara, Wendy Richards, Sue Pollard among the few. With the popularity of they show, any actor knows the knock on benefits.

Over the last five years I have been fortunate enough to meet and interview many of the cast and production team, and been allowed on set. Such is the huge popularity of the show that both "Day Break" and "This Morning" have broadcast their morning shows from the Sol Pelicanos hotel - the fictitious Solana Resort in the series.

Always popular - Morgan´s Tavern

And it is all thanks to the creator and writer of the show, Derren Litten, that he chose our resort to base the series in. Although a popular destination even prior to the programme, it catapulted bookings and continues to do so every time the series is screened. The knock on effect for local businesses is fantastic and everyone wants to visit the various locations when here. The two most popular are the Sol Pelicanos hotel, particularly the swim up bar and Morgans Tavern - which is Neptune´s Bar in the night scenes. Jose, the manager of Morgan´s Tavern told me that many of the holiday makers want to have their photos taken on the stage as a memento.

I approached the Town Hall back in May with a proposal to place a plaque of some sort in acknowledgement to Derren for his contribution to increased British tourism to the town of Benidorm. The Mayor and tourism office were very keen and enthusiastic with the idea right from the beginning. Once I had their confirmation and approval I liaised with the production company, Tiger Aspect in London and the British Consulate in Alicante to fix a date in the diary for the event. This was actually far harder than it sounds, trying to find a mutually suitable date for the Mayor, Consul and Derren - at least I made Telefonica happy with all the calls I made!

Me together with Derren Litten and Asa Elliott

Next was finding a location, which I thought obviously had to have some relevance to the series. What better site than the area between Morgan´s Tavern and the Sol Pelicanos hotel - where the majority of the filming took place.... next to the Tourist Information Office which has a heavy footfall of visitors. Finally the wording for the plaque itself.... which obviously had to be in both English and Spanish. I sent my proposal to Tiger Aspect for their contribution, which they were happy with and then finally to Yolanda Pickett, Director of Tourism for final approval.

So the date for your diary is Friday 14th September at 12 Noon. As well as Derren there will be representatives from the production company, Tiger Aspect. Ben Cavey, Executive Producer; Sophie Clarke-Jervoise who is Managing Director and Iain McCallum, Head of Press and PR.  We also hope to see some of the famous faces from the series..... I know that Asa Elliott will be there - thats specially for the ladies! The presentation will be made by Benidorm Mayor Agustin Navarro and British Consul Paul Rodwell.

So whether you are on holiday or lucky enough to live here, come along and join me to give Derren a well deserved round of applause. Who knows, with so many top ranking officials from the production company maybe they will have something to announce....