The build up to Benidorm 8 has begun as castings took place today for extras for the forthcoming new series. There was an enthusiastic crowd of hopefuls waiting outside the Hotel Melia at 10 o´clock this morning – with children given priority (well they had to get back to school!).

Once again “Mediterranea Audicion” are tasked with providing all the extras required and Javi was on hand to keep everything in check. The key message was that all those hoping to apply had to be resident here and have NIE identity and Social Security numbers – which left a few holiday makers disappointed!

There is a second session this afternoon – from 4:30pm until 7:30pm. They are specifically looking for for children, a younger version of Manuel - the hapless Spanish waiter from the Faulty Towers series, Rough looking bikers and Emos/punk types...

The covers are also coming off at the Solana reception, aka the “Pink House” in preparation for the start of filming – first day is Monday 23rd March and will last until the end of June, with a week off midway through. The crew have started arriving and in the next week the road outside will be taped off for the vans and generators then towards the end of the following week the cast will start flying over, so look out for those familiar faces.