''Edge of Heaven'' is a British

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

centred on a 1980s-themed guest house in

Margate Margate is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay and Westbrook. The town has been a significan ...

. The show is produced by

Hartswood Films Hartswood Films is a British television production company founded by Beryl Vertue in 1979. They have also produced dramas such as '' Jekyll'', as well as documentaries, and the 1990s ITV/BBC sitcom ''Men Behaving Badly''. In 2009, Hartswood opened ...

for ITV and began airing on 21 February 2014 for six episodes. In March and April it was repeated on Thursday nights. On 5 May 2014 it was confirmed that, due to disappointing ratings, ITV would not be commissioning a second series of the sitcom. Talking to local media, executive producer

Beryl Vertue Beryl Frances Vertue ('' née'' Johnson; 8 April 1931 – 12 February 2022) was an English television producer, media executive, and agent. She was founder and chairman of the independent television production company Hartswood Films. Early li ...

said: "We had a very tough programming slot and were up against popular shows such as Sport’s Relief on the BBC. We had such a great time making the show and the sad thing is everyone at ITV loved it but unfortunately the ratings meant we couldn’t continue for a second series."

Overview

The show is centred on Edge of Heaven, a 1980s-themed

bed and breakfast Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...

. Alfie is jilted at the altar by his fiancée Carly. His family and friends try to help Alfie deal with the aftermath and emotions.

Cast and characters

These are main and recurring cast and characters in ''Edge of Heaven''. * Blake Harrison as Alfie – a groom jilted at the altar by Carly. *

Camille Coduri Camille Coduri (born 18 April 1965) is an English actress. She is best known for playing Jackie Tyler, the mother of Rose Tyler, in '' Doctor Who'', and also for her roles as Faith in ''Nuns on the Run'', Miranda in ''King Ralph'', and Dot Clapto ...

as Judy – co-owner of the Edge of Heaven B&B, wife of Tandeep, mother of Alfie and Ann-Marie. *

Marcia Warren Marcia Warren (born 26 November 1942) is an English stage, film and television actress. On stage, she appeared in ''Blithe Spirit'' as Madame Arcati and '' The Sea'' (2008) at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. She is currently appearing in Netflix' ...

as Nanny Mo – a pensioner, mother of Judy and Bald Gary. * Adrian Scarborough as Bald Gary – son of Nanny Mo, brother of Judy, husband of Camp Gary. *

Justine Michelle Cain Justine Michelle Andrews ( née Cain; born 17 November 1987) is an English actress, best known for her roles Charlie in ''Some Girls ''Some Girls'' is the 14th UK and 16th US album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 9 J ...

as Carly – the bride who leaves Alfie at the altar. *

Louisa Lytton Louisa Claire Lytton (born 7 February 1989) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Ruby Allen in '' EastEnders'' and Beth Green in ''The Bill''. She also finished fourth in the fourth series of '' Strictly Come Dancing'' in 20 ...

as Michelle – Carly's best friend, Alfie's unrequited love. *

Robert Evans Robert Evans (born Robert J. Shapera; June 29, 1930October 26, 2019) was an American film producer, studio executive, and actor, best known for his work on '' Rosemary's Baby'' (1968), ''Love Story'' (1970), ''The Godfather'' (1972), and ''Chi ...

as Camp Gary – husband of Bald Gary. * Nitin Kundra as Tandeep – co-owner and chef at the Edge of Heaven B&B, husband of Judy, stepfather of Alfie and Ann-Marie. *

Laura Checkley Laura Checkley is an English actress and comedian known for playing the regular character Louise throughout three series of ''Detectorists'' on BBC Four, Monica in '' Action Team'' on ITV2, Terri King, wife of the titular character played by Tom ...

as Ann-Marie – a demobbed soldier now working at her family's B&B, sister of Alfie, daughter of Judy. *

Nav Sidhu Nav Sidhu is a British television, theatre, and film actor. His longest-running television role was as Azim Desai in the Channel 4/ E4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October ...

as Donkey – one of Alfie's best friends. * Raphael Sowole as Spanner – one of Alfie's best friends. * Rufus Jones as Prop Maartie – Alfie's boss at Sofa World. *

Michael Smiley Michael Smiley (born 1963) is a Northern Irish comedian and actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the films ''Kill List'' (2011) and ''The Lobster'' (2015). Early life Smiley was born in 1963 in Belfast and grew up in Holywood with ...

as Snowy – Alfie's ne'er-do-well, oft-absent biological father.

Filming Locations

The series was set in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, with the beach, high street and seafront featuring throughout the series, and the BNB exterior was actually filmed on Albert Terrace. Broadstairs was also used for some filming locations, such as

Morelli's Morelli's Gelato is a producer and retailer of ice cream. The company was founded in 1907 by Giuseppe Morelli. Initially he sold ice cream from a bicycle with his son Mario. As the business grew, an ice cream van was used. In 1932, an ice cream ...

Ice Cream Parlour.

Episode Guide

Reception

With 2.7 million viewers, ''Edge of Heaven'' gave ITV its smallest ever audience for a first episode of a new scripted series airing at 9pm. Sam Wollaston of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' described ''Edge of Heaven'' as "limp" and "super lameness" despite excellent recent work by stars Blake Harrison and Camille Coduri. However, "Margate...looks lovely." Further commentary from ''The Guardian'' stated, "A bit like Margate itself, perhaps, this feels unlikely to improve anytime soon" (John Robinson) and the "comedy pootles on amusingly, but plays it far too safe to ever broach real hilarity" (Rachel Aroesti). Ed Power of ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'' cited outdated, retro humour. He said that "the story felt thinner than onion skin". Despite the "smoking wreckage, it nonetheless kept you glued". "Between the winks, nudges and groans an unexpected sweetness bubbled to the surface", Power stated. The show's "heart was in the right place." He praises the "likable...ragamuffin characters".

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Edge of Heaven 2010s British sitcoms 2014 British television series debuts 2014 British television series endings English-language television shows 2010s British television miniseries ITV sitcoms Margate Television series by Hartswood Films Television shows set in Kent Television shows shot in Kent