Eldorado (soap opera)
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''Eldorado'' (English: “The Golden”) is a
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
created by
Tony Holland Anthony John Holland (18 January 1940 – 28 November 2007) was a British screenwriter, best known as a writer and co-creator (with Julia Smith) of the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. Early life Holland was the oldest of three children born to ...
from an original idea by
John Dark John Dark (7 April 1927 – 29 June 2015) was a British film and television producer. Dark produced ''Half a Sixpence'' in 1967 and a series of Edgar Rice Burroughs films, including '' The Land That Time Forgot'' and '' At the Earth's Core'', ...
and
Verity Lambert Verity Ann Lambert (27 November 1935 – 22 November 2007) was an English television and film producer. Lambert began working in television in the 1950s. She began her career as a producer at the BBC by becoming the founding producer of ...
of a glamorous, upmarket soap focusing on wealthy British expatriates similar to US soaps ''
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
'' and ''
Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...
''. The show ran for only one year, from 6 July 1992 to 9 July 1993. Set in the fictional town of Los Barcos on the Costa Eldorado in
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
and following the lives of British and European
expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...
s, the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
hoped it would be as successful as '' EastEnders'' and replicate some of the sunshine and glamour of imported Australian soaps such as '' Home and Away'' and '' Neighbours''. A co-production between the BBC and independent production company
Cinema Verity Cinema Verity was a British independent television and film production company, founded in 1985 by Verity Lambert, the television producer, who named the company after herself and as a pun on the expression 'cinéma vérité'. The company's first ...
and J.Dark y J.Todesco, ''Eldorado'' aired three times a week in a high-profile evening slot on the mainstream channel
BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
, filling the slot vacated by
Terry Wogan Sir Michael Terence Wogan (; 3 August 1938 – 31 January 2016) was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in the UK for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in December 2009, his BBC Radio 2 week ...
's chat show ''
Wogan ''Wogan'' is a British television talk show which was broadcast on BBC1 from 1982 until 1992, presented by Terry Wogan. It was usually broadcast live from the BBC Television Theatre in Shepherd's Bush, London, until 1991. It was then broadcas ...
'', on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7.00 pm. In spite of a high-profile advertising campaign on television, radio and in the press preceding the launch ('Are you ready for ''Eldorado''?', read by actor
Campbell Morrison Campbell Morrison (born William Morrison; 21 June 1952 – 10 January 2008) was a Scottish actor. He played one of the main characters, Drew Lockhead in the soap opera '' Eldorado'' and also appeared in ''EastEnders'' playing DCI Charlie Mason. ...
), the programme was not initially a popular hit with viewers or critics. Ratings improved with a radical overhaul, but it was eventually cancelled by the new controller of BBC1,
Alan Yentob Alan Yentob (born 11 March 1947) is a BBC presenter and retired British television executive. He stepped down as Creative Director in December 2015, and was chairman of the board of trustees of the charity Kids Company from 2003 until its colla ...
.


Creation

''Eldorado'' was conceived originally from an idea by James Todesco,
John Dark John Dark (7 April 1927 – 29 June 2015) was a British film and television producer. Dark produced ''Half a Sixpence'' in 1967 and a series of Edgar Rice Burroughs films, including '' The Land That Time Forgot'' and '' At the Earth's Core'', ...
, and
Verity Lambert Verity Ann Lambert (27 November 1935 – 22 November 2007) was an English television and film producer. Lambert began working in television in the 1950s. She began her career as a producer at the BBC by becoming the founding producer of ...
, who pitched the show to ''EastEnders'' co-creators
Tony Holland Anthony John Holland (18 January 1940 – 28 November 2007) was a British screenwriter, best known as a writer and co-creator (with Julia Smith) of the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. Early life Holland was the oldest of three children born to ...
and Julia Smith. While Smith served as the series producer, Lambert was designated as the show's executive producer. At the time, Lambert had established her reputation as an in-house producer for the BBC, and had previously launched the BBC's successful
science fiction television Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...
series '' Doctor Who''. The original working title for the series was ''Little England''.


Problems and criticism

Although the show featured many professional actors, such as
Patricia Brake Patricia Ann Brake (25 June 1942 – 28 May 2022) was an English actress. From the age of 16, Brake trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, before joining the Salisbury Playhouse. She joined the Royal Shakespeare Company where (among o ...
and
Jesse Birdsall Jesse Birdsall (born 13 February 1963) is an English actor, known for his roles as Marcus Tandy in the BBC1 soap opera '' Eldorado'', Nick Beckett in the adventure series '' Bugs'' (1995–1999), football manager Roger Webb in ''Footballers' Wiv ...
, many of the cast were inexperienced actors whose limitations were clearly exposed on such a new and ambitious project. German-born Kai Maurer had apparently never acted on stage or screen previously before being cast in the show. Prior to filming, some of the cast did not even know what a
read-through The read-through, table-read, or table work is a stage of film, television, radio, and theatre production when an organized reading around a table of the screenplay or script by the actors with speaking parts is conducted. In addition to the ca ...
was; the quality of the acting was derided by some tabloid newspapers and regularly mocked during the "film styles" round of comedy show ''
Whose Line Is It Anyway? ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' is a short-form improvisational comedy show originating as a British radio programme, before moving to British television in 1988. Following the conclusion of the British run in 1999, ABC began airing an American ...
''. As a result of filming in bare-walled villas rather than a studio, there were many sound and acoustic problems, such as reverberation. Possibly in a bid to court media attention, the show opened with the controversial story of a middle-aged man, Bunny (played by Roger Walker), returning from the UK with a 17-year-old bride,
Fizz Effervescence is the escape of gas from an aqueous solution and the foaming or fizzing that results from that release. The word effervescence is derived from the Latin verb ''fervere'' (to boil), preceded by the adverb ''ex''. It has the same lin ...
(Kathy Pitkin); many viewers felt this storyline was implausible and sordid. On top of this, ITV decided to air a special one-hour edition of '' Coronation Street'' on the show's debut evening, reputedly an attempt by network executives to sabotage the programme. As a result, the costly production – although not exorbitant by contemporary television standards – was used by critics of the
television licence A television licence or broadcast receiving licence is a payment required in many countries for the reception of television broadcasts, or the possession of a television set where some broadcasts are funded in full or in part by the licence ...
to argue that the BBC was feathering the nest of former employees. Due to the stresses of internal feuding, producer Julia Smith had a nervous breakdown and left the soap opera, to be replaced by
Corinne Hollingworth Corinne Ann Hollingworth (born 25 May 1952) is a British television producer and executive, best known for her contributions to British soap operas, including BBC's ''EastEnders'' and five's ''Family Affairs''. Hollingworth has gained a reputatio ...
, who had previously worked on ''EastEnders''. Hollingworth brought about many changes to ''Eldorado'' by hiring new scriptwriters, creating extra rehearsal time, and removing many of the inexperienced and poor actors who had attracted criticism.


Cancellation

Despite the changes made by Hollingworth to rectify the soap opera's early problems (ratings improved over the course of the series' run), it was claimed that this was not enough to justify its continued production, and incoming controller of BBC1,
Alan Yentob Alan Yentob (born 11 March 1947) is a BBC presenter and retired British television executive. He stepped down as Creative Director in December 2015, and was chairman of the board of trustees of the charity Kids Company from 2003 until its colla ...
, cancelled the programme, which had been commissioned by his predecessor Jonathan Powell. Some involved in the programme's production believe that the motives for cancellation were mainly political; they believe that ''Eldorado'' was not representative of the more serious image of the BBC that incoming management wished to present, particularly in light of the forthcoming renewal of the BBC Charter. In the UK, ''Eldorado'' is remembered as an embarrassing failure for the BBC, and is sometimes used as a byword for any unsuccessful, poorly received or over-hyped television programme. It is widely thought that the failure of ''Eldorado'' is the reason why the BBC has not attempted to launch a brand new prime-time soap opera from scratch since then, with the corporation opting instead to move established series ''
Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...
'' and '' Holby City'' to year-round production. The series ended with one of its star characters, Marcus Tandy (
Jesse Birdsall Jesse Birdsall (born 13 February 1963) is an English actor, known for his roles as Marcus Tandy in the BBC1 soap opera '' Eldorado'', Nick Beckett in the adventure series '' Bugs'' (1995–1999), football manager Roger Webb in ''Footballers' Wiv ...
), escaping an attempt on his life with his car being blown up, and sailing off into the distance on a boat with his girlfriend Pilar Moreno (Sandra Sandri). Some viewers noticed that the car that was blown up was not, in fact, the Renault Alpine A610 driven by Marcus, but a thinly disguised much older model, the
Triumph TR7 The Triumph TR7 is a sports car manufactured in the United Kingdom from September 1974 to October 1981 by British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC), which changed its name to British Leyland (BL) in 1975. The car was launched in the United Stat ...
. The final line of dialogue, delivered by Tandy, was: 'You can't trust anyone these days, can you?' Shortly after the final episode was transmitted, ''Adios Eldorado'', a compilation video featuring highlights from the series, was released by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. On its first week of release, it was the top-selling video in the chart at branches of Woolworths.


Later years

''Eldorado'' was repeated on
UK Gold Gold is a British pay television channel from the UKTV network that was launched in late 1992 as UK Gold before it was rebranded UKTV Gold in 2004. In 2008, it was split into current flagship channel Gold and miscellaneous channel, W, with clas ...
between 1995 and 1996. It was repeated again in 2002. The set, situated near the village of
Coín Coín () is a town and municipality in the Province of Málaga, Spain, c. 33 km west of the provincial capital, Málaga, and about 30 km north of Marbella. The town has an official population of 22,000 inhabitants. Foreigners now make ...
(which is located in the hills above the Costa del Sol), is still in existence, despite having lain empty for many years. Years following the demise of ''Eldorado'', fans were able to tour the set. Humorously, Yentob commented that the tours and fan petitions for the series' return were more popular than the series itself. The set was then converted into a hotel complex called Hotel Ciudad Del Cine (Cinema City Hotel). The hotel continued to allow filming to take place; the set featured in the music video for the single ''Nothing on But The Radio'' by
The Alice Band The Alice Band were a pop group formed in 2000 by Rob Dickins and featured the artists Charity Hair from Florida, Amy Lindop from Glasgow and Audrey Nugent from Dublin. All three artists were vocalists and played guitar. Discography Album The Alic ...
in 2002. The set has been used for various Spanish television serials both produced and broadcast in the region of Andalucía. The set has also been used for international recordings, including the Indian version of '' Fear Factor'', which was shot in the Commercial Plaza. The site has also been used for airsoft shooting, and continues to be used for productions; it is now known as Ciudad Del Airsoft (Airsoft City). The beach and marina scenes were filmed at Puerto de Cabopino near
Marbella Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the reg ...
. The majority of the other scenes were filmed at
Mijas Mijas ( ; ) is a municipality in the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Located on the southeastern coast of Spain, Mijas belongs to the region of Costa del Sol Occidental. Its center is a typical Andalusian white-w ...
and
Coín Coín () is a town and municipality in the Province of Málaga, Spain, c. 33 km west of the provincial capital, Málaga, and about 30 km north of Marbella. The town has an official population of 22,000 inhabitants. Foreigners now make ...
. As of 15 July 2021, some episodes of ''Eldorado'' including the first and six final episodes became available in the UK on BritBox, a subscription digital video platform curated by the BBC and ITV.


Music

Following their collaboration on ''EastEnders'', Julia Smith and Tony Holland commissioned
Simon May Simon May (born 15 August 1944) is a British composer. He has composed many British television theme tunes, including ''EastEnders'' and ''Howards' Way'', and the music for the 1988 film ''The Dawning''. Biography Born in Devizes and a pupi ...
to write the theme tune. May reworked a song called "When You Go Away" which he had written for his ill-fated musical ''Mefisto'', based on Goethe's ''Faust'', adding Spanish guitars to make it more relevant to the ''Eldorado'' project. An instrumental version of the theme was used for the opening and closing credits. However, the vocal version of the song was recorded by Johnny Griggs, and was used over the closing credits of the final episode. "When You Go Away" was released as a single and included on the album '' New Vintage: The Best of Simon May'', and the full instrumental version of the theme was included on the compilation album '' The Simon May Collection''.


Main Cast

* Drew Lockhead –
Campbell Morrison Campbell Morrison (born William Morrison; 21 June 1952 – 10 January 2008) was a Scottish actor. He played one of the main characters, Drew Lockhead in the soap opera '' Eldorado'' and also appeared in ''EastEnders'' playing DCI Charlie Mason. ...
(1992–1993) * Gwen Lockhead –
Patricia Brake Patricia Ann Brake (25 June 1942 – 28 May 2022) was an English actress. From the age of 16, Brake trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, before joining the Salisbury Playhouse. She joined the Royal Shakespeare Company where (among o ...
(1992–1993) * Blair Lockhead – Josh Nathan (1992–1993) * Nessa Lockhead –
Julie Fernandez Julie Mare Fernandez (born 20 April 1974 in Hampstead, London) is a British actress and model best known for her role as Brenda in the BBC comedy ''The Office''. Early life Fernandez was born with osteogenesis imperfecta and uses a wheelchair ...
(1992–1993) * Marcus Tandy –
Jesse Birdsall Jesse Birdsall (born 13 February 1963) is an English actor, known for his roles as Marcus Tandy in the BBC1 soap opera '' Eldorado'', Nick Beckett in the adventure series '' Bugs'' (1995–1999), football manager Roger Webb in ''Footballers' Wiv ...
(1992–1993) * Joy Slater – Leslee Udwin (1992–1993) * Trish Valentine –
Polly Perkins Polly Perkins (born Gillian Nessie Arnold, 31 May 1943) is a British actress, singer and writer. Perkins rose to fame in the 1960s as a popstar, going on to regularly appear in theatre and cabaret throughout the UK. She is known for playing Ros ...
(1992–1993) * Ingrid Olsson – Bo Corre (1992–1993) * Pilar Moreno – Sandra Sandri (1992–1993) * Freddie Martin –
Roland Curram Roland Curram (born 1932) is an English actor and novelist. Curram was educated at Brighton College and has had a long film, television and theatre career. His appearances include Julie Christie's travelling companion in her Oscar-winning film ...
(1992–1993) * Rosemary Webb –
Hilary Crane Hilary Crane (1933 – June 2009) was an English actress, best known for her role as Nora Jenkins, the mother of Peter 'Tucker' Jenkins in the BBC series ''Grange Hill'' and its sister show, ''Tucker's Luck ''Tucker's Luck'' is a British tele ...
(1992–1993) * Roberto Fernandez – Franco Rey (1992–1993) * Rosario Fernandez – Stella Maris (1992–1993) * Olive King – Faith Kent (1992–1993) * Gerry Peters-Smith – Buki Armstrong (1992–1993) * Isabelle Leduc – Framboise Gommendy (1992–1993) * Per Svendsen – Kim Rømer (1992–1993) * Stanley Webb – William Lucas (1992–1993) * Lene Svendsen – Nanna Møller (1992–1993) * Philippe Leduc – Daniel Lombart (1992–1993) * Maria Fernandez – Maria Sanchez (1992–1993) * Javier "Paco" Fernandez – Iker Ibanez (1992–1993) * Snowy White – Patch Connolly (1992–1993) * Trine Svendsen – Marchell Betak/
Clare Wilkie Clare Wilkie (born 1974) is a British actress, best known for playing Sandra di Marco in the television soap opera ''EastEnders''. Prior to her appearance in ''EastEnders'', she had acted in the ill-fated soap opera '' Eldorado'' and played a l ...
(1992–1993) * Arnaud Leduc – Mikael Philippe (1992–1993) * Allan Hindle – Jon Morrey (1992) * Terry Flynn – Ben Murphy (1992–1993) * Gavin Hindle – Darren Newton (1992) * Dieter Shultz – Kai Maurer (1992) * Alex Morris –
Derek Martin Derek Martin (born Derek William Rapp; 11 April 1933) is an English former actor. Beginning his career as a stuntman, he moved into acting and played many roles on UK television. One of his most widely known roles is Charlie Slater on the BBC ...
(1993) * 'Razor' Sharp – Kevin Hay (1993) * Abuela Fernandez – María Vega (1992–1993) * Natalie Jackson – Tessa Wojtczak (1992–1993) * Fizz Charlson – Kathy Pitkin (1992) * Sergio Munoz D'Avila – Alexander Torriglia (1993) * Stephen Law – Stephen Hattersley (1992–1993) * Roger Noble – Keith Bookman (1992–1993) * Kitty Hindle – Jeannie Crowther (1992) * Anna Svendsen – Grethe Holmer (1993) * Ranjit Singh – Amerjit Deu (1992) * Jaskaran Singh – Ravi Aujla (1992) * Maribel Fernandez – Barbara Bonelli (1992–1993) * Pablo Fernandez – Jorge Cano (1992–1993) * Susan Wilkinson –
Fiona Walker Fiona Walker (born 24 May 1944) is an English actress, known for numerous theatre and television roles between the 1960s and 1990s. An early leading role was as Sue Bridehead in a BBC television production of ''Jude the Obscure'' (1971). She ma ...
(1993) * Clive Mitchell –
Charlie Condou Charlie Condou, (born 8 January 1973) is a British actor, columnist and LGBT rights activist. Condou secured a series of television movie roles during his teenage years in the 1980s. He later had guest roles in British television series during th ...
(1992)


See also

*''
Albion Market ''Albion Market'' was a British soap opera, set in a covered market in Salford, in the northwest of England. It was intended as a companion to fellow ITV soap '' Coronation Street'', starting at 7:00 pm on Fridays and 7.15 pm on Sundays. Howe ...
''


References


External links

*
The Unofficial Eldorado Website'TV Cream' on Eldorado
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eldorado (Tv Series) 1990s British television soap operas 1992 British television series debuts 1993 British television series endings BBC television dramas British television soap operas Television shows set in Spain English-language television shows Television shows filmed in Spain