Benidorm star calls for a reboot of ITV hit so she can play TV b***h again
Sherrie Hewson is back on our screens having joined E4 soap Hollyoaks as Martha Blake, an evil granny who is determined to protect her two unsuspecting granddaughters from their uncle Jez.
While Sherrie has had so many roles over the years that have made her a household name, there's one character that she's desperate to reprise - hotel manageress, Joyce Temple-Savage in Benidorm. For five series, Joyce ran the Solana hotel - she was bossy, sassy and a lot of the time clashed with her guests. And Sherrie loved every minute of it.
The show originally aired on ITV from 2007 to 2018, however the show’s recent move to Netflix means it’s had a resurgence in popularity and Sherrie has called for the series to return.
Sherrie tells OK! in an exclusive chat: “I think Benidorm is bigger now than when we were actually on television. People stop me and say, ‘I’m rewatching Benidorm again.’ It’s been in the top 10 on Netflix.
“There’s nothing on telly like it, is there? I call it Carry On funny because it’s a very British sense of humour. I’d definitely go back – we all loved our time on Benidorm. I say they should make a film out of it.”
“I’m still in touch with a lot of the cast still,” continues Sherrie. “Tony Maudsley [who played Kenneth Du Beke] and I speak every other day. We never stop talking about Benidorm - it was 10 years of our lives.”
Now, Sherrie is skulking around the village of Hollyoaks as Martha and attempting to help her two granddaughters Sienna Blake (Anna Passey) and Dilly Harcourt (Emma Johnsey-Smith).
Martha wants to protect the girls from their uncle Jez Blake (Jeremy Sheffield) - but Sherrie warns viewers that Martha is a woman who shouldn’t be underestimated.
“I’ve never been an out-and out baddie before – I just love it!” exclaims Sherrie. “Joyce Temple-Savage [Sherrie’s Benidorm character] was a bit of a b***h, but very funny.
“I don’t look fabulous in the sense of make-up and eyelashes like I had in Benidorm. I look horrendous!” laughs Sherrie. “But I tell myself I’m playing this evil character – so I can’t have that.”
Speaking about her own grandchildren, Sherrie tells OK! they are the most important people in her life.
“I’ve got three,” she gushes. “Two girls who are five and 13, and a boy who’s 17 - I’m with them every single day of their lives,” says Sherrie. “I take them to gymnastics, I take them swimming. I’m constantly on 24 hours a day, they are the reason I get up in the morning, the reason my heart beats - they are my life.
“Funnily enough I was watching Hollyoaks the other day with them and one said, ‘Nana! She looks like you!’ and I said, ‘it is me’ and she said ‘no it’s not - because she’s horrible’.”
