Channel 5 viewers have likened the new series Benidorm Is Murder to another beloved crime drama, The Good Ship Murder. The six-part comedy crime series, starring John Hannah, aired its first episode on Thursday evening (July 30).
Hannah plays Dennis, a retired detective who hires a new staff member. Unbeknownst to him, Rosa (Carolina Bécquer) is a true-crime obsessed barmaid eager to help when a murder occurs nearby. When a member of a Take That tribute band is found dead in a hotel pool, the police investigate. Rosa believes they have the wrong person and sets out to solve the case with Dennis.
Viewer reactions and comparisons
Viewers took to social media to share their thoughts. One wrote: "#benidormismurder Is a carbon copy of #Thegoodshipmurder but I’ll persist with it!!" Another replied: "I love #TheGoodShipMurder so yeah #BenidormisMurder is worth sticking with."
However, not all feedback was positive. One viewer commented: "Thought I'd give #BenidormIsMurder a go, Take That, John Hannah....good mix! But no, it's terrible! Sorry!" Another added: "Another clichéd drama from #ch5. Predictable story, formulaic structure, poor script and poor acting. Just not interesting enough. Not for me."
John Hannah on pay and filming
John Hannah appeared on The One Show to discuss the series and made a cheeky remark about his pay. He said: "Some great guests come in. In fact, we shot the third episode first. We shot that in Gran Canaria, actually. The first episode was an Irish hen party, half a dozen terrific Irish actresses turned up and Trevor. A bunch of Irish actors turned up, and they all knew each other a bit. It was October, cold back here [the UK], a good script, two weeks in the sun, having a laugh, they all knew each other, so there was a great bond there, a great chemistry there. Simon and I were talking at the end of that episode, we were like, ‘Wow, they’ve set the bar really high. There’s something about a good script, a bit of sunshine, regardless of the pay… which wasn’t the best, but anyway it doesn’t matter.'” A fellow guest joked he shouldn't mention money, to which Hannah replied: "No, let’s not because we’re not doing it for the money, right? Of course not. It was brilliant, everyone came out. We were all getting paid….a bit."
Benidorm Is Murder is available to stream on My5.
