Benidorm star Crissy Rock has warned that political correctness has possibly 'gone too far' for the beloved sitcom to make a comeback. The actress, who played Janey Yorke in the first four series, says attitudes today could prevent a reboot.
Political Correctness Concerns
Crissy Rock, 67, told The Mirror: 'There's always whispers about a reboot, this, that and the other. I'm sure there would be a place for it because it's so in demand, but with all this political correctness you can't say this and you can't say that now.' She added: 'You can't even smoke! I was watching something the other day and a thing came up saying 'May contain smoking!' What's wrong? The world's gone mad!'
The former I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! contestant tries to avoid politics in her stand-up routines but believes that political correctness has 'gone too far'. She said: 'In my own show, I don't do politics. My act has been practically the same for years but I just think it has all gone too far the other way. In pantomime, you can't have the Prince kiss Snow White anymore but you can have a dog come on and lick her face, I mean, it's gone too far! Someone said I couldn't say 'Alright, love' anymore. It's just gone stupid!'
Memories of Benidorm
Despite her willingness to return, Crissy doesn't have all good memories from the set in Spain. She recalled: 'It was lovely, and then the reality kicked in that you were stuck in a building with no air conditioning, really roasting with the lights and, half the time you couldn't hardly breathe. Then you have to start turning the lights off and put the air conditioning on because it was really, really hot, especially when they're doing all the indoor scenes in the club.'
New Project: Desperate Scousewives
Crissy is now starring in the play Desperate Scousewives, which she believes is perfect for Benidorm fans. She plays Lily, one of three women navigating life when a single mum from Manchester arrives on their Liverpool backstreet. The play is set during a hen do where the bride is marrying a man in prison she has never met.
Crissy explained: 'Desperate Scousewives is a bit like Benidorm, because the reason Benidorm was so successful is people would watch it and go, 'Doesn't that remind you of that drunk around the corner, oh what about her? I know someone just like her!' So everyone recognised themselves as someone. And with Desperate Scousewives, everyone who goes will say, 'I remember that,' and 'I recognise her!''
Northern Humour Travels Well
Written by Lynne Fitzgerald, who also stars as Susan, the play embraces Northern humour. When challenged about its appeal nationwide, Crissy said: 'I met someone who wasn't from up north who said 'How do you think this is going to travel?' and I said 'Perfectly!' because we are the street anywhere in the country. There's three or four women exactly like that in every other street in the county. It's not about your voice or where you're from, it's individuals, their lives. So it could be any street in any part of England.'
Crissy describes her character: 'I play a bit of a matriarch. Nosey, absolutely nosey. And she wants to know everyone's business but she doesn't want anyone to know her business and then when she meets anyone new she puts this telephone voice on, trying to talk posh. The others will be telling her to shut up and she'll go 'Oh, take no notice of those little b*****s!' It's been such good fun in rehearsals, we can't look at each other without laughing!'
Desperate Scousewives is on tour across the UK. For tickets and more information, visit www.scousewivesonstage.com.
