Benidorm

The beautiful spot is perfect for pensioners seeking a relaxed lifestyle

New analysis from World Atlas has named the best Spanish towns to relocate to. They are all stunning, overlooked locations, ideal for retirees seeking a peaceful and authentic way of life away from well-known resorts such as Benidorm or the Costa del Sol.

The research highlighted seven picturesque towns with fewer than 50,000 inhabitants across Spain that feature “walkable, historic centres with accessible recreation, including coastal paths, mountain trails, canoeing rivers, and reservoirs a short drive from the front door”. On Reddit, expats praised the “affordable living” and the “amazing regional food” of some of these picture-perfect locations.

Trujillo, in Extremadura, was named the best small town to retire in, with the lowest housing prices of around €717 (£605) per month. Locals praised the town’s authenticity on social media, with one saying that “life is more or less affordable, with no uncontrolled tourism problems, and food is amazing”.

Trujillo was followed by Arcos de la Frontera, in Cádiz, which has an estimated population of 31,046. Experts at World Atlas noted: “For retirees who want a classic Spanish white town with water sports on the doorstep rather than just mountain views, Arcos is a rare combination.”

Baiona, in Galicia, was also named one of the best places to relocate to. The charming town in northern Spain has a population of 12,380. World Atlas stated: “Baiona offers a version of coastal Galicia that pairs history with a genuine beach-town feel, at a price most Mediterranean resort towns can’t match.”

Other places included the picturesque town of Sitges, just half an hour down the coast from Barcelona, and Cangas de Onís, best known as the historic gateway to the Picos de Europa National Park.

Best small towns to retire in Spain

1. Trujillo, Extremadura
2. Arcos de la Frontera, Cádiz
3. Baiona, Galicia
4. Hondarribia, Basque Country
5. Cangas de Onís, Asturias
6. Comillas, Cantabria
7. Sitges, Catalonia

A bloke moaned that his full English breakfast at a cafe in Benidorm, which was under five pounds, was too expensive, and it led to a brutal response from the owner

The family behind a British-owned restaurant in Benidorm have hit back at a customer’s damning one-star review — after being floored by the price of his full English breakfast.

The Corner Bar is a favourite for both expats and holidaymakers looking for a taste of home but one customer, Peter Jones, recently shared his disapproval. He wrote: “Careful of the OAP discounts, especially at breakfast (€5.50). You can get a full English breakfast elsewhere for €4.50 (£3.86) or less.”

However, Ashley, who runs the cafe, shared the review online, before telling Peter to “have a day off” because she was “not having that” about the cost.

Defending her business in a Facebook post, she wrote: “I’m sure Peter is “fishing” here…surely he’s got to be…and I’m gonna be honest…he’s caught me. I mean. You can maybe not like our food. Not like our service. Not like us… maybe all 3, and honestly, I don’t mind, we try our best, every day, and that’s all you can do…

“But to give us a 1 Star Review on our prices…to suggest to the public you need to be careful of our prices. Nah, not having that. The breakfast in question…a No4 (pictured below).

“That’s 1 English Bacon, 1 Irish Sausage, 1 Black Pudding, 1 Fried Egg, 1 Roberts Bread Toast, Heinz Beans, Fresh Mushrooms & Tinned Tomatoes…and it’s €5.50.

“Cooked Fresh to Order by the Owner or the same 2 British Cooks who have been on The Corner for years…And apparently you need to be careful of our prices! Have a day off, Peter!”

The post soon took off and led to hundreds of comments from loyal customers who also defended the prices. One man, who has had the €5.50 (approx £4.70) full English before, wrote: “You cannot beat a No 4 at the Corner for value.”

Another person added: “Peter needs to give his head a shake! He wants €4.50 then bye bye mate! It will certainly not be as good.”

One person sarcastically said “wow a whole €1 less” before Ashley wrote another post in the comments thanking everyone for the support.

She said: “Cheers Everyone. Some lovely comments. We know we’re well supported and it’s massively appreciated. Just sometimes them review sites after a hard days work can be hard to read. We’re a small family business, currently have 5 WORKING members of staff plus us. We do our best. Thankfully, clearly the majority appreciate what we do.”

The Corner Bar has received 585 reviews on TripAdvisor with an average score of 4.2 out of five. They’ve also had 1,170 reviews on Google with an average score of 4.5 out of five.

And after the viral post, Michelle Baker, who has lived in Benidorm for more than 40 years, also shared it to her Benidormforever Facebook page. She said: “LOVE that Ashley from The Corner Bar Benidorm called this chap out… there’s just no pleasing some people!”

Sherrie Hewson has reunited with Tony Maudsley almost a decade after they finished filming Benidorm and fans have been quick to demand a reboot of the sunny sitcom

Sherrie Hewson has reunited with Tony Maudsley almost a decade after they finished filming Benidorm. The actress, 76, played hotelier Joyce Temple-Savage on the sunny sitcom, which came to an end in 2018 after 10 series.

Tony starred as hairdresser Kenneth Du Beke, and took to social media to share a snap of himself and his former co-star Sherrie both enjoying their time together over the weekend,

He wrote on Instagram: “Back with my old sparring partner, Joyce Temple Savage. Had the best time reliving our Benidorm days.” In a second post, he wrote: “Laughs a-plenty with Dame Sherrie Hewson.”

Sherrie, who replaced Crissy Rock in the role of the hotel boss after series four, became a household name through her role as Maureen Holdsworth on Coronation Street in the 1990s and now Tony, 58, stars as George Shuttleworth on the ITV soap.

The post instantly caused a stir amongst fans of the show, and several of them rushed to the comments section to beg for a reunion.

One said: “Am still watching and loving the reruns,” and another wrote: “We need a Christmas special,” and a third wrote: “Will it be on TV again??”

A fourth said: “These two were the best in Benidorm … wish it was brought back to give us all some genuine comedy,” and a fifth wrote: “We need a petition up to bring it back ! @tonymaudsley1 you were both amazing in Benidorm. I watch it most nights. How did you walked in them tight shorts all day.”

Sherrie recently told The Mirror that she would be keen do return to her role of Joyce and thought that a reboot should be in the form of a feature-length film.

She said: “In the difficult world we’re living in now… as soon as that music comes, it softens their world, and they feel so much better. And they laugh and laugh. Wouldn’t it be great as a film? The Benidorm film! A 2.5 hour film, wouldn’t that be fabulous?

Benidorm, created by The Catherine Tate Show star Derren Litten, first aired from 2007 until 2018 on ITV and focused on a group of holidaymakers at the Solana resort. Over the years, the cast featured a stellar lineup of names from the acting world.

For the first six series, Siobhan Finneran and Steve Pemberton played a couple who holidayed with their children alongside Sheila Reid as the cantankerous Madge Harvey. The programme was filled with several other fan favourites including swingers Donald (Kenny Ireland) and Jacqueline Stewart (Janine Duvitski), quiz enthusiast Geoff Maltby (Johnny Vegas) and barman Mateo Castellanos (Jake Canuso).

Others to have appeared over the years included screen favourites Sheridan Smith, Hannah Waddingham, Una Stubbs and Amanda Barrie.

In 2023, show creator Litten revealed he had ideas for countless new episodes – and sent fans into a tailspin during an online Q&A. Taking to X, one fan asked the screenwriter: “Would be great to see new episodes…

“Derren Litten surely living in Benners you have plenty of stories you could pen.” Derren responded: “I don’t live in Benidorm but I live fairly close by.”

He then went on to tease: “I have more stories for another 74 episodes; if ITV wants them, they know where I am!” Benidorm fans were quick to react to his message – and began begging him, ITV and even Netflix to make his suggestion become a reality.”

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Bianca Dyke appeared in series six of ITV’s Benidorm – but who is the actress’ real-life soap star father?

Benidorm fans will be stunned to find out that Bianca Dyke star Bel Powley is not the only famous member in her family.

Bel joined the cast of the ITV sitcom back in 2014, with the rest of the Dyke family: dad Clive (Perry Benson), mum Tonya (Hannah Waddingham) and brother Tiger (Danny Walters).

During their stint on the show, the family became firm favourites and famously had a rivalry with the Garveys who were also stopping at the Solana resort.

As for Bianca, she turned her attention to fellow holiday-goer Martin Weedon (Nicholas Burns), thinking he was a wealthy businessman, only to end things after realising he wasn’t.

Benidorm was not actress Bel’s first time on the screen. She shot to fame playing Daisy Millar in CBBC’s M.I. High from 2007 to 2008. Her other acting credits include the TV series Everything I Know about Love and the 2015 coming-of-age film The Diary of a Teenage Girl.

She also played Claire Conway in The Morning Show from 2019 to 2025 and is currently portraying Petunia Dursley in the upcoming new Harry Potter television series.

In real life though, Bel is the daughter of actor Mark Powley, who is best known for playing P.C Melvin in police drama The Bill from 1987 to 1990. He’s also appeared in several soaps including Coronation Street in 2001 as Rob Lucas and Emmerdale in 1999 playing Liam Hammond.

Talking about her childhood, Bel told Hollywood Authentic: “I never even really wanted to be an actor. I was really academic. But my dad’s an actor [Mark Powley], and my mum’s a casting director [Janis Jaffa]. So it was always kind of in the family.

“I went to a Saturday drama group called Youngblood Theatre Company, which was all improvisation-based, where I met a lot of my mates. A casting director came in once to cast a CBBC show called M.I. High about child spies, and I got the job.”

She added: “So I basically ended up being a child actor, to my parents’ dismay, because they thought I was going to be the first academic of the family. I ended up following in my dad’s footsteps.”

Bel is also married to fellow actor Douglas Booth. Douglas has starred in the likes of Great Expectations, Romeo and Juliet and ITV’s recent cop drama The Blame, alongside Michelle Keegan.

Douglas and Bel first met at a chemistry read audition over 10 years ago. Three years later in 2016, they worked together on the film Mary Shelley and a romance quickly blossomed.

Going from strength to strength Douglas proposed to Bel in July 2021 on Primrose Hill in London. Then in October 2023, Douglas and Bel made things official by getting married at Petersham Nurseries in Richmond.

“I woke up in the morning, and I was like, ‘I just want to do it all over again, right now’,” Bel told Hollywood Authentic before sharing: “I think in 10 years’ time, we’ll get married again.”

Benidorm is available to watch on ITVX.