Eldorado (soap opera)

Eldorado is a British soap opera that aired for only one year, from 1992 to 1993. Set in a Spanish resort and based around the lives of English ex-pats, the BBC hoped it would be as successful as Eastenders. It was produced as a co-production between the BBC and independent production company Cinema Verity, and aired twice weekly in a high-profile evening slot on the mainstream BBC One network.

In spite of - or perhaps as a reaction to - a huge marketing campaign on television, radio and in the press preceding the launch ('Are you ready for Eldorado?'), the programme was not a popular hit with viewers. Although ratings did improve over the course of the show's run, it was not enough to justify its continued production, and incoming Controller of BBC One Alan Yentob cancelled the programme, which had been commissioned by his predecessor Jonathan Powell. In the UK it is remembered as an embarrassing failure for the Corporation, and is sometimes used a a byword for any unsuccessful, poorly-received or over-hyped television programme.

The show ended with one of the show's star characters, Marcus Tandy (played by Jesse Birdsall who later starred in Bugs, also on BBC One), escaping an attempt on his life by his car being blown up, and sailing off into the distance on a boat with his girlfriend.

The character Vanessa Lockhead was played by Julie Fernandez, who later appeared in The Office.