Sandylands
Sandylands is a British television sitcom created and written by Martin Collins and Alex Finch.[1] It was directed by Michael Cumming, produced by King Bert Productions and originally aired on Gold from 4 March 2020.[2][3]
| Sandylands | |
|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Created by |
|
| Written by |
|
| Directed by | Michael Cumming |
| Starring |
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| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 3 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
|
| Producer(s) | Rosemary McGowan |
| Camera setup | Single camera |
| Running time | 40 mins |
| Production company(s) | King Bert Productions |
| Release | |
| Original network | Gold |
| Original release | 4 March 2020 – present |
| External links | |
| Website | |
The series revolves around the offbeat inhabitants of the titular seaside resort. It stars Natalie Dew, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Harriet Webb, David Walliams, Sophie Thompson, Simon Bird, Bronwyn James, Hamza Jeetooa, Hugh Bonneville, Craig Parkinson, Collins, Darren Strange, Janet Pince and Radha Sthanakiya.[1] A second series is due to air in 2021.[4]
Overview
Premise
The series revolves around 27-year-old Emily Verma (Dew), who returns to her seaside hometown Sandylands to attend the funeral of her estranged father.[2]
Synopsis
Emily Verma, who fled Sandylands for a more exciting life in London, reluctantly returns for the funeral of her estranged father Les Vegas (Bhaskar), an amusement arcade owner who disappeared at sea in a pedalo. She reunites with childhood friends Tina Taylor (Webb), a tour guide, and Kenny (Jeetooa), her father's employee, as well as childhood crush Nathan Wild (Bird), a police officer. She is forced to lodge with overbearing bed and breakfast owners Derek (Walliams) and Jeannie Swallows (Thompson) after being unable to gain entry to her father's house. Emily soon discovers that her father is alive and had faked his death because he was in debt and hoped to claim on his life insurance. Emily unwittingly becomes his partner in crime as she attempts to conceal the truth from Nathan and his colleague Trudy Wright (James), the other residents, and from a sinister insurance investigator (Bonneville), who is investigating her father's claim.
Cast and characters
- Natalie Dew as Emily Verma – a 27-year-old who fled Sandylands for a more exciting life
- Radha Sthanakiya portrays Emily in childhood flashbacks
- Sanjeev Bhaskar as Les Vegas – Emily's estranged father, an amusement arcade owner
- Harriet Webb as Tina Taylor – Emily's childhood friend, a hedonistic tour guide
- David Walliams as Derek Swallows – an overbearing bed and breakfast owner
- Sophie Thompson as Jeannie Swallows – Derek's wife
- Simon Bird as Nathan Wild – Emily's old crush, a police officer
- Bronwyn James as Trudy Wright – Nathan's militant colleague
- Hamza Jeetooa as Kenny – Emily's old friend, who works in Les' arcade
- Hugh Bonneville as the one-eyed man – a sinister insurance investigator
- Craig Parkinson as Terry Chino – a nightclub owner
- Martin Collins as Wayne
- Darren Strange as Bob
- Janet Pince as Pedalo Pat
Production
The series was filmed in the seaside resort of Weston-super-Mare and Clevedon in North Somerset over three weeks in autumn 2019.[5]
Reception
Rupert Hawksley of i called the series "camp and gaudy with plenty of oo-er humour" and remarked, "Emily’s confusion between grief and anger over her father’s disappearance was cleverly handled by [the writers], who managed to wring out just the right amount of emotion, never dampening the jaunty, end-of-the-pier feel".[6] Alex Fletcher of BT praised the cast and described the series as "a deliciously bonkers escape to seaside nostalgia".[7]
References
- "Sandylands cast and crew credits". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- "Sandylands". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- Pickstock, Heather (3 March 2020). "New comedy Sandylands starring David Walliams to air this week - what you need to know". Bristol Post. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- "Sandylands to return for Series 2". www.comedy.co.uk. 6 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
- Malloy, Tomas (26 February 2020). "David Walliams stars in Sandylands - a new TV sitcom filmed in Somerset". Somerset Live. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- Hawksley, Rupert (4 March 2020). "Sandylands, Gold, review: David Walliams and Simon Bird's show is camp and gaudy with plenty of 'oo-er' humour". i. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- Fletcher, Alex (4 March 2020). "7 Questions With… Sandylands star Natalie Dew: It's a deliciously bonkers escape to seaside nostalgia". BT. Retrieved 23 March 2020.