Derren Litten has announced his semi-retirement from TV writing in order to open a bar in Benidorm.
The 49-year-old writer - who created the TV show \'Benidorm\', which was axed in 2018 after 10 seasons - has revealed that he is planning to move to Spain and open a bar based on the hit TV series because he is so disappointed by the BBC\'s decision to axe his latest show \'Scarborough\'.
He tweeted: "With many apologies to those who were expecting a tv show announcement this evening. What I have to tell you is hugely exciting for me but basically marks my semi retirement from writing television comedy. (Cue wild applause from some quarters!)
"So, here\'s my next move, my next project, at least the next couple of years or so of my life... I hope to meet many of you for real, share a drink and sing a song in a time when all of this current madness is a distant memory.... #MateosBenidorm."
Mateo\'s is named after \'Benidorm\'s barman Mateo Castellanos, played by Jake Canuso.
Derren then went on to detail his plans in a lengthy statement, writing: "When the BBC cancelled my latest show \'Scarborough\' I had a long think about what I wanted to do next. I genuinely thought \'Scarborough\' was some of my best work and if it\'s not what TV channels are looking for now maybe I should do something completely different. So I made a decision to step away from making tv programmes for a while and I sat down and thought about the things I like doing. I like Benidorm, I like drinking, I like karaoke, I like socialising. But how on earth could I make an income from all that? Looking through my storage unit in Spain at all the props and costumes I acquired (which were going to be dumped) when the Benidorm series ended, it struck me how people would love to see all this stuff and maybe have a drink and sing a song surrounded by all that memorabilia. That\'s when I first got excited about the idea of opening a karaoke bar in Benidorm. The right venue was found, not too big, not too small and we set an opening date of April 10th."
Derren went on to explain that the global Covid-19 pandemic has halted his plans but he is excited about opening the bar as soon as possible.
He added: "Well we all know what happened next, the dreaded Coronavirus... But the show must go on and even though we can\'t continue work on the bar just now and we have no idea when it will open, open we will at some point and as soon as I have a date, I hope holiday makers will visit MATEO\'s of Benidorm where they can view amazing memorabilia, have their picture taken with Mel\'s thong, the original Neptune\'s sign featured in every episode, try The Madge cocktail (a drink so strong you need a mobility scooter to get you home) and maybe even sing a song from the show? We will have regular celebrity appearances including Mateo himself, Jake Canuso and of course I\'ll be there an awful lot, hosting the karaoke and chatting with the people who made the \'Benidorm\' tv series such a success, YOU!!
"I can\'t wait to meet you all, show you around and in some small way help Benidorm get back on its feet."
