Scarborough (TV series)

Scarborough is a British television sitcom set in the North Yorkshire seaside town of Scarborough, England. The series was aired on BBC One, and revolves around the lives of a group of friends who regularly meet up in a pub for karaoke on a Friday night.

Scarborough
GenreSitcom
Created byDerren Litten
Written byDerren Litten
Directed byDerren Litten
Starring
Opening themeRotterdam (Or Anywhere)
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes6 (list of episodes)
Production
ProducerGill Isles
Production locationsScarborough
Greater Manchester
EditorAdam Windmill
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time28 minutes
Production companyBBC Studios
Release
Original networkBBC One
Original release6 September (2019-09-06) –
11 October 2019 (2019-10-11)

The series was written and directed by Derren Litten, who wrote the award-winning ITV series, Benidorm.[1]

The series was not recommissioned for a second series.[2]

Synopsis

Mike and Karen are in their late 30s and are giving their romance another go after a break of five years. Mike always wanted to be an entertainer, a career that kept him away from home which led to the demise of their relationship. Mike, Karen, their friends and work colleagues, meet up on Friday nights to drink in the local pub and perform karaoke.[3][4]

Cast

[5]

Production

The show was announced by the BBC in August 2018.[6] Filming started in the town of Scarborough in April 2019,[7] with final scenes being filmed just over six weeks later at the end of May of the same year. Scenes have been filmed in Luna Park, Peasholm Park and the pub the Newcastle Packet Inn is shown in the series as being called The Good Ship where the characters meet up on Friday nights. Internal scenes at the pub were filmed in Sholver, Oldham.[8][9] The hairdressing salon (Geraldine's), had its scenes filmed in Stockport, Greater Manchester,[10] with most of the interior shots being filmed in studios in Manchester.[11]

Episodes
No. in
series		TitleWritten and directed byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions) [12]
1"The Unfavourable Death of Mrs Bookham"[13]Derren Litten6 September 2019 (2019-09-06)4.83
Karen sees Mike kissing a woman behind his crab stall on the Scarborough sea front. A week after not taking his calls, Karen sees Mike at their routine Friday night karaoke session in the pub where he finally has a chance to explain himself. Meanwhile, at Geraldines' Hair salon, one of the regular customers has gone missing and the police are called in.[14]
2"The Paradoxical Burglary of Mr Ferris"[15]Derren Litten13 September 2019 (2019-09-13)N/A (<4.09)[lower-alpha 1]
Mike and Karen try to get their relationship back on track after Mike's crab stall misdemeanour, while Mike finally finds Bigsy sleeping rough at the castle after he goes AWOL. The police visit Marion about the break-in next door and Geraldine is under suspicion over the mystery of what happened to the contents of Mrs Bookham's handbag.
3"The Sudden Apprehension of Barry Dixon"[16]Derren Litten20 September 2019 (2019-09-20)N/A (<3.78)[lower-alpha 1]
It's not a good day for Geraldine at the salon, as not only is it Mrs Bookham's funeral, but after a blazing row Lisa Marie storms out, telling Geraldine she can stick her job.
4"The Untimely Faux Pas of Marion Norris"[17]Derren Litten27 September 2019 (2019-09-27)N/A (<4.27)[lower-alpha 1]
Mike and Karen decide to move in together and go flat-hunting. Meanwhile, Geraldine finally admits the strain of the salon's financial difficulties.
5"The Continuing Misfortune of Geraldine Payne"[18]Derren Litten4 October 2019 (2019-10-04)N/A (<4.25)[lower-alpha 1]
Karen and Geraldine are perplexed by who might have told the police about Mrs Bookham's missing money.
6"The Ballad of Karen and Mike"[19]Derren Litten11 October 2019 (2019-10-11)N/A (<4.63)[lower-alpha 1]
At Geraldine's salon tensions run high when Tony and Hayley drop in to talk through their plans for the renovation.

Critical reception

The i and The Daily Mirror were not impressed with the opening episode; Sara Wallis wrote "This soap opera-style comedy was not my cup of Yorkshire. But let’s hope it warms up." Emily Baker, writing in The i, said "BBC One’s new comedy Scarborough is missing one key element – humour", continuing with "Scarborough’s complete lack of laughs is more frustrating than upsetting."[20]

Michael Hogan, writing in The Daily Telegraph, was more positive about the start of the sitcom stating that whilst it was "not an unqualified success", but that it was "...a promising start." Of particular note for Hogan was Claire Sweeney as Hayley; "[Sweeney] hammed it up Dynasty-style as the local man-eater, all hairspray, leopardskin and cat-clawed one-liners (“I might be a slag and a home-wrecker but I’m very good at both”)."[21] Likewise, in The Guardian, Graeme Virtue was in admiration of Sweeney's on-screen character, saying "...Sweeney brings some powerful energy as the local man-eater."[22]

Notes
  1. Not reported in the weekly top 15 programmes for four-screen viewer ratings.

References
  1. "Benidorm creator confirms sitcom's end". BBC News. 6 July 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  2. "Not recomissioned". twitter.com. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  3. Sutton, Megan (27 August 2019). "What you need to know about Scarborough, starring Catherine Tyldesley and Jason Manford". good housekeeping.com. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  4. "Is Scarborough to be another Benidorm on TV?". The Yorkshire Post. 15 April 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  5. Blow, John (28 August 2019). "First look as BBC releases pictures ahead of new comedy Scarborough". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  6. "BBC - Brand new BBC Studios comedy series Scarborough from creator Derren Litten - Media Centre". bbc.co.uk. 23 August 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  7. "BBC - BBC One's Scarborough marks first day of filming by revealing stars set to join the new series - Media Centre". bbc.co.uk. 15 April 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  8. McElwee, Jade (24 May 2019). "Here's what we know about BBC One comedy Scarborough and when it will air on TV". The Scarborough News. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  9. Blow, John (25 August 2019). "BBC comedy Scarborough's director says show may be the 'first comedy soap' - just don't expect a new Benidorm". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  10. Fitzpatrick, Katie (25 April 2019). "Catherine Tyldesley films new comedy Scarborough in Stockport". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  11. Scougall, Murray (25 August 2019). "Scarborough star Claire Sweeney says that becoming a mother means she has found joy, and the perfect work-life balance". Sunday Post. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  12. "Four Screen Dashboard (See relevant channel and week(s))". BARB.
  13. "Scarborough".
  14. "Scarborough Series 1, Episode 1 - The Unfavourable Death Of Mrs Bookham". comedy.co.uk. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  15. "Scarborough".
  16. "Scarborough".
  17. "Scarborough".
  18. "Scarborough".
  19. "Scarborough".
  20. McDonald, Corinne (10 September 2019). "BBC SCARBOROUGH: This is what the national press thought of episode one". The Scarborough News. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  21. Hogan, Michael (6 September 2019). "Scarborough episode 1 review: a coastal mix of Peter Kay's Car Share and a Victoria Wood off-cut". The Telegraph. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  22. Virtue, Graeme; Bradley, Mike; Verdier, Hannah; Seale, Jack; Howlett, Paul (6 September 2019). "TV tonight: Benidorm's creator turns his attention to Scarborough". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
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