Iconic BBC soap Eldorado returning 32 years after it was originally cancelled

Fans of BBC soaps may recall a big-budget series that was set in a fictional Spanish town and followed the adventures of glamorous British expats that was axed in 1993

A long-forgotten soap that was axed 32 years ago is heading back to TV screens.

Soap fans old enough to remember will recall a flop show called Eldorado being broadcast on the BBC in 1992 - only to be cancelled a year later. The series aired 156 episodes before being cancelled due to low viewership.

The series was intended to be a glamorous series focusing on wealthy British expatriates living in the fictional town of Los Barcos on the Costa Eldorado in Spain. The show ended with one of the characters escaping into the sunset after someone tried to kill them by blowing up their car.

While the series was widely regarded as an embarrassing disaster for the BBC - which sank huge amounts of energy and money into the creation and promotion of the flop show - it will soon be back on screens for new fans to discover and watch. However, it will not be new episodes of the show.

UKTV is set to begin airing reruns of the series on its U&Drama channel from Monday 27 January - and is expected to play out all 156 episodes of the series. The original cast included Jesse Birdsall, who went on to star on Hollyoaks, Polly Perkins, who went on to play Dot Cotton's sister on EastEnders, Derek Martin, who later starred as Charlie Slater on EastEnders, and Julie Fernandez - who later played Brenda in the BBC comedy The Office.

Reruns of old soaps could come as something of a comfort for some TV fans - as current shows have been suffering from worrying ratings slips and cast resignations. Coronation Street in particular has seen stars quit en-masse as ITV struggles to keep the show on the air amid budgeting challenges.

Shelley King, who has played Yasmeen Nazir for 11 years, became the latest star to quit the show this week. A source previously explained: "This will be another blow for fans of the show, as Yasmeen is a much-loved character who's part of the fabric of Corrie. She's had some huge storylines since she joined the soap in 2014, and she'll be sorely missed by cast and crew. It’s understood she is leaving so she can explore other projects."

Her exit came after reports earlier this month claimed the ITV soap is "on it's knees" and struggling to fund the show. Fan favourite characters are reportedly being axed in the hope of securing new talent and relying on younger cast who cost less to involve in the show.

Cast are reportedly unhappy with the behind-the-scenes changes, however, with the Daily Mail reporting last week: "In years gone by, stars would receive a standard fee per episode, which meant for major characters, they could rack up a very lucrative pay cheque."

It is expected that scenes in the Rovers Return can no longer be afforded to be stuffed with characters from the famous fictional street as the actors would need paid a fee even if they had just one line. A source previously told The Sun: "The cast loved the days when lots of scenes were filmed in the Rovers because it didn't matter if you had 10 scenes in an episode or just sat in the pub - you'd get paid the same.

"Playing a barmaid or the landlord was a dream gig and would guarantee you got paid a fortune because it didn't matter if you just served someone in the background - you got paid for the episode." Fans have already noticed that major characters have been appearing far less in recent months.

Helen Worth, who played Gail Platt for 50 years and exited the show on Christmas Day 2024, featured in just 26 out of 304 episodes before her exit - while Mike Le Vell, who plays Kevin Webster, only appeared in 46 despite being part of a major cancer scare storyline.

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