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Eldorado (Soap Opera)Eldorado is a British soap opera that aired for only one year, from 6 July 1992 to July 1993. Set in a Spanish resort and based around the lives of British expats, 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 and critics. The acting was derided as amateurish, while the attempt to appear more 'European' by having people speaking other languages without subtitles was met with incomprehension. The series was produced by Verity Lambert who had made her reputation as an in-house producer for the BBC — as a result the costly production, although not exorbitant by contemporary TV standards, was used by critics of the BBC licence fee to argue that the corporation was feathering the nest of former employees. 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 as 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, 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. The theme tune was composed by Simon May. Lyrics were written for the closing credits of the final episode; the song, called 'When You Go Away', was performed by Johnny Griggs. External links Eldorado Fan Site Nostalgia page
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