Sherrie Hewson almost drunk herself to "death" when she first joined ‘Benidorm’.
The 67-year-old actress – who is known for playing Joyce Temple-Savage in the comedy – has decided to put herself on a booze ban because she realised she was consuming too many alcoholic beverages while shooting the show in Alicante, Spain.
Speaking to the Daily Mirror newspaper, she said: "We are drinking ourselves to death. I’ve never been on a girls’ holiday because my mother was a very strong, dominant woman, so I always had to go with her. So when I first started ‘Benidorm’, I thought this is what it must be like. I was out every night, it nearly killed me. It had to stop."
The cast spend up to 14 hours a day on set and like to unwind by popping to a karaoke bar – but Sherrie’s drunken sing-a-longs usually lead to her being chucked out.
She explained: "I am the only person in the cast who can’t sing. One year I’d had a few gin and tonics and started to sing Kung Fo Fighting. The bar owner said, ‘Come on love can you get off the stage?’ I was so rubbish he asked me to leave the bar."
Sherrie has appeared on ‘Emmerdale, ‘Coronation Street’ and ‘Loose Women’ in the past but she has admitted the fans she’s acquired from ‘Benidorm’ is incomparable.
She said: "Fans queue in 40 degrees for hours to be extras. There’s a guy who has every character tattooed on him. I was relieved that my picture was on his ribs."
And, although Sherrie’s alter ego is usually mocked by the other characters, the actress thoroughly enjoys playing the busy-body hotel manager.
She added: "A part like this rarely comes along and I was very lucky that I met the writer Derren Litten who decided I fitted the bill. This role is the joy of my life.
"It’s such an incredible family. I think the show’s longevity is down to the most wonderful British humour, like the ‘Carry On’ genre."
Sherrie Hewson almost drunk herself to ‘death’
