Benidorm pals Tiger and Joey are back causing utter chaos at the Solana and beyond, so we thought it only right to catch up with Danny Walters and Nathan Bryon on set to hear about their antics in the new series...
They're not the brightest boys in Benidorm, but all fans of the hit ITV comedy will be glad to see Tiger and Joey again when the new series premieres on March 1.
What's On TV caught up with actors Danny Walters and Nathan Bryon in the Spanish resort during filming, around the Solana pool no less, to discover what the pair have been up to...
What are the pals like this time in Benidorm? Danny: “I think Tiger and Joey’s main objective this year is just to get girls, but it doesn’t always go as planned.”
You guys hang out with Rob Dawson (Josh Bolt) a lot more this series? Danny: “Yeah Rob joins us and there’s some funny scenes with him as he’s very intelligent, he goes to university, he’s going to get a degree. Tiger and Joey are two morons, but Rob thinks they’re fun, so we have some really funny scenes with him.” Nathan: “Yeah. We have some adventures in a casino. We have stuff in the clubs, too.” Danny: “And a lot more scenes around the pool with him.” Nathan: “He wants to be part of our gang.”
We've heard Joey’s showing an aptitude for maths this time…is that right? Nathan: “Yeah Joey’s a maths genius now… he’s a bit Rainman-esque in his skills with numbers. It’s a hidden skill he’s kept under lock, but sadly it causes more trouble now it’s revealed itself. Joey being a maths genius is a nice addition, having a really random skill. It’s quite useful, unless you use it in an un-useful way, which he does all the time. Learning maths sums as lines is always quite interesting!”
So is Joey a maths bore? Nathan: “Maybe. Joey and Tiger try to use it to pull girls, but then you work out that they don’t care about that!”
Tiger gets involved with an older woman at the start of this series... Danny: “Yeah, well there he is in a club so drunk and wearing Shallow Hal glasses and he thinks this certain lady is so pretty and young. Obviously it turns out it’s really not really Tiger’s boat, but he’s so drunk.”
Was that fun to film? Danny: "It was, because that was the first time I met Kate Fitzgerald, who plays Loretta, and it was the first scene she’d done in the show, too, so it was a massive ice-breaker. She’s a really nice lady and great actress and it was such a fun day!
Tell us about more of their antics outside the hotel? Danny: “We go to a dinosaur park and we’re wearing dinosaur outfits and we end up having a fight, bruises and everything. It goes a bit serious.”
Are there a lot more cracking one-liners from Joey? Nathan: “Yeah there’s loads. I also find I have Joey-isms in my life. I just come out with some mad things… “ Danny: “We were on our way back from shopping one day and there was a massive dino park sign and Nathan goes ‘that’s the dino park, are there dinosaurs there, actual dinosaurs?’ It was so funny. I had to pull over just to laugh and then it got incorporated into the script.” Nathan: “It was like 40 degrees and really hot. We all have those moments!”
Tiger and Joey must get on really well now… Danny: “They have to! Ha ha. No, it’s cool… I think the thing about Tiger and Joey is last year they were getting to know each other as well. Whereas now Tiger knows what Joey’s like and he waits for those stupid lines and vice versa. I think they’re very comfortable with each other now.”
You have a scene in your pants this series. Tell us more... Nathan: “Oh yeah. Joey ends up stood in his boxers outside a bar looking like a mug.”
What is the reaction like from fans like? Nathan: “Here in Benidorm it’s insane. Everyone’s adorable, as they love the show. There’s a guy who has our pictures tattooed on his arm.” Danny: “It’s fans like that who make us happy because it shows how much our show means to them. Back in England it’s not quite as mad. Out here it's mad, especially when people have a few drinks. People book a holiday here specially to see us, so if they meet some of the cast it makes their holiday. One picture that lasts two seconds makes their holiday.” Nathan: “And when you’re walking around with hair like this it’s hard to be inconspicuous. I’ve thought about getting a hat! But even a sombrero isn’t going to help anything!”
Talking of hair, you have some funny scenes with hairdresser Kenneth this time don't you? Danny: “Kenneth needs some models to test on and take some pictures, but it all goes wrong and we end up with completely ridiculous hairstyles.”
Are your families big fans of the show? Nathan: “Yeah my mum’s really cute. I have to be back in the house to watch it and we’ll all watch it together – it’s really sweet.”
Benidorm series nine begins on ITV, Wednesday March 1 at 9pm
