Benidorm return 'confirmed' but co-star split caused issues on-set

Fans of the hit comedy Benidorm will have to stick to reruns of the show to get their fix for now as a return of the popular ITV series is reportedly delayed following the "miserable divorce" between the show's creator Derren Litten and star Jake Canuso, who played the randy barman Matteo in the hit series. While it is claimed "conversations have been had" about bringing the series back to screens, the fallout from their break-up is seemingly causing huge issues.

Although they kept their relationship out of the spotlight, the pair were happily married for years. During filming, they lived together in Benidorm, and Derren even opened a bar called "Matteo's" with Jake supporting his husband by making special guest appearances. However when the couple called time on their relationship at the end of 2022 their divorce became hugely messy and it now appears the breakdown of their relationship is affecting the possibilty of the show's return."Matteo is Benidorm, he's the character that everyone wants to see. He's been part of the Solana since the beginning, so for him not to feature in any future reboot, well, it just would not be the same without him," a source said.

"Jake created one of the show's most loved characters in Matteo, but with everything that's happened between him and Derren, it's not looking good," they told The Sun.

The couple's divorce was finally granted in August 2024. At the time, Derren took to X to share how awful the experience had been.

"I don't really talk about my personal life here, but the reason I've been a bit scarce on the socials is that for the last 18 months, I've been going through a pretty miserable divorce. So I'm obviously poor now. And you thought we couldn't have more in common than we already do?!" He penned.

Express.co.uk has contacted representatives for Derren Litten and Jake Canuso for comment.

Another source told the publication that "conversations have been had" about a return but they indicated Jake was reticent to come back unless the offer was to good to refuse.

They also shared that the tensions between the former couple are making negotiations difficult claiming Derren believes he should make all the decisions as the writer and creator.

"The fans would want to see Matteo, which ITV get. It's all become one big headache," they said.

Benidorm has garnered a whole new fanbase since Netflix began streaming the episodes.