George Entwistle urged to revive 'Eldorado' by BBC staff

The BBC's new director general George Entwistle has been pressed to revive '90s soap Eldorado.

The BBC One soap was set in the Costa Del Sol in Spain where it focussed on the lives of British expats.



Commissioned to rival EastEnders, Eldorado aired thrice a week for 156 episodes between 1992 and 1993, before being axed.

Former crew member Paul Davies called for the "triumphant return" of the format in BBC workers magazine Aerial.

"Critics would argue it was hubristic, too excessive and the axe deserved to fall prematurely," he continued. "I would argue it was ambitious, ahead of its time and an example of the BBC machine working at its very best. I just hope a channel controller sees the potential and commissions a revisit to Eldorado in the future."

The set of Eldorado has been left untouched since filming ceased.



Legendary writer Tony Jordan, who penned Eldorado's first episode, also wants to revive the show, saying last year: "I think we should bring Eldorado back. It's a fantastic brand - although obviously not in the way it was first done, and I wrote the first episode so I'm allowed to say that."

One BBC worker, speaking on behalf of a group of campaigners, added: "There are a lot of us who want Eldorado back. It was given the chop too quickly and the ratings weren't that bad and were stabilising just when it was axed.

"So a lot of people are emailing the new director general to let them know we want it back. If he is brave enough to bring it back I think he will see record audiences."