The cast of 'Benidorm'

Last year millions of Britons took ITV1 comedy Benidorm into their hearts - much like the Spanish resort which gives the show both location and subject matter. After two long filming stints, many of the cast are now veterans of the karaoke and Carling hotspot themselves. Ahead of the show's return, Siobhan Finneran (Janice Garvey), Sheila Reid (Madge) and Geoffrey Hutchings (Madge's new boyfriend Mel) tell Digital Spy what to expect in series two.

Apparently there were some production problems because of bad weather. What time of year was it?

Siobhan Finneran: "We were there in September, October and November. The weather conditions were just awful. We saw twisters outside the window, and wheelie bins and cars floating down a river that should have been a road. We would go in to film one scene and find out we had to do another, because you couldn't really sit by the pool and say, 'What lovely weather.'"

Sheila Reid: "They were really having problems juggling the scenes. A day would start off brilliant and then by the time we needed to finish the scene it was storms and rain - just terrible."

Steve Pemberton: "Everyone who lived there said it was the worst they had in 30 years of living there - it was freak weather conditions."

You were filming at the resort alongside holidaymakers. Did you come into contact with them much?

Sheila Reid: "We met them actually. The pool area was in a figure of eight and our film crew were at one end. In order to go to the loo you had to walk through the public, and you got a lot of people saying hello to you. Lots of people even came up and said, 'We're only here because of you.' I think it's great."

We heard Sheila had some trouble controlling her mobility scooter during filming by the pool.

Sheila Reid: "It was like a bucking bronco. I was literally trying to go back and it kept going forwards, it kept getting nearer and nearer to the side of the pool."

Geoffrey Hutchings: "The front wheels were hanging over the edge at one point. It was Johnny (Vegas, who plays The Oracle) holding onto the back. We couldn't do anything because we were all just laughing."

Geoffrey, you're seen a few times sporting a very revealing thong. Was it uncomfortable wearing that on location?

Geoffrey Hutchings: "It didn't bother me. The problem was getting sprayed with sun tan every morning - standing in the sun with a paper thong on and getting sprayed. Then washing it off in the evening, every evening. I have bad memories of being in the pool for over 16 hours on retakes."

Siobhan Finneran: "It looked bad - having a makeup artist paint your arse. She had to come and fill bits when it was going a bit patchy."

Would you go to Benidorm on holiday?

Siobhan Finneran: "I don't think so now, but maybe I would have done years ago. I can see the appeal of having eveything laid on, with 100 restaurants and 100 bars to choose from. But a holiday is a luxury so I want to be somewhere I can just chill out with the people I want to be with."

Geoffrey Hutchings: "It must be said, thousands of people love it."

Sheila Reid: "There are parts that are very nice along the coast but the surrounding area is mainly hotels. It's thronging with life, though. You can do anything all through 24 hours a day. When we were getting up for filming at half past five in the morning, you would see them coming in."

Did the cast and crew hit the clubs much?

Sheila Reid: "We did, though not as much this time as last year. I did karaoke this year for the first time in my life. And maybe the last."

Benidorm returns to ITV1 at 9pm on Friday, March 28.