TV fans lament what could have been as legendary series ends with ‘fantastic’ final chapter

Eldorado has concluded once again (Picture: BBC Picture Archives)

Fans of Eldorado have been left pondering what could have been as the classic BBC One soap concludes its daytime TV repeat run.

Created by Tony Holland and Julia Smith, the legendary duo responsible for EastEnders, Eldorado followed the lives of British and European expatriates who resided in the fictional town of Los Barcos in Spain.

The series – which bosses hoped would follow in the footsteps of Neighbours and replicate EastEnders’ success – was short-lived, running for only 156 episodes between 1992 and 1993 despite an overhaul towards the end of its run that was received positively by audiences.

Fans have been re-living the BBC classic via daily repeats on U&Drama, the very same broadcaster which has brought us EastEnders from the beginning.

However, the time has come to say goodbye to the residents of Los Barcos once again, with Eldorado’s repeat run set having concluded on Wednesday (May 14).

‘Los Barcos, I’m gonna miss you,’ wrote James on X, formerly known as Twitter, referring to the overhauled era of the classic soap as ‘f***ing fantastic television’.

Eldorado came to an end in 1993 after just one year on air (Picture: Shutterstock)

‘I shall be gutted when it’s over,’ said another. ‘It’s a real shame it wasn’t given more of a chance when the new team came in,’ said Emmett. ‘I genuinely love it.

This latest run of Eldorado was thought to be the first in over two decades, with UKTV Gold having previously re-aired the series in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

A selection of episodes were made available on BritBox in 2021.

Since Eldorado returned to screens in January, fans have made it quite clear that they’ve enjoyed having the opportunity to re-visit the short-lived gem.

‘#Eldorado continues to deliver absolute camp’ said a viewer on X at the time.

Another added: ‘Enjoying the repeats of Eldorado. I mean I can’t hear it half the time but at least I can blame those Spanish acoustics and not my age.’

‘Thoroughly enjoyed the first episodes of #Eldorado being repeated yesterday’ added another.

Eldorado can now be streamed in its entirety on UKTV Play.

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