Meet the cast of Benidorm series 9

Sherrie Hewson – Joyce Temple-Savage

Sherrie Hewson joined Benidorm as the aspirational "manageress" of the Solana in 2012, replacing Janey York (Crissy Rock), and settled nicely despite a mishap with the Botox. She doesn't always have an easy relationship with her boss Crystal Hennessy-Vass (Joan Collins), who even fired her and brought Janey back in series seven. But when Janey took a job at another hotel, Joyce returned to the Solana – where she has been ever since.

The actress was a long-time Loose Women panelist, but stepped down last year. She has also starred in Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Crossroads.

Jake Canuso – Mateo Castellanos

Benidorm may be set in Spain, but Mateo is its only regular Spanish character. He looks after the pool bar at the hotel, and is a rude and arrogant serial womaniser who has a tendency to antagonise people.

Jake Canuso himself is actually Swiss. He's the joint longest serving actor in the entire Benidorm cast (alongside Jacqueline actress Janine Duvitski) and has also been in Shameless, The Hour and Bad Education.

Johnny Vegas – Geoff Maltby

We first met Geoff Maltby in series one. He was introduced as "The Oracle", a man with an irritating knowledge of trivia who claims to be Lancashire's pub quiz champion. He's ultra-competitive, and comes on holiday with his mother Noreen. They have returned sporadically to the resort.

Johnny Vegas is a comic actor and comedian who makes regular TV appearances and has also appeared in Still Open All Hours, Ideal and Sunday Brunch.

Elsie Kelly – Noreen Maltby

Geoff's mum Noreen has also introduced her daughter Pauline to the resort. She is played by 80-year-old actress Elsie Kelly, who previously starried in the soap Crossroads.

Tim Healy – Les/Lesley Conroy

Les/Lesley is a transvestite who works at the Solana. He first appeared when Geoff arranged a date with him, believing him to be a woman, and now mainly serves at the bar (often dressed as Lesley). He has a son, Liam.

Tim Healy has also starred in Still Open All Hours, as well as Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. He was previously married to Loose Women star Denise Welch, though the two divorced in 2012. Unfortunately Healy fell ill while filming, and so had to be written out of the upcoming series: he'll appear, but not in all the episodes.