IBIZA SHOCKS
Netflix murder mystery White Lines reveals seedy side of Ibiza full of drugs and sex parties
IT is the fast-paced murder mystery set to become the TV hit of the summer — while lifting the lid on the seedy side of party capital Ibiza.
Viewers of the 10-part White Lines will see a debauched sex party and bungled drug dealing, lifting the lid on real-life activities that are usually hidden.
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In the first episode, which is available to stream on Netflix from tomorrow night, Corrie’s Angela Griffin oversees a high-end bisexual orgy where masked guests are given lines of cocaine on silver platters.
And Daniel Mays, from Line Of Duty, plays a drug dealer who tries to destroy evidence of his cocaine stash on orders from his gangland boss.
He stuffs it into an inflatable banana which splits, leaving powder strewn across the grass which his dog laps up before collapsing.
But how accurate is the series’ frequently hilarious cocktail of all-night superclubs, luxury yachts cruising through crystal-clear waters and multi-million-pound pleasure palaces?
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Actor Tamer Hassan, 52, who lived and partied hard on the white isle for years, says the depiction is bang on.
The Game Of Thrones hardman says: “Everyone does what they want in Ibiza. There are no rules.
“Where there is money, sex and glamour you will always find a villainous aspect.
“They go hand in hand.
“It is the only place in the world where you could shoot a TV show like this because there really is that underbelly, that flip side to all the fun and excitement.”
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Produced by the creators of The Crown, White Lines swings from flashbacks of the Manchester rave scene in the Nineties to the sun-drenched Balearic beaches of today.
The action centres on former librarian Zoe — played by Guardians Of The Galaxy actress Laura Haddock — who embarks on a wild adventure as she tries to discover who killed her brother Axel 20 years earlier.
She wants to know how her DJ sibling, who quit rainy Manchester with dreams of becoming a star, could have been caught up in the island’s sinister underworld.
Retracing his steps, Zoe discovers Axel and his childhood pals had been up for pretty much anything that came their way after landing in Ibiza as teenagers.
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It emerges there were dozens of people on the island who all had their own reasons to kill him.
And Zoe is soon smuggling seven kilos of cocaine in the boot of a stolen car and taking ecstasy in a bid to understand her brother’s links to the wealthy family who appear to control the island’s nightlife.
Laura says of the series, which also stars Tallulah Evans: “It’s mad, entertaining and super high-octane but it’s also rooted in emotional truth.
“It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”
Daniel Mays plays Axel’s best mate Marcus.
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He becomes a drug dealer to make extra cash in a bid to win back his glamorous ex-wife Anna, played by Angela Griffin, who is now a ringmaster of high-class sex parties.
Daniel says: “Marcus is probably the best comedic/tragic character I’ve ever taken on.
“Everyone’s got that dream of Ibiza.
“You’ve either been or you want to go, because it’s kind of got this mystical quality to it.
“White Lines is without a doubt one of the best, most imaginative, brilliantly bonkers scripts I’ve ever had a chance to work on.
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“In a way, it is the perfect show to release in a global pandemic, because if you want your Ibiza fix then this is the show for you.”
The bungled drug dealing depicted in the drama, which here appears to be condoned behind the scenes by the authorities, has echoes of the many real-life cases which have plagued the party island for many years.
In 2017 five Brits were caught up in a major sting which saw Spanish cops seize a massive drug haul including more than 30,000 ecstasy pills from a house in the resort of San Antonio.
Two years earlier, Royal Marine Charles Hendrie and his girlfriend Leah Parkes befriended big-time dealers on the island and were jailed for 27 years after being caught with a stash of MDMA worth £1million.
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And in 2010 police swooped on 20 British gang members who were pedalling drugs in bars and clubs.
Music fans will love the show’s soundtrack, which features classic hits from Happy Mondays, The Prodigy and Primal Scream as well as newer artists including Mabel and M83.
Controversial actor Laurence Fox makes his first on-screen appearance since his rant on Question Time earlier this year, playing a new-age guru.
In her quest for the truth, Laura discovers that a steady stream of illegal substances fuel outrageous all-night parties and orgies.
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And in real life, these really do take place every summer.
As well as the nightclubs which have made Ibiza a mecca for party animals, it is the debauched secret parties which are often the scenes of the wildest excesses.
Hidden away from prying eyes in discreet luxury villas, these private parties usually do not even begin until the clubs have closed their doors at dawn.
Actor Tamer, 52, admitted that was par for the course in the party isle’s heyday.
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He says: “I used to go to Ibiza in the Eighties and early Nineties when I was a single man, and I’ve seen it all in those villas.
“That’s where people really let loose. Anything goes, and you see things you would never normally see in real life.
"There are no locks on the doors, so if you’re easily offended, then it’s not for you.”
Tamer, whose daughter Belle appeared on Love Island last year, explained that visitors to Ibiza often find themselves sucked into an unfamiliar world, just as Laura does.
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He says: “There’s something about the magical energy of the island that makes it the place to be.
"Unlike everywhere else in the world, there is no hierarchy and no judgement.
“You find the most amazing, beautiful, eccentric characters.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor, Madonna, Robert De Niro, a TOWIE star or some geezer with a few quid in his pocket, everyone is treated equally and what happens there, stays there.”
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For many years Tamer partied with Tony Pike, the ultimate Ibiza hedonist, who threw legendary three-day parties where guests would be offered trays of drugs, and partygoers reportedly sprinkled cocaine on their cornflakes instead of sugar.
The close bond Tamer forged with Tony lasted until the end.
Even in his eighties, Tony and him shared wild times, such as the night the resort owner jumped off the hotel roof into the pool with the pop band Kaiser Chiefs.
Tamer, who is lined up to play his old pal in an upcoming biopic, recalled: “It didn’t matter if he already had a bird sitting next to him.
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“He would skip over and say what he needed to keep him alive was a line of gear, a Viagra, some whisky and two blondes.
“He’d throw the blue tablet in the air and knock it back with a shot of whisky. The easiest thing to find was always the two blondes.”
And a generation later, it seems Ibiza, the ultimate hedonists’ hang-out, is still as crazy as ever.
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