The abandoned set of doomed BBC soap Eldorado has become a ghost town 24 years after the show was axed
The Spanish soap -which aired on BBC One as a sunny version of EastEnders - was axed by the corporation after just 156 episodes when the expensive show failed to produce high enough ratings
THE set of Eldorado has been left as a ghost town a quarter of a century on.
The Spanish-set soap - which aired on BBC One for a year in the 90s- had a purpose-built £10million pound set on the sunny Costa Del Sol, but the glam location has been left to rot after the show came to an end 24 years ago.
With EastEnders at its height, the BBC decided to expand their soap brand by ploughing millions into the show that attracted huge audiences when it launched.
Fans across the UK were obsessed with the adventures of the ex-pats living in Los Barcos.
Unfortunately for fans of the short-lived show, its beloved set has been left to fall into a ghost town.
Actress Polly Perkins, known to viewers as Trish Valentine, recently revisited the town and lamented how it had fallen into ruins.
"It could do with a lick of paint this place," she told the BBC.
"If I'd have been here it would've been done by now. It's been let to go to rack and ruin, I think it's a terrible shame. What a waste."
She added: "It's not like it's just scenery, these are real homes."
The show launched to huge fanfare in 1992 to huge ratings, but in less than a few months ratings had plunged to just 10 million a night, which then was a sign of failure.
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It was beset by problems including viewers blasting the inexperienced actors, far-fetched and seedy storylines with middle-aged men running off with 17-year-old girls, and the show's boss was reported to have suffered a nervous breakdown during the show.
Replacements were drafted in and despite a small improvement in ratings and quality, the show was dropped from schedules.
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