Mateo Castellanos
| Mateo Castellanos | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Benidorm character | |||||||||
| Portrayed by | Jake Canuso | ||||||||
| Duration | 2007–2018 | ||||||||
| First appearance | 1 February 2007 | ||||||||
| Last appearance | 2 May 2018 | ||||||||
| Introduced by | Derren Litten | ||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||
| Occupation |
Barman (2006–2015, 2016–) Bar manager (2015–2016) | ||||||||
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Mateo Castellanos is a fictional character from the British ITV sitcom, Benidorm. Portrayed by Swiss actor Jake Canuso, the character made his debut in the programme's first episode airing on 1 February 2007. He is the longest-serving character alongside Jacqueline Stewart and is also the only character to appear in all 74 episodes.
Storylines
Mateo takes an interest in holiday guest Kate Weedon (Abigail Cruttenden), despite being married, despite being engaged to Kelly. He and Kate sleep together, and when Kelly finds out, she is left distraught and she leaves Mateo. The following year, when Kate returns, Mateo flirts with her again, forgetting what had happened the previous year. He and Kate's husband Martin (Nicholas Burns) have an arm wrestling match, in which Martin is determined to win to get revenge on Mateo for sleeping with Kate. Mateo later goes on to attempt to win Kelly back, but Kelly's mother Sylvia (Wendy Richard), who takes a disliking to Mateo, is in town, who does not take fools gladly.
Mateo helps Mel Harvey (Geoffrey Hutchings) arrange a meeting with the owner of Peacock Island. He tells Noreen Maltby (Elsie Kelly) that her son is gay. Martin's new travel friend Brandy (Sheridan Smith) catches Mateo's eye, and she seduces Mateo and steals his pass key.
Mateo's former lover, Natalie Jones (Kathryn Drysdale), returns, however, her friend Sam Wood (Shelley Longworth) is determined to prevent them from dating. A traveller named Donald has a heart attack in one of Mateo's aerobic sessions and also loses his job until his colleague and friend Les Conroy (Tim Healy) saves his job. In return, Mateo offers to go on a double date with Les; however, Matteo is arrested when a policeman believes he is a prostitute, as he is a cross-dresser. Sam discovers that Mateo is married to a woman named Daria and that he has three children.
Upon the arrival of new manageress Joyce Temple-Savage (Sherrie Hewson), Mateo takes a disliking to her, as she tries to have the Solana upgraded to a four-star hotel. Mateo teaches Les' son Liam (Adam Gillen) chat up and flirt with women, as part of a favour to Les from the previous year. Mateo becomes a lifeguard, and saves Trudy (Michelle Butterfly) from drowning.
Development
Canuso made the decision to leave the programme in late 2014, with the character departing at the end of the seventh series.[1] However, Canuso announced his return ahead of series 8, returning at the end of the first episode of the eighth series.[2] In February 2016, it was announced that Canuso would be returning for the ninth series of Benidorm in 2017.[3] In March 2017, it was confirmed that Canuso has signed a new one-year contract with the programme, keeping him with the show until the end of the tenth series in 2018.[4]
References
- ↑ "Benidorm - Series 7, Episode 7". ITV Press Centre. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
- ↑ "Benidorm - Episode Guide - TV.com". TV Guide. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
- ↑ James Parkes. "'Benidorm' comes back". Costa News. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
- ↑ Jeffries, Mark (2 March 2017). "Benidorm series 10 confirmed - with 3 regulars leaving but 4 big names joining the show". The Daily Mirror. Retrieved 12 April 2017.