Echo Beach (soap)
Encyclopedia
Echo Beach was a short-lived British
teen-drama series that aired on ITV
in 2008. Set in the fictional Cornish
coastal town of Polnarren, it ran for twelve weekly episodes from 10 January to 21 March 2008. The show was created by Tony Jordan
and produced by Kudos
for ITV
.
Echo Beach was inter-linked with a show named Moving Wallpaper
, a comedy-drama
set in the fictional production offices of Echo Beach. Echo Beach was shown immediately after Moving Wallpaper in the schedule, with Moving Wallpaper airing at 9 pm on Fridays and Echo Beach airing at 9.30 pm. Although initially intended to be shown on ITV2
, straight after Moving Wallpaper on ITV, the decision was made to have both on ITV.
The theme song was a cover of Martha and the Muffins
' "Echo Beach
" by Gabriella Cilmi
.
According to the parallel Moving Wallpaper storyline, the soap was originally titled Polnarren, and was intended to be a worthy drama about social issues in Cornwall. The show was then "sexed up", and its name changed to Echo Beach, by new producer Jonathan Pope (played by Ben Miller
).
In Australia
, season one of Echo Beach aired back-to-back with Moving Wallpaper on ABC2
each Friday from 8:30pm, 30 May 2008. Both programs were later repeated on the higher-rated ABC1
channel a year later from 6 May 2009 starting on Wednesday nights. Yet, this time, Echo Beach was separated from its sister program and placed in an early Saturday evening timeslot three days later each week.
) and her ex-lover Daniel Marrack (Jason Donovan
), who after a long absence, and following the death of his wife, returns to Polnarren to run a beachfront cafe and surf shop with his daughter Abi (Hannah Lederer-Alton
) and son Brae (Christian Cooke
).
An old feud between Daniel and Susan's manipulative husband Mark (Hugo Speer
) flares up, while Susan's and Mark's son Jimmy (Ed Speleers) becomes involved with Abi. Jimmy overhears a conversation suggesting that he might be Daniel's son, not Mark's, making his relationship with Abi incestuous. A shocked Jimmy breaks up with Abi, leaving her to have drunken and regretted sex with his friend Charlie (Jonathan Readwin). A blood test later proves the paternity claim to be false, allowing Jimmy to make amends with Abi, who keeps secret the details of the night she spent with Charlie.
Meanwhile, as Susan and Daniel try to control their feelings for each other, Mark starts an affair with a scheming romantic fiction writer, Angela Cole (Susie Amy
), who has previously struck up a false friendship with Susan. When Susan finds out about Mark's infidelity she walks out into the arms of Daniel.
Various subplots supplement the main storylines. Narinder Gurai (Chandeep Uppal
) is a terminally ill barmaid who escaped to Polnarren to live out her final days in peace. She is perpetually trying to ensnare Charlie, though Charlie is too dim to realise this. Ivy Trehearne (Gwyneth Powell
), the rustic landlady of the local pub, has a soft spot for fellow rustic Fin Morgan (Johnny Briggs
), a down-on-his-luck caravan park operator who is also Charlie's grandfather. Jackie Hughes (Naomi Ryan
) and Ian Brenton (Marcus Patric
) are a local couple who work at Fin's caravan park before a disastrous fire, accidentally started by Jimmy's younger sister Grace (Laura Greenwood
), forces it to close. Jackie goes on to work in Daniel's cafe, and becomes the subject of romantic attentions from a brooding Brae, while Ian is himself the subject of attentions from Grace.
In the final episode of series 1, Charlie and Narinda finally get together, Jimmy and Abi fall out when Jimmy learns of Abi's one-night stand with Charlie, Ian and Jackie prepare for their wedding, and, in a confrontation on board Mark's pleasure boat, Mark forces Susan to tell Daniel that she had, many years earlier, miscarried his child. A fight between Mark and Daniel ensues, during which both fall into the sea, their fate hanging in the balance.
Actors from Echo Beach sometimes cross over into the sister show, Moving Wallpaper; see Moving Wallpaper: Cast.
and Polperro
on Cornwall's south coast; long panoramic beach shots (and surfers) are of Watergate Bay
, one of Cornwall's most popular surfing destinations, on the north coast; the large, almost mansion-sized, house on the hillside shots are also in Polperro.
There are inconsistencies with props, locations and dialect in Echo Beach: the surfboards don't have surfboard wax
on them; and the fictional Cornish characters do not sound convincingly Cornish.
Comments from some reviewers, as well as from viewers on discussion forums, indicated a degree of confusion about whether Echo Beach was intended to be a satirical send-up of lame soap operas or a bona fide dramatic offering. The Daily Mirror described the show as "not bad enough to be funny". The Sunday Mirror thought: "Strikingly bad acting, drearily predictable plot lines [...] Echo Beach is just like a normal soap. But there's a difference. This one is supposed to be rubbish. Or at least I think it is."
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
teen-drama series that aired on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
in 2008. Set in the fictional Cornish
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
coastal town of Polnarren, it ran for twelve weekly episodes from 10 January to 21 March 2008. The show was created by Tony Jordan
Tony Jordan
Tony Jordan is a British television writer. He was listed as the number 1 television screen writer in the UK by Broadcast magazine and among British Broadcastings Top 20 in The Stage ., He currently resides in Hertfordshire, UK.For many years, he was lead writer and series consultant for BBC One...
and produced by Kudos
Kudos (production company)
Kudos Film and Television is a British independent film and television production company. It has produced television series for the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, and its productions include Spooks , Hustle, Life on Mars and its spin-off Ashes to Ashes, The Amazing Mrs Pritchard and M.I. High...
for ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
.
Echo Beach was inter-linked with a show named Moving Wallpaper
Moving Wallpaper
Moving Wallpaper was a British satirical comedy-drama television series set in a TV production unit. It ran on ITV for two series in 2008–2009. The subject of the first series was the production of a soap called Echo Beach, each episode of which aired directly after the Moving Wallpaper episode...
, a comedy-drama
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
set in the fictional production offices of Echo Beach. Echo Beach was shown immediately after Moving Wallpaper in the schedule, with Moving Wallpaper airing at 9 pm on Fridays and Echo Beach airing at 9.30 pm. Although initially intended to be shown on ITV2
ITV2
ITV2 is a 24 hour, free-to-air entertainment television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998, and is available on digital television via satellite, cable, IPTV and terrestrial platforms. The channel has the...
, straight after Moving Wallpaper on ITV, the decision was made to have both on ITV.
The theme song was a cover of Martha and the Muffins
Martha and the Muffins
Martha and the Muffins are a Canadian new wave band, active from 1977 to the present. Although they only had one major international hit single under their original band name, they had a number of hits in their native Canada, and the core members of the band also charted in Canada and...
' "Echo Beach
Echo Beach
"Echo Beach" is a song recorded by the Canadian group Martha and the Muffins in 1979. It was released as a single from their album Metro Music in 1980 and won the Juno Award for Single of the Year. It was certified gold in Canada on October 1, 1980, a month after Metro Music achieved gold status...
" by Gabriella Cilmi
Gabriella Cilmi
Gabriella Lucia Cilmi is an Australian singer-songwriter. In 2008, Cilmi was awarded six ARIA awards including Single of the Year and Best Female Artist....
.
According to the parallel Moving Wallpaper storyline, the soap was originally titled Polnarren, and was intended to be a worthy drama about social issues in Cornwall. The show was then "sexed up", and its name changed to Echo Beach, by new producer Jonathan Pope (played by Ben Miller
Ben Miller
Bennet Evan "Ben" Miller is an English comedian, actor and director. He is perhaps best known as one half of comedy double act Armstrong and Miller, along with Alexander Armstrong. Together the pair wrote and starred in Channel 4 sketch show Armstrong and Miller, and the more recent BBC television...
).
In Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, season one of Echo Beach aired back-to-back with Moving Wallpaper on ABC2
ABC2
ABC2 is a national public television channel in Australia. Launched on 7 March 2005, it is the responsibility of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television division, and is available nationally to digital television viewers in Australia...
each Friday from 8:30pm, 30 May 2008. Both programs were later repeated on the higher-rated ABC1
ABC1
ABC1 was a United Kingdom based television channel from Disney using the branding of the Disney owned American network, ABC.The channel initially launched exclusively on the British digital terrestrial television platform Freeview on 27 September 2004. On 10 December 2004 it was launched on...
channel a year later from 6 May 2009 starting on Wednesday nights. Yet, this time, Echo Beach was separated from its sister program and placed in an early Saturday evening timeslot three days later each week.
Plot summary
The soap is centred around Susan Penwarden (played by Martine McCutcheonMartine McCutcheon
Martine McCutcheon is an English singer, television personality and Laurence Olivier Award-winning actress. McCutcheon had minor success as one third of the pop group Milan in the early 1990s; however, it was her role as Tiffany Mitchell in BBC's EastEnders that made her a household name in the UK...
) and her ex-lover Daniel Marrack (Jason Donovan
Jason Donovan
Jason Donovan is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap opera Neighbours, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 million records, and his début album Ten Good Reasons was one of the highest-selling albums of 1989...
), who after a long absence, and following the death of his wife, returns to Polnarren to run a beachfront cafe and surf shop with his daughter Abi (Hannah Lederer-Alton
Hannah Lederer-Alton
Hannah Lederer-Alton is a British actress and model who started her TV career in ITV's soap Echo Beach as character Abi Marrack. During this show she appeared in a topless scene. She also appeared on an episode of MTV's My Super Sweet 16: UK...
) and son Brae (Christian Cooke
Christian Cooke
Christian Louis Cooke is an English actor, known for playing Luke Kirkwall in Where the Heart Is, Luke Rutherford in Demons, Dorian Gaudain in Trinity, Freddie in Cemetery Junction and Len Matthews in the Channel 4 mini series The Promise.-Background:Cooke was born in Leeds, West Yorkshire, where...
).
An old feud between Daniel and Susan's manipulative husband Mark (Hugo Speer
Hugo Speer
Hugo Speer is an English actor.He was born in Harrogate, Yorkshire, and educated at Harrogate Grammar School. He studied acting at The Arts Educational School....
) flares up, while Susan's and Mark's son Jimmy (Ed Speleers) becomes involved with Abi. Jimmy overhears a conversation suggesting that he might be Daniel's son, not Mark's, making his relationship with Abi incestuous. A shocked Jimmy breaks up with Abi, leaving her to have drunken and regretted sex with his friend Charlie (Jonathan Readwin). A blood test later proves the paternity claim to be false, allowing Jimmy to make amends with Abi, who keeps secret the details of the night she spent with Charlie.
Meanwhile, as Susan and Daniel try to control their feelings for each other, Mark starts an affair with a scheming romantic fiction writer, Angela Cole (Susie Amy
Susie Amy
Susie Amy is an English model and actress most famous for her role as Chardonnay Lane-Pascoe in the first two series of Footballers' Wives.-Biography:...
), who has previously struck up a false friendship with Susan. When Susan finds out about Mark's infidelity she walks out into the arms of Daniel.
Various subplots supplement the main storylines. Narinder Gurai (Chandeep Uppal
Chandeep Uppal
Chandeep Uppal is a British actress best known for her critically acclaimed starring role as Meena Kumar in the film Anita and Me.-Career:...
) is a terminally ill barmaid who escaped to Polnarren to live out her final days in peace. She is perpetually trying to ensnare Charlie, though Charlie is too dim to realise this. Ivy Trehearne (Gwyneth Powell
Gwyneth Powell
Gwyneth Powell is an English actress who is most known for her portrayal of headmistress Bridget McCluskey in the BBC television series Grange Hill for eleven series between 1981 and 1991.-Career:...
), the rustic landlady of the local pub, has a soft spot for fellow rustic Fin Morgan (Johnny Briggs
Johnny Briggs (actor)
Johnny Briggs, MBE is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Mike Baldwin in the soap opera Coronation Street, in which he appeared from 1976 to 2006...
), a down-on-his-luck caravan park operator who is also Charlie's grandfather. Jackie Hughes (Naomi Ryan
Naomi Ryan
Naomi Ryan is a British actress who has appeared in Dream Team as Ashleigh King, Mile High as Lehann Evans and Coronation Street where she played Underworld factory worker Bobbi Lewis.-Naomi Russell:...
) and Ian Brenton (Marcus Patric
Marcus Patric
Marcus Patric is an English actor, possibly best known for the role of Ben Davies in the British soap opera Hollyoaks and its spin-offs Hollyoaks: Let Loose and Hollyoaks: In the City, which he won after entering the televised open-audition "Hollyoaks: On The Pull".-Filmography:*2000 - 2005...
) are a local couple who work at Fin's caravan park before a disastrous fire, accidentally started by Jimmy's younger sister Grace (Laura Greenwood
Laura Greenwood
Laura Greenwood is an English actress and a member of the YoungBlood Theatre Company in 2006.Greenwood's big breakthrough came in 2006 when at age 14 she starred as Penny Philips opposite Helen Mirren in Prime Suspect The Final Act, the two-part conclusion to ITV's long-running series...
), forces it to close. Jackie goes on to work in Daniel's cafe, and becomes the subject of romantic attentions from a brooding Brae, while Ian is himself the subject of attentions from Grace.
In the final episode of series 1, Charlie and Narinda finally get together, Jimmy and Abi fall out when Jimmy learns of Abi's one-night stand with Charlie, Ian and Jackie prepare for their wedding, and, in a confrontation on board Mark's pleasure boat, Mark forces Susan to tell Daniel that she had, many years earlier, miscarried his child. A fight between Mark and Daniel ensues, during which both fall into the sea, their fate hanging in the balance.
Cast
| Actor | Character |
|---|---|
| Martine McCutcheon Martine McCutcheon Martine McCutcheon is an English singer, television personality and Laurence Olivier Award-winning actress. McCutcheon had minor success as one third of the pop group Milan in the early 1990s; however, it was her role as Tiffany Mitchell in BBC's EastEnders that made her a household name in the UK... |
Susan Penwarden |
| Jason Donovan Jason Donovan Jason Donovan is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap opera Neighbours, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 million records, and his début album Ten Good Reasons was one of the highest-selling albums of 1989... |
Daniel Marrack |
| Hugo Speer Hugo Speer Hugo Speer is an English actor.He was born in Harrogate, Yorkshire, and educated at Harrogate Grammar School. He studied acting at The Arts Educational School.... |
Mark Penwarden |
| Hannah Lederer-Alton Hannah Lederer-Alton Hannah Lederer-Alton is a British actress and model who started her TV career in ITV's soap Echo Beach as character Abi Marrack. During this show she appeared in a topless scene. She also appeared on an episode of MTV's My Super Sweet 16: UK... |
Abi Marrack |
| Christian Cooke Christian Cooke Christian Louis Cooke is an English actor, known for playing Luke Kirkwall in Where the Heart Is, Luke Rutherford in Demons, Dorian Gaudain in Trinity, Freddie in Cemetery Junction and Len Matthews in the Channel 4 mini series The Promise.-Background:Cooke was born in Leeds, West Yorkshire, where... |
Brae Marrack |
| Ed Speleers | Jimmy Penwarden |
| Laura Greenwood Laura Greenwood Laura Greenwood is an English actress and a member of the YoungBlood Theatre Company in 2006.Greenwood's big breakthrough came in 2006 when at age 14 she starred as Penny Philips opposite Helen Mirren in Prime Suspect The Final Act, the two-part conclusion to ITV's long-running series... |
Grace Penwarden |
| Chandeep Uppal Chandeep Uppal Chandeep Uppal is a British actress best known for her critically acclaimed starring role as Meena Kumar in the film Anita and Me.-Career:... |
Narinder Gurai |
| Jonathan Readwin | Charlie Morgan |
| Naomi Ryan Naomi Ryan Naomi Ryan is a British actress who has appeared in Dream Team as Ashleigh King, Mile High as Lehann Evans and Coronation Street where she played Underworld factory worker Bobbi Lewis.-Naomi Russell:... |
Jackie Hughes |
| Marcus Patric Marcus Patric Marcus Patric is an English actor, possibly best known for the role of Ben Davies in the British soap opera Hollyoaks and its spin-offs Hollyoaks: Let Loose and Hollyoaks: In the City, which he won after entering the televised open-audition "Hollyoaks: On The Pull".-Filmography:*2000 - 2005... |
Ian Brenton |
| Susie Amy Susie Amy Susie Amy is an English model and actress most famous for her role as Chardonnay Lane-Pascoe in the first two series of Footballers' Wives.-Biography:... |
Angela Cole |
| Gwyneth Powell Gwyneth Powell Gwyneth Powell is an English actress who is most known for her portrayal of headmistress Bridget McCluskey in the BBC television series Grange Hill for eleven series between 1981 and 1991.-Career:... |
Ivy Trehearne |
| Johnny Briggs Johnny Briggs (actor) Johnny Briggs, MBE is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Mike Baldwin in the soap opera Coronation Street, in which he appeared from 1976 to 2006... |
Fin Morgan |
Actors from Echo Beach sometimes cross over into the sister show, Moving Wallpaper; see Moving Wallpaper: Cast.
Filming locations
External filmed scenes are: quay/harbours of LooeLooe
Looe is a small coastal town, fishing port and civil parish in the former Caradon district of south-east Cornwall, England, with a population of 5,280 . Looe is divided in two by the River Looe, East Looe and West Looe being connected by a bridge...
and Polperro
Polperro
Polperro is a village and fishing harbour on the south-east Cornwall coast in South West England, UK, within the civil parish of Lansallos. Situated on the River Pol, 4 miles west of the neighbouring town of Looe and west of the major city and naval port of Plymouth, it is well-known for...
on Cornwall's south coast; long panoramic beach shots (and surfers) are of Watergate Bay
Watergate Bay
Watergate Bay is a bay located two miles north of Newquay on the B3276 Newquay to Padstow road near the village of Tregurrian in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It faces the Atlantic Ocean....
, one of Cornwall's most popular surfing destinations, on the north coast; the large, almost mansion-sized, house on the hillside shots are also in Polperro.
There are inconsistencies with props, locations and dialect in Echo Beach: the surfboards don't have surfboard wax
Surfboard wax
Surfboard wax is a formulation of natural and/or synthetic wax for application to the deck of a surfboard, bodyboard, or skimboard, to keep the surfer from slipping off the board when paddling out or riding a wave...
on them; and the fictional Cornish characters do not sound convincingly Cornish.
Cancellation
A second series of Moving Wallpaper was commissioned and began airing on ITV on 27 February 2009. It was originally reported that Echo Beach would "most probably return, but not necessarily as it is now". However, in July 2008 it was confirmed that Echo Beach had in fact been cancelled. Series two of Moving Wallpaper instead focuses on the production of a "zombie" show called Renaissance.Reception
The first episode of Echo Beach attracted 5 million viewers on average with a 21% audience share, easily winning the timeslot. The ratings later dropped to just 2.8 million and a 12% share. On Friday 15th Feb 2008, Echo Beach gained only 1.9 million viewers with an audience share of 8%, while a repeat of crime drama New Tricks attracted 4.7 million viewers for BBC One. Viewing figures then rallied slightly, to 2.3m.Comments from some reviewers, as well as from viewers on discussion forums, indicated a degree of confusion about whether Echo Beach was intended to be a satirical send-up of lame soap operas or a bona fide dramatic offering. The Daily Mirror described the show as "not bad enough to be funny". The Sunday Mirror thought: "Strikingly bad acting, drearily predictable plot lines [...] Echo Beach is just like a normal soap. But there's a difference. This one is supposed to be rubbish. Or at least I think it is."
DVD release
| Season | Ep | Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 12 | - | 24 March 2008 | 4 June 2009 |
| Echo Beach: Season 1/Moving Wallpaper: Season 1 | 24 | - | 24 March 2008 | - |