Eldorado was a British soap opera that ran for only one year, from 6 July 1992 to 9 July 1993. Set in the fictional town of Los Barcos on the Costa del Sol in Spain and based around the lives of British and European expats, the BBC hoped it would be as successful as EastEnders and replicate some of the sunshine and glamour of imported Australian soaps such as Home and Away and Neighbours. A co-production between the BBC and independent production company Cinema Verity, Eldorado aired three times a week in a high-profile evening slot on the mainstream channel BBC1, filling the slot vacated by Terry Wogan's chat show Wogan, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7.00pm. In spite of a high-profile advertising campaign on television, radio and in the press preceding the launch, the programme was not initially a popular hit with viewers and critics. Ratings improved with a radical overhaul, but it was eventually cancelled by the new controller of BBC1, Alan Yentob.
Roland Curram was an actor and novelist. His most famous credits include Julie Christie's travelling companion in her Oscar-winning film Darling and expatriate Freddie in the BBC soap opera Eldorado. He was married from 1964 until 1985 to the actress Sheila Gish, with whom he had two daughters, the actors Lou Gish (1967–2006) and Kay Curram (b. 1974). Curram came out as gay in the early 1990s, ahead of his role as Freddie, a gay man who had previously been married and had a daughter. Curram left acting in the early 00s to commence a second career as an author with novels such as The Problem with Happiness, Mother Loved Funerals, Man on the Beach, and his memoir, Which Way to Love? He died, aged 93, in 2025.
By browsing this website, you accept our cookies policy.