Derren Ronald Litten (born 21 December 1970) is an English comedy writer, actor and director, best known as the creator and writer of the sitcom Benidorm.[1] He co-wrote The Catherine Tate Show, in which he plays several characters in the first two series and the 2005 Christmas special. He has acted in many TV comedy and drama series including Perfect World, French and Saunders, Spaced, EastEnders, Coronation Street, and Pie in the Sky with Richard Griffiths.
Litten's first sitcom was Benidorm, which began airing on ITV in 2007. The series follows various groups of holiday makers and staff in the all-inclusive Solana resort located in Benidorm. The series received strong ratings and later extended its runtime, running for 10 series ending in 2018.
Litten worked as a jobbing actor for 10 years appearing in shows such as Green Wing, Pie in the Sky, Spaced, French & Saunders, Doc Martin, EastEnders, Casualty and Perfect World but it was not until 2003 when Tate asked Litten to write sketches for her TV show. Litten agreed despite having no experience in script writing. In 2004, Litten was nominated for a BAFTA Craft award in the category of Best New Writer.
In 2000, he appeared in an episode of Heartbeat (series 10, episode 1). After two series and a Christmas Special (2005) writing for and appearing in The Catherine Tate Show, Litten met writer John Sullivan who asked if he would be interested in contributing to his Only Fools & Horses spin off The Green Green Grass. Litten wrote one episode and co-wrote another with Sullivan.
2006–2018
In 2006, Litten penned his own comedy for ITV based in a Spanish all-inclusive holiday resort. Benidorm turned out to be a ratings hit for ITV and was also won for a BAFTA in the category of Situation Comedy. From series 3 onwards the half-hour sitcom was turned into an hour-long show. In October 2011, Constable & Robinson published Litten's book to accompany the series, The Benidorm Guide to A Happy Holiday. Benidorm has won numerous awards including seven National Television Awards.
In 2012, a one-off sketch was produced for Sport Relief featuring the Benidorm cast. The sketch involved several of the characters singing on Britain's Got Talent. In January 2013, Sky Living announced its new sitcom The Spa, written and created by Litten and starring Rebecca Front, would air from 7 February 2013. In this series, Litten also plays a regular character, Marcus, an overweight fitness instructor who uses a wheelchair.
In 2016, Litten wrote the script for the pilot episode for the remake of Are You Being Served?[2][3] The remake starred Jason Watkins, Sherrie Hewson, Roy Barraclough and Justin Edwards.[4][5] Although Litten was preparing for a whole series, the BBC cancelled the revival after the first episode aired.
2019–present
Litten wrote and directed the sitcom Scarborough for the BBC. It started airing in September 2019. It was poorly received by critics,[6] and cancelled after one series.[7]
In 2020, following information that Scarborough had been axed by the BBC, Litten embarked on a new career, purchasing a bar in Benidorm.[8] The bar opened in July 2020 and is named Mateo's Bar after a character in the show. The venue features real-life props from the set of Benidorm, and guest appearances from cast members from the show. In September 2020, due to enforced quarantine rules from COVID-19, Mateo's was temporarily closed.[9]
Personal life
Litten is gay. When he came out to his parents, his father said, "I don't understand what you've chosen to be but promise me one thing, you'll never bring any of your friends around here."[10]
