''Edge of Heaven'' is a British

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

centred on a 1980s-themed guest house in

Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...

. The show is produced by

Hartswood Films Hartswood Films is a British television production company founded by Beryl Vertue in 1979. They have also produced dramas such as ''Jekyll'', as well as documentaries, and the 1990s ITV/BBC sitcom ''Men Behaving Badly''. In 2009, Hartswood opene ...

for ITV and began airing on 21 February 2014 for six episodes. In March and April it was repeated on Thursday nights. On 5 May 2014 it was confirmed that, due to disappointing ratings, ITV would not be commissioning a second series of the sitcom. Talking to local media, executive producer

Beryl Vertue Beryl Frances Vertue (''née'' Johnson; 8 April 1931 – 12 February 2022) was an English television producer, media executive, and agent. She was founder and chairman of the independent television production company Hartswood Films. Early lif ...

said: "We had a very tough programming slot and were up against popular shows such as Sport’s Relief on the BBC. We had such a great time making the show and the sad thing is everyone at ITV loved it but unfortunately the ratings meant we couldn’t continue for a second series."

Overview

The show is centred on Edge of Heaven, a 1980s-themed

bed and breakfast A bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. In addition, a B&B sometimes has the hosts living in the house. ''Bed and breakfast'' is also used to ...

. Alfie is jilted at the altar by his fiancée Carly. His family and friends try to help Alfie deal with the aftermath and emotions.

Cast and characters

These are main and recurring cast and characters in ''Edge of Heaven''. * Blake Harrison as Alfie – a groom jilted at the altar by Carly. *

Camille Coduri Camille Coduri (born 18 April 1965) is an English actress. She gained prominence through her role as Jackie Tyler, the mother of Rose Tyler, in ''Doctor Who'' (2005–2006, 2008, 2010). She has since appeared in the BBC comedies '' Him & Her'' (2 ...

as Judy – co-owner of the Edge of Heaven B&B, wife of Tandeep, mother of Alfie and Ann-Marie. * Marcia Warren as Nanny Mo – a pensioner, mother of Judy and Bald Gary. *

Adrian Scarborough Adrian Philip Scarborough is an English actor. He has appeared in films including '' The Madness of King George'' (1994), '' Gosford Park'' (2001), '' Vera Drake'' (2004), '' The History Boys'' (2006), '' The King's Speech'' (2010), '' Les Misé ...

as Bald Gary – son of Nanny Mo, brother of Judy, husband of Camp Gary. * Justine Michelle Cain as Carly – the bride who leaves Alfie at the altar. *

Louisa Lytton Louisa Claire Lytton (born 7 February 1989) is an English actress, best known for portraying the role of Ruby Allen in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' and Beth Green in the ITV police procedural series ''The Bill'' (2007–2009). She also ...

as Michelle – Carly's best friend, Alfie's unrequited love. *

Robert Evans Robert Evans (born Robert J. Shapera; June 29, 1930 – October 26, 2019) was an American film producer who worked on ''Rosemary's Baby (film), Rosemary's Baby'' (1968), ''Love Story (1970 film), Love Story'' (1970), ''The Godfather'' (1972), ...

as Camp Gary – husband of Bald Gary. * Nitin Kundra as Tandeep – co-owner and chef at the Edge of Heaven B&B, husband of Judy, stepfather of Alfie and Ann-Marie. *

Laura Checkley Laura Checkley (born 18 July 1980) is an English actress and comedian known for playing the regular character Louise throughout three series of ''Detectorists'' on BBC Four, Monica in '' Action Team'' on ITV2, Terri King in the BBC One sitcom '' K ...

as Ann-Marie – a demobbed soldier now working at her family's B&B, sister of Alfie, daughter of Judy. *

Nav Sidhu Nav Sidhu is a British television, theatre, and film actor. His longest-running television role was as Azim Desai in the Channel 4/ E4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on ...

as Donkey – one of Alfie's best friends. * Raphael Sowole as Spanner – one of Alfie's best friends. * Rufus Jones as Prop Maartie – Alfie's boss at Sofa World. *

Michael Smiley Michael Smiley (born 1963) is a Northern Irish comedian and actor. He is well known for his roles in the films ''Kill List'' (2011) and '' The Lobster'' (2015). He has also made appearances in British television series such as ''Spaced'', '' Lut ...

as Snowy – Alfie's ne'er-do-well, oft-absent biological father.

Filming locations

The series was set in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, with the beach, high street and seafront featuring throughout the series, and the BNB exterior was actually filmed on Albert Terrace.

Broadstairs Broadstairs () is a coastal town on the Isle of Thanet in the Thanet district of east Kent, England, about east of London. It is part of the civil parish of Broadstairs and St Peter's, which includes St Peter's, and had a population in 2011 ...

was also used for some filming locations, such as Morelli's Ice Cream Parlour, while some other scenes were filmed in Egham, Surrey.

Episode guide

Reception

With 2.7 million viewers, ''Edge of Heaven'' gave ITV its smallest ever audience for a first episode of a new scripted series airing at 9pm. Sam Wollaston of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' described ''Edge of Heaven'' as "limp" and "super lameness" despite excellent recent work by stars Blake Harrison and Camille Coduri. However, "Margate...looks lovely." Further commentary from ''The Guardian'' stated, "A bit like Margate itself, perhaps, this feels unlikely to improve anytime soon" (John Robinson) and the "comedy pootles on amusingly, but plays it far too safe to ever broach real hilarity" (Rachel Aroesti). Ed Power of ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...

'' cited outdated, retro humour. He said that "the story felt thinner than onion skin". Despite the "smoking wreckage, it nonetheless kept you glued". "Between the winks, nudges and groans an unexpected sweetness bubbled to the surface", Power stated. The show's "heart was in the right place." He praises the "likable...ragamuffin characters".

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, 3011234 2010s British sitcoms 2014 British television series debuts 2014 British television series endings British English-language television shows 2010s British television miniseries ITV sitcoms Margate Television series by Hartswood Films Television shows set in Kent Television shows shot in Kent