British expats to star in Channel 4 TV documentary programme ‘Our Man In… The Costas’

British residents on the Costas are set to star in a widely-praised TV documentary series on the work of the British Consulates, due to be broadcast next week.

Expats at an outreach event in Torrevieja, shoppers meeting consular staff in Iceland supermarket and Brits caught up in a forest fire are among the British public who feature in ‘Our Man In… The Costas’, due to be broadcast on the UK’s Channel 4 at 23.00 Spanish time (22.00 GMT) on Thursday 8th March.

The programme provides exclusive, behind-the scene access to the work of the British Consulate in Alicante in helping Brits in distress.

The job of the eight-strong consular team is to provide assistance to an estimated 330,000 British residents in the Alicante district, plus 3.5 million British holidaymakers who visit the area every year.

Paul Rodwell, Alicante Consul, says: “The programme shows some of the expats we are here to help.

Our pro-active visits to the community are designed to listen to the concerns of British residents, and help them with issues ranging from property to pensions.

“We’re also very keen to get the message across that residents can do simple things to help themselves and their friends.

Make sure your visitors have got travel insurance, or they could end up asking you for money to help with huge medical bills.

“There is a lot of help that is easy to find on the ukinspain website. It could save you from confusing and incorrect advice that circulates on the expat rumour mill.”

‘Our Man In… The Costas’ is the second in a three-part series on the work of the British consulates in Spain that has been widely praised by the critics.

“The job title may suggest a world of panama hats and ambassador’s receptions but the life of a British consular officer is far from glamorous”, says The Daily Telegraph.

“Her Majesty’s representatives are there to pick up the pieces” says The Times, while the Mail on Sunday describes the series as “Insightful… light hearted and tragic by turns”.

As well as helping Brits caught up in a forest fire, the programme shows consular staff working with Spanish police to manage an invasion of tartan-clad football fans for a Spain v Scotland game in Alicante, and dealing with a fatal road traffic accident in Benidorm.

The three part series, ‘Our Man In…’, is being shown on the UK’s Channel 4.

The second programme about Alicante goes out on Thursday 8th March at 23.00 CET, while the final programme on Tenerife and Barcelona airs on 15th March.

The first programme on 1st March features the Balearics.

The series was filmed mainly in August and September last year and is produced by Screenchannel Television, a London-based independent production company.