THE new Bergerac TV series is expected to deliver economic benefits and raise the Island’s profile in a competitive tourism market, Visit Jersey has said following the launch of the reimagined detective drama last week.
The six-part series, which stars Irish actor Damien Molony in the lead role of Jim Bergerac, launched last Thursday with all episodes available for streaming on U. It is also being released weekly on TV via U&Drama channels.
Tricia Warwick, chief executive of Visit Jersey, said the show had put Jersey in the spotlight.
“The response to the new Bergerac series has been tremendously positive, with Jersey prominently featured throughout all of the marketing and publicity activity.
“This week, Bergerac – and Jersey – have been front-and-centre at prime locations including Piccadilly Circus, Liverpool city centre, Manchester and more.”
Ms Warwick went on to praise the cast of the show as being “fantastic ambassadors for the Island” after its website saw a surge in visitors following its launch.
“The cast have been sharing their love for Jersey on The One Show, BBC Breakfast, the Sunday Times, and countless other major media outlets.”
She added: “Visit Jersey championed the new Bergerac series because we saw the economic value it would bring to the Island, and the cut-through it would deliver for Jersey in today’s competitive tourism marketing landscape.
“Jersey is competing with destinations that have higher brand awareness and much bigger budgets, therefore we have to be disruptive in order to stand out.
“We are already seeing the impact, with a 105% increase in visitors to Jersey.com year-to-date compared to last year.”
The show’s strong start has also been welcomed by UKTV, the BBC-owned broadcaster behind the reboot.
Helen Perry, head of drama for UKTV, said: “We’re really pleased to see how well Bergerac is performing on our free-streaming service, U.
“A number of viewers have watched the whole series already, which is brilliant to see and a clear indication that this is going to be a record-breaking show for us.”
Executive producer Brian Constantine said it had been “wonderful” hearing positive feedback since the series launched.
“It was always going to be of interest to Islanders, as they hold the original Bergerac in such high esteem, and it’s great to see so many come along with us on Bergerac’s latest adventure, over 30 years on,” he continued.
“It is definitely a binge-worthy show, and that’s evident by how many viewers have watched the full series in the space of just a few days on the free-streaming service, U.”
A local première was held at Cineworld last week in celebration of the return of Jersey’s most famous detective, with the new Bergerac offering a “contemporary twist” on the popular detective drama of the same name that starred John Nettles and ran on the BBC between 1981 and 1991.
