Andrew Sachs was hired as Carlos, the Spanish manager of Costa Plonka's Don Barnardo Palace, to capitalise on his then-current fame as hapless hotel waiter Manuel in the British TV series Basil e Sybil (1975), which was still being broadcast on television when this movie was made and released.
With the passing of Nicholas Smith (Mr Rumbold) in 2015, all of the primary Grace Brothers staff cast who appeared in this film have now died. However, Karan David (Conchita), Derek Griffiths (the Emir), Nadim Sawalha (the Emir's interpreter) and Penny Irving (Miss Nicholson), who also make appearances in the film, are still alive as of June 2025.
The brief sequence at Gatwick of the Grace Bros staff boarding their plane was the only location work the cast ever shot until Grace & Favour (1992).
Comet 4c airliners, as seen in this film, were in commercial passenger service until 1981 (although military adaptations remained in service until the late 1990s). The real life airline depicted in this film, Dan Air, ceased to exist in 1992.
During rehearsals the Lifebelle Inflatable Swimsuit overfilled with air and burst, blowing John Inman's wig off.