While all manner of crimes take place on Death in Paradise, it’s hard not to be distracted by the BBC show’s beautiful backdrop.
The detective drama, which has been gripping viewers since it premiered more than a decade ago, is set on the fictional island of Saint-Marie but is filmed in Guadeloupe in the Caribbean.
Lucky for the cast, it means they get to base themselves in paradise while they shoot the show, with DI Neville Parker actor Ralf Little revealing he spends most of his time there.
‘I sort of live [a flat in King’s Cross, London] and sometimes in the States because my other half is American. But, to be honest, in the past three years the place I have spent the most time is Guadeloupe,’ he told The Times in 2023.
‘The island is my home as much as anywhere now and I feel a deep connection to it. Sitting on the terrace watching the sun go down, it’s a pretty special job.’
We bet!
Here is everything you need to know about Guadeloupe and how to visit the Death in Paradise location.
Where is Death in Paradise filmed?
The BBC detective series is filmed in Guadeloupe, a group of 12 islands, six of which are inhabited, in the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean.
An overseas French department, the archipelago is positioned south of Antigua and Barbuda and Montserrat and north of Dominica.
The region’s capital city is Basse-Terre, which is located on the southern west coast on the island of the same name but its most populated city is Les Abymes on Grande-Terre.
While it might look like paradise, filming hasn’t been without its challenges in recent years and was even called to a halt mid-way through series seven back in 2017 due to Hurricane Irma.
The show’s former star Ardal O’Hanlon previously spoek to Radio Times about the inclement weather, saying: ‘We were lucky that the worst of the storms missed us.
‘We had Irma, a nasty one called Jose and then Maria, which was the real monster. It wiped out nearby Dominica, which was really sad.
‘But the team is prepared for it: there are people tracking the hurricanes very closely.’
How can you visit?
Guadeloupe’s main international airport is based in Pointe-à-Pitre on the island of Grande-Terre.
You can fly from either London Heathrow or Manchester to the airport although you will need to make at least one stopover as there are no direct flights available.
The journey, including one transfer, can last from as little as 12 hours.
If you’re looking to cut down more of your carbon footprint, Guadeloupe is a stop for many Caribbean cruises.
Speaking about bumping into Death in Paradise tourists in Guadeloupe, Ralf told The Times last year: ‘We have people who come out to the island just to visit the locations because they love the show.
‘It’s such a tricky place to get to — unless you’re French— and if ever I see people hanging about on the fringes of a location and I have a couple of minutes I go over and say hi.
‘I might even take them on a secret tour of the police station. By the end of the series I’m sort of a tour guide with a sideline in being an actor. A lot of Brits, French . . . in 2022 we had people from Holland, Belgium, Poland, Canada, Germany, Los Angeles — people travel from all over.’
Death in Paradise airs tonight at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
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