Where is Death in Paradise filmed in Cornwall? The show you're thinking of goes by another name
Two BBC detective dramas, one shared universe, and a great deal of crossed search traffic. One of them films in the eastern Caribbean. The other films on the south coast of Cornwall, in a town of about 5,000 people with a working fish market. They are not the same programme.
The Cornish one is Beyond Paradise, the Death in Paradise spin-off starring Kris Marshall as DI Humphrey Goodman. It's set in the fictional Devon town of Shipton Abbott but filmed mainly in Looe, south-east Cornwall, with additional locations across the Tamar Valley. Death in Paradise itself has been shot in Guadeloupe since 2011.
The Looe locations
Looe stands in for Shipton Abbott throughout, and the aerial establishing shots are of the town itself. The regular spots:
- Looe Guildhall — doubles as the police station.
- The Sail Loft — one of several local restaurants written into episodes.
- Port Eliot House and Gardens, St Germans — a key estate location from series one onwards.
- Pentillie Castle and Estate — used repeatedly, with one of its cottages on the River Tamar now let as a holiday rental.
- University of Plymouth — the Portland Square and Nancy Astor buildings appear as South West Police HQ.
Series four, which began filming on 21 July 2025, added Launceston, Saltash, and Tavistock to the roster.
Why Cornwall if it's set in Devon?
Executive producer Tim Key told The i in 2023 that the team looked across the West Country and picked Devon as the setting because it had been under-used in television drama, adding that "Cornwall often nabs the glory." They then filmed in Cornwall anyway, because Looe met their practical criteria — a real, working community, a harbour, and good access to Plymouth and the A38.
So where is Death in Paradise actually filmed?
Guadeloupe. The fictional island of Saint Marie is Basse-Terre, and the town of Honoré is the commune of Deshaies on its north-west coast. Le Madras serves as Catherine's Bar; the Honoré police station set sits by the Church of St Peter and St Paul and is open to visitors; the Jardin Botanique de Deshaies appears throughout. Series 15, with Don Gilet as DI Mervin Wilson, began on BBC One on 30 January 2026.
For the record: there's a third show in the family. Return to Paradise, with Anna Samson as DI Mackenzie Clarke, is set and filmed in Australia — so the franchise now covers three continents and one very busy Cornish guildhall.