Death in Paradise!

Much as the town was pretty to visit, the excitement for us was that it is here that the BBC series ‘Death in Paradise’ is filmed. For those who are not fans, this is a long running series (now in its 11^thseason) featuring an awkward English detective trying to fit in to the Caribbean lifestyle – it is a bit like Midsomer Murders, but set in the Caribbean! It seems to be a dangerous place to live with a new murder every week, and, in true Agatha Christie style, there are always several suspects – all with motives. Luckily for the residents, the detective and his team always manage to solve the case. The plot is actually almost identical each episode, but it is the humour (and scenery) that we enjoy.

During filming, the cast are based in the Deshaies area for 6 months each year and, although many scenes are shot in locations around the island, the main locations are in the town itself.

Honore Police Station is a major location. It is a short stroll up the hill from the sea front, next door to the local church. In reality, it used to be offices for the church, but now it seems to be used purely for filming. Unfortunately, we were not able to go inside, but a quick look around the back, gave us a glance at the cells and a few old props!!

Another key location is Catherine’s Bar which features every episode, especially when the team need a well earned beer after solving a case. In reality, there are actually two bars. The original bar is a small restaurant – La Kaz du Douanier. It is not a beach front bar, but instead set back on the one road that goes through the town. Unfortunately, the location meant that the town ground to a halt during filming, so an alternative was found. The restaurant still has some photos of Ben Miller (the first detective) and the cast filming there. We managed to get booked in for a meal there – amazing food!

The second, and current, Catherine’s Bar is Le Madras. This is a very popular venue with a street side bar and a beach side veranda. When we were there, we were unable to get a table beach side, but the sunset was just as good from across the street!