When it’s cold and dark, what’s better than an undemanding whodunit on a beautiful tropical island – 8,5 millions viewers can’t be wrong” Jack Seale – The Guardian (Feb. 2015)
Death in Paradise is a British-French lighthearted crime drama television series created by Robert Thorogood, initially starring Ben Miller and Sara Martins, and later starring Kris Marshall and Joséphine Jobert. Danny-John-Jules also stars, and has been present throughout the series. The programme is a joint UK and French production, filmed on the French Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe, and broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom and France 2 in France.
Bringing a dose of sunshine back to the small screen, BBC's Death In Paradise returns this winter for a fifth season of impossible murders on the beautiful Caribbean Island of Saint Marie.
Death in Paradise is set on the fictional Caribbean island of Saint Marie, described in Episode 3.3 as a "pretty island" that is "situated in the Eastern Caribbean Sea" and "one-tenth the size of its north-west neighbour Guadeloupe". This would make tiny Saint Marie about 160 square kilometres (62 sq mi) in size, which is slightly bigger than Bromley (the largest borough in London). The location and name of the island suggests it is based on the real-world island of Marie-Galante, which has a matching size and location, although the real-life Marie-Galante is part of Guadeloupe and not independent of it.
The series has mainly been filmed on the site of Deshaies (which doubles for the fictional town of Honoré on the fictional island of Saint Marie), with the help of the Bureau d’accueil des tournages de la Région Guadeloupe.
With 6 million viewers, the first series was praised for its refreshing style and setting. Kris Marshall's addition to the cast at the start of series 3 was particularly well received, with Rebecca Smith of The Daily Telegraph citing Marshall as a "winning addition" to the cast. The series 4 premiere was described as "a little piece of escapism", and was generally praised.
During shooting, Kris Marshall's family have joined him on the island during the six-month shoot, and he is proud his young daughter has enrolled at a local school and is learning French. The site of the police station is filmed in a church hall.
Red Planet Pictures were nominated and won the Diversity in a Drama Production Award for Death In Paradise. Sara Martins, Danny John-Jules, Don Warrington and Tobi Bakare collected the award at a ceremony supported by the BBC and ITV that took place on Sunday 15th February 2015.
CAST:
- Kris Marshall – My Family, Love Actually
- Sara Martins – Little White Lies, Pigalle, La Nuit
- Danny John-Jules – Red Dwarf, MI High
- Don Warrington – Waking the Dead
- Josephine Jobert - Sous le soleil de Saint-Tropez
- Tobi Bakare - Kingsman: The Secret Service, The Smoke, The Tunnel
Packed full of guest stars including James Fox (Sherlock Holmes), Neil Morrissey (Men Behaving Badly), Ali Bastian (Hollyoaks), Tyger Drew-Honey (Outnumbered), Natalie Gumede (Coronation Street), Jason Merrells (Emmerdale) and Matthew Lewis (Harry Potter).
Useful links to Death in Paradise
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnpIsMxdUCybPxE_kfuDCmw
http://twitter.com/deathinparadise
www.facebook.com/DeathInParadiseUK
