Views to Die for in Death in Paradise

Hello Island Lovelies,

Did anyone catch the new ‘whodunnit’ murder series Death in Paradise last week?

If not you should, just to take a peek at the main characters residence in the Caribbean, it is to die for.

The series can be best described as a Midsummer Murders in the Caribbean and was shot in Guadeloupe on an island called Basse Terre. The island consists of a large volcanic rainforest and beautiful ribbon like beaches that surround its shores – just gorgeous.

Ben Miller plays the main character, a British bobby sent to the Caribbean, who is a bit of a fish out of water and refuses to acclimatise. Incidently Ben had to wear a wool suit throughout shooting as part of the character’s dislike of his paradise posting, ended up with heat stroke because of the sheer heat and humidity.

The main character DI Richard Poole takes up residence in an amazing beach shack on the most glorious beach front.

Michael Ralph, the set production designer could not find a beach-side bungalow that had the right view for the hero of the story. So he found the view he wanted and then built a house on it, even though it meant a tree would be growing through the bedroom. How cool is that?

The view from Richard’s shack is stunning as it sits directly onto a crescent of golden beach with the Caribbean Sea beyond.

Local artisan’s were used to construct the shack to achieve its authenticity and Michael, not speaking any French and the locals not speaking any English, did a remarkable job.

The shack is pivotal in setting the right scene and establishing the main character.

Michael says, “I spent 48 hours creating two pieces of artwork depicting the shack as I saw it – one in the night and one in the day. The intention was to translate the spirit, poetry and romance the writer had weaved into the page and capture it as a visual narrative. In these cases, a picture can literally be worth a thousand words”.

Everyone loves the shack, and just want to sit on the verandah to drift away over that picture perfect postcard view. We love the amazing attention to detail that Michael has put into this set as it certainly evokes that castaway dream of living in the Caribbean.

Another view from another verandah in the series in Basse Terre.

One of the main characters, Camille, played by French actress Sara Martins sitting on the beach shack’s verandah.

The opening title to the series.

Episode 2 airs on Saturday at 7.30pm ABC TV (Australia).

I’m watching just to ogle that beach shack – it’s perfect.

Escapism TV at it’s best.

Happy Island Styling.

Images: BBC & Flikr 

Return to Island Home.