Beyond Paradise: Where is it filmed? Is Shipton Abbott real? All you need to know about the stunning filming locations

Puzzle box mysteries, sweet humour, romance and a police station filled with idiosyncratic characters. New BBC detective series Beyond Paradise has much of the same DNA as its smash-hit sister show Death in Paradise.

However, there is one key difference between the two BBC shows. The location.

Leaving Guadalupe and the Caribbean sun over the horizon, Beyond Paradise is set in the fictional Devon town of Shipton Abbott.

The no-less picturesque spin-off captures the dramatic coastline, sweeping landscapes, coves and secret corners and will have millions of viewers booking summer holidays to idyllic South West England.

But where is the real Shipton Abbott? What filming locations were used? And is Beyond Paradise in Cornwall or Devon?

Here is everything you need to know about the new Friday night crime drama…

Where is Beyond Paradise filmed?

The fictional Devon town of Shipton Abbott was created largely in the Cornish town Looe.

Across series 1, the cast filmed in various locations around the Cornwall and Devon coast.

The show’s creator Tim Key said: “We left Humphrey and Martha in the UK and we did talk early doors about whereabouts that might be.

“It was about the DNA of the Death in Paradise universe, and it needed to be somewhere beautiful and somewhere that felt a bit different.

“It needed similarities with Saint Marie, but also its own personality and identity. Devon and the South West just felt like the perfect place.”

What were the Beyond Paradise filming locations?

The cast began filming in the 2022 summer heatwave and were spotted by local press in various locations.

A significant amount of filming took place in Cornwall coastal town Looe. In episode 1, Dylan Llewellyn (Derry Girls) who plays PC Kelby shoots a scene on the river, which divides Looe in half.

Other filming locations used for series 1 include the Tamar Valley, Bere Ferrers and Weir Quay.

Where did the Beyond Paradise cast spend time outside of filming?

The Beyond Paradise spoke about feeling “blessed” to work in such stunning locations right around the Cornish coastline.

Talking about the region’s rich cultural history, Kris Marshall said: “Daphne du Maurier, Poldark and the moorlands. It’s a very romantic and windswept place. It’s a glorious place to go to work.”

The South West native, who grew up near Glastonbury, added: “I live by the sea and my house is down in the South West. As soon as work finishes, I’m paddleboarding in the sea.

There are hundreds of amazing coves and beaches in the South West. People not from the UK don’t think of it as a beachy place, so it’s great to portray that.

“One place I love down there, it’s quite dangerous because the tide comes in very quickly, it’s called Lantic Cove.

“You have to walk a quarter mile to get there - which isn’t great with a 10-foot paddleboard - but there are dolphins, seals and basking sharks, but they are like the great Labradors of the sea, they won’t bother you.

“I’ve lived in LA and Sydney, but you always have in the back of your mind, will I get bitten? You don’t get that in Cornwall.”

Looe locals might have spotted cast members Dylan Llewellyn and Zahra Amadi in their local picture house, because the pair struck up their own cinema club to wind down when not filming.

And I’m Alan Partridge star Felicity Montagu, who plays Margo Martins, was a regular swimmer.

“In Plymouth there is an open-air swimming pool near the front, I swam in that a lot,” said Montagu.

“And I swam a lot in bays around Looe and near Fowey. We felt blessed filming there.”

Can you visit Shipton Abbott?

Sadly the beautiful coastal town of Shipton Abbott in Beyond Paradise isn't real and is a composite of various locations in Cornwall and Devon.

However, if you book a summer getaway to Looe, Saltash, Port Eliot, Bere Ferrers or Tamar Valley, you will probably spot some of the stunning scenery and backdrops used in Beyond Paradise series 1.

Is Beyond Paradise set in Devon or Cornwall?

Despite most of the filming taking place in Cornish town Looe and the surrounding area, the series is technically set in Devon.

Why did they choose Devon as the location for Beyond Paradise?

Beyond Paradise exec producer Tim Key described the South-West coast as matching the “spirit and DNA” of Saint Marie in Death in Paradise.

“It’s warm, aspirational and beautiful – we wanted all of those things. We also wanted it to feel like a real place and not just a tourist confection. Looe is amazing, it’s a great place.  It’s an incredible, beautiful place but also a working community.”

He added: “We became very well known in Looe. We made friends and everyone was asking when we would be going back.”

“The show is set in Devon, but we filmed across Cornwall. I’m sure everyone in Devon will be absolutely fine with that.”

Watch Beyond Paradise on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from Friday 24 February.