Return to Paradise filming locations: Where is Dolphin Cove?
Is Dolphin Cove a real place?
If you tuned into the UK debut of Return to Paradise, a spin-off of Death in Paradise which arrived on the BBC tonight (Friday 22nd November), we'd imagine you're already desperate to know where filming took place so that you can book flights there immediately.
In the new six-part series, DI Mackenzie Clarke (Anna Samson) reluctantly heads back to her picturesque hometown in Australia after living in London for the past six years, where she endures a number of awkward run-ins – and seamlessly solves a murder, of course.
But even if she's not happy to be back in the town of Dolphin Cove, a sentiment also shared by a number of the locals, we're thrilled that she is because we get to enjoy some truly stunning scenery.
For more information about where the cast and crew pitched up, read on.
Return to Paradise filming locations: Where is Dolphin Cove?
Dolphin Cove is a fictional Australian beachside town, but the cast and crew did shoot in Australia's Illawarra region, which lies just south of Sydney, and on Sydney's northern beaches.
Writer Peter Mattessi, who's from Melbourne, "instantly felt an emotional connection" when he visited that part of the New South Wales coast, which was a first for him.
"It has a warmth and a welcoming vibe," he added. "And then geographically it had everything - beautiful beaches, the escarpment which is so dramatic, the ocean pools, beautiful trees and charming houses."
Read more:
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Two of the show's key locations, the surf club and Mackenzie's house, were filmed at Bilgola and Avalon respectively, which are both suburbs in Sydney's northern beaches.
"I think audiences in the UK and around the world are going to be excited by the locations," added director Mat King. "It's Australia, but not in a classic way.
"We don't have kangaroos, we don't have koalas. We've got sun and surf and blue skies, the beaches, the forests, the cliffs, but we're not seeing the red deserts."
Production designer Emma Fletcher, who hails from the west of the continent, is used to filming in those red dust landscapes, so this was a new experience for her.
"It was my first time working in Sydney, and on our first location recce down to the Illawarra, I was thinking that it was the most beautiful, marvellous place – the greens and the plants, it's so lush," she said.
"It's a very beautiful part of the world, and completely ideal for our show... for this show, beauty was central."
Fletcher also said that she thought a lot about "Australian architecture and what we might find... nostalgic, such as the old bowls club and surf clubs by the ocean and the ocean pools".
"It's almost like we've been tourists creating a postcard about the beauty of Australia," she added.
Return to Paradise will air on BBC One and iPlayer.
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Authors
Abby Robinson is the Drama Editor for Radio Times, covering TV drama and comedy titles. She previously worked at Digital Spy as a TV writer, and as a content writer at Mumsnet. She possesses a postgraduate diploma and a degree in English Studies.
