Return to Paradise filming locations: Where is Dolphin Cove?

Australian-set Death in Paradise spin-off, Return to Paradise, returns for its second season — and Mack and her colleagues are once again tasked with solving a raft of murders. Talk about a cursed town.

And there's also plenty of personal drama, with Mack and Glenn trying to figure out what they are to each other after he confessed to still loving her in the season 1 finale — despite being engaged to Daisy.

But even though there are more than a few killings and a love triangle to contend with, at least they get to do it all in beautiful surroundings.

"The friendship between the cast is one of the main reasons I said yes to returning, along with the magical locations where the series is filmed,: said Lloyd Griffith, who plays Detective Senior Constable Colin Cartwright.

"It really is a bit of a dream come true, and I'd love it to keep going for at least nine seasons... it genuinely feels like I’m on holiday, even though I'm working. It’s paradise every single day!"

Return to Paradise is set in Dolphin Cove — which, sadly, isn't a real place. But if you’ve got some time on your hands (and enough money for a plane ticket if you don't live Down Under), there are plenty of real-life locations you can visit instead.

For more information about where the cast and crew were based, 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."

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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 love Mackenzie's incredible house up in the Northern Beaches," said lead Anna Samson. "What's difficult is that she doesn't find any of the landscapes impressive!

"We'll be shooting something amazing with actual whales breaching in the background, everyone's losing their minds, the camera crew is scrambling to capture it, and Mackenzie’s just in the middle, completely unimpressed. It's quite a fun acting challenge, pretending not to care about some of the most spectacular coastline in the world."

As well as shooting in the great outdoors, the cast and crew also worked in a studio, which was a nice contrast.

"I also really enjoy shooting in-studio, because everything is more controlled," she said. "You don't have to worry about sudden rain, or worse, a cockatoo drowning out every line, so you have to go again, and again, and again. Right in front of the police station exterior, there are dozens of cockatoos that just screech.

"We shoot all the police station interiors in-studio, and those scenes are often the funniest to film because the whole team is there, bringing their silliness, comedy, and quirks."

As for Griffith's favourite location, he settled on Bilgola Beach.

"Specifically, where the surf club is and the ocean pool beside it," he added. "I pinched myself every day we were dropped off. I'’s the most unbelievable beach, it's so unspoilt, people travel from around the world just to visit it.

"It's so perfect, so quiet. Between scenes, you could just go and sit on the beach for a moment of calm. When I'm not in Australia, my mind is in that ocean pool on Bilgola Beach."

For production designer Emma Fletcher — who hails from the west of the continent and is used to filming in the red-dust landscapes synonymous with Australia on screen — working in Sydney was a whole new experience.

"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 season 2 airs at 8pm on Friday 31st October on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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