THE recently held Looe Festival of Words was a vibrant new event celebrating literature, writing, and the power of words.

Supported by a network of local companies and organisations, including Hermitage Press, Feast Cornwall, and Looe Town Council, the festival brought together readers, writers, and lovers of language for a week of creativity.

Steered by local volunteers, the week of words showcased an array of events across multiple locations in the town. From author talks and writing workshops to pop-up puppets and poetry readings, there was something for everyone.

Looe mayor Cllr Tony Smith, said: “We’re absolutely delighted with how the Looe Festival of Words turned out! The town’s been buzzing with creativity, and it’s been wonderful to see everyone come together.

“We’re so pleased Looe was chosen to host and hope it becomes a regular event in our calendar!”

A standout event of the week was a talk by Sandy Johnson, director on Beyond Paradise, to a packed upper mezzanine at Looe Library.

The award-winning BAFTA director is one of three directors currently working on the third season of the show which is back filming on location in Looe. The fictitious town of Shipton Abbott is the backdrop for the series which investigates mysterious murders but also the love life of it’s main character Humphrey, played by Kris Marshall.

It seems the South West has been very much en vogue this year as major filming has taken place away from the capital and been focused on locations in Somerset, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall.

Looe residents may be used to the production crews being in the town for weeks but Sandy still said a big thank you to everyone in the town who has embraced what they’re doing here.

He begins by talking about their search for the right location for the series; scouting around for a suitable setting, the team looked at towns along the Devon coast but none matched the specific requirements for Beyond Paradise.

Like its counterpart in the Caribbean, the spin-off of Death in Paradise needed somewhere that had a lot of life to it, was a tourist attraction but also had a thriving industry. They eventually discovered Looe, but the inevitable question, ‘why set it in the Cornish town and says it’s Devon’? Easy, says the director. With so many successful series like Dr Martin and Poldark associated with Cornwall, it just had to be Devon!

They are currently shooting episodes that will be shown in 2025 and two Christmas specials for the end of next year, and the shooting schedule is very tight. Eight weeks of filming, 40 days of shooting for three episodes, and five weeks of preparatory work sorting locations, cast, lighting and working through the script page by page with the art department.

And unlike filming for the cinema, even though the equipment used is now on a par, the compressed nature of filming a murder for each episode, the pressure is so much greater, he explains.

They have to schedule in the different destinations - one day Buckfastleigh for the train station and maybe shooting in Looe on the same day. This alone puts a lot of pressure on actors, Sandy explains. Especially Kris Marshall who plays Humphrey, and has mountains of dialogue to remember. He quips, even Selwyn the duck, who lives with Martha and Humphrey on their houseboat moored at Pentillie, has an understudy!

Local actress Zahra Ahmadi plays Humphrey’s sidekick Esther Williams. When they looked to cast his partner in crime, they wanted someone local, says Sandy, and they found Zahra who grew up in Saltash and Plymouth. They saw lots of actors for that role but found that Kris and Zahra worked really well together. “Her accent was perfect”, he said. Producer Lindsay laughs at this, pointing out: “Yet we got lots of emails saying that her accent is terrible, but she really is local!”

The Cornish weather causes issues with filming and keeping continuity - especially when filming in Looe with its tidal estuary. Ensuring continuity of shots with the river in the background is a challenge but the biggest challenge, Sandy says, is getting the schedule done in spite of the changing weather.

Locations that they choose to film at are places that Sandy has used previously and fit with what they need for Beyond Paradise. The beach at Mothecombe in Devon has been a firm favourite and was used before when he worked on Jonathan Creek, he says. Returning to Looe to film again for this series, he’s discovered parts of the town he wants to ensure are included this time around.

Some scripts call for unusual elements. He remembers the time in the first series when they needed to film a crop circle in a field. He said: “Three dodgy guys turned up in a jeep with a ladder and a plank of wood. We went up with the drone camera afterwards and it looked absolutely perfect!”

The biggest secret is out though as he explains that filming inside Shipton Abbott police station is in fact a set built in a big shed on a local farm. Having a log of previous locations is really helpful when it comes to scouting for a new series, he explains.

He’d worked before at a local farm with Dawn French and knew they had a large shed - they took inspiration from the Guildhall and built a replica set including all the stained glass windows. From a practical point of view, filming on set means that all the crew can hide easily out of sight.

The crew of around 80 hired for the duration of the filming need to be hidden out of shot. Standing outside The Sardine Factory this summer waiting for a glimpse of the Beyond Paradise actors and watching waves of people walking out and back in again suddenly begins to makes sense.

And the next secret is out. Martha’s business has moved from the café on the Eliot estate at St Germans to Looe’s The Sardine Factory, owned by Looe local Ben Palmer. But filming in Looe has its challenges too, especially in the summer, he says. He describes the Christmas market scene from the last series filmed on the seafront… in August. The cast was wrapped up in coats, he explains, while holidaymakers were all in their bikinis!

Mentioning bikinis reminds Sandy of his ten years working on the hit ITV sitcom Benidorm. They’d have to direct up to 1000 extras in and around the pools, he explains. “Most of them were holidaymakers and we had to tell them when to turn around and what to do. They just all really enjoyed being part of it.”

And are there any more teasers on the next series of Beyond Paradise? We’ll be gradually drip fed more about Kelvin and Margot as their characters develop, he says, and apparently ‘things are coming along nicely for Kelvin’, but that’s all Sandy’s willing to give away.

With a new series in 2025, Christmas specials of Beyond Paradise and Death in Paradise scheduled in, and a new spin-off Return to Paradise set in Australia due to air this year, fans of the beloved format won’t have very long to wait.