Return of BBC1’s The Coroner set to boost tourism in Devon

South Devon is looking forward to a boost to tourism following the airing of the second series of The Coroner, starring Claire Goose, which starts at 2.15pm on BBC1 next Monday. Last year the programme led to a remarkable 44% rise in traffic to www.visitsouthdevon.co.uk on the very first day of the series, lifting searches for South Devon by 28% throughout November.

Filmed largely in the attractive coastal town of Dartmouth, the second series includes scenes shot at Blackpool Sands, Slapton Sands, Salcombe, Dartmoor and the Dartington Estate near Totnes. Starring Claire Goose as local Coroner Jane Kennedy, Goose investigates a series of sudden or unexplained deaths alongside Detective Sergeant Davey Higgins (Matt Bardock), her childhood sweetheart, who broke her heart when she was a girl.

Following on from the huge success of series one, which was seen by 1.7 million viewers, series two is set in of Lighthaven using Dartmouth, Salcombe and the Dartington Estate as the patchwork of backdrops for the fictional South Devon town.

Commenting on the anticipated rise in interest in South Devon among visitors, Sarah Stride, Acting General Manager for Visit South Devon, said: “The Coroner was filmed in South Devon earlier this year. With miles of sandy beaches, historic villages and fishing harbours, the South Hams, which was used extensively in filming, provides the perfect backdrop for the new series and is set to show of the raw beauty of this wonderful part of the country to millions of potential visitors.”

“Having seen just how popular last year’s series was, we’ve set up a special page which will help fans find where the scenes were shot in both series. You’ll be able to find the beaches, the villages and locations in and around Dartmouth, such as the Old Customs House in Dartmouth, which doubles for Jane Kennedy’s office.”

Series two of The Coroner includes ten episodes, which will air each weekday for two weeks starting on 21 November. Locations to look out for include Blackpool Sands, one of Devon’s finest beaches, which was used for a murder scene involving a harpoon gun. Further down the coast Slapton Sands, which played a vital role in the D-Day landings, is also used as a haunting backdrop, as are many other stretches of the coast including Hallsands, Hope Cove and Salcombe estuary.

From a lethal skydiving accident to a killer big cat on the moors, South Devon shines as one of the main stars of the new series. As Goose herself said about filming in South Devon:

“Every Day I get up and I’ve got a view of the water somewhere – it’s the most idyllic thing.”

“The make up team had a saying, ‘What’s not to like?’ That became the catchphrase of the whole series”.

More details can be found on Visit South Devon’s webpage on the series: http://www.visitsouthdevon.co.uk/lots-to-do/outdoors-activities/filming-...

Watch a wonderful short video by the BBC about the location used in the show and during filming of series one. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p037zsl4

For more information on Visit South Devon visit: www.visitsouthdevon.co.uk