Death at the Bowlo as BBC murder series films in Wombarra

The show, a spinoff from the Death in Paradise series, has been filming in Wombarra this week, braving weather more reminiscent of the BBC's home country to shoot indoor scenes at the beloved neighbourhood club.

The Wombarra signs will be out of shot though, as the bowlo in question is set in the fictional town of Dolphin Cove.

And it's bad news for Dolphin Cove Bowling Club members - a body will be found smack-bang on the green in one of the murder-a-week show's storylines.

Not to worry, by the end of the episode the murder will have been solved and it's back to normal life for the seaside paradise of the title - played by the Illawarra's northern suburbs.

Executive producer Peter Mattessi told the Mercury this is one of hits favourite things about a "traditional" murder mystery show - it can be uplifting and warm despite the frequent spilling of blood.

"Yes, there's a murder every week - but those murders don't seem to affect the world," he said.

"It's not like it's a murder in a murder mystery show is a symptom of a society crumbling.

"If you think of something like those Scandi [-navian] shows where there's murders, but it's because society's falling apart - it's not like that in a in a show like Return to Paradise and Death in Paradise.

"There is a murder at the start, but at the end, the murder is in handcuffs - order is restored, we're in a happy village again.

"So even though ... there is a murder every week, it's a very uplifting, positive, warm show."

Some nice life-affirming murder, something to watch with the kids and feel good about it. A vital element of this type of show is the setting, which also needs to bring a sense of positivity rather than bleakness - particularly when the location is titled "paradise".

Naturally, the Illawarra coast was a perfect fit for a spinoff from Death in Paradise, in which stunning shots of its Caribbean setting featured as heavily as any character.

The Mercury asked Mattessi how these actors felt about sharing top billing to the escarpment-beach beauty of the Paradise setting - and the environment has appeal beyond the photography.

"The opportunity to come down here is a great job for them," he said.

"I know one of our main cast, Catherine McClements, has been sampling the ocean pools, rock pools of the Illawarra - as have I.

"I think I've ticked them all off now except one - I haven't been to Bulli yet.

"So for the cast to come down here, it's a brilliant job - also for the guest cast. It is our permanent cast investigating every week, and for the guest cast a show like this is brilliant because they get to come to the Illawarra.

"Every week [we have] five guests - one of them gets murdered and the other four of the suspects.

"So it's an opportunity for every actor who comes to that this show to have something fun to do.

"[You're] the villain or a potential villain, is the main thing. You want to be coming into that final denouement scene of a show like this where your detective lays out what happened and who did it.

"You want your audience coming in going 'Oh, I don't know who it is. They could all have done it. They've all got a great motive, they've all had shifty moments."

In a whodunnit, the presence of a well-known actor in a guest role can be a giveaway, but Mattessi said the quality of the cast - behind lead Anna Sampson - solved this.

"I know it is the perennial problem of a show like this that as soon as someone famous is in the show, you're like 'they did it'. They're gonna have that big seat at the end.

"Fortunately, we've been really lucky with our cast who have all been brilliant all people that you've seen in things before.

They are all fantastic actors, so I've been really lucky to have them."

And with a "gentle" murder series, the setting is even more vital - it needs to be somewhere people want to be "in" for an hour or two.

"We've used Moore St [in Austinmer] as a main street of Dolphin Cove, so that gives a vibe of what Dolphin Cove is. We've worked really hard on trying to make it a place that you would want to go.

"And of course, the Illawarra helps us with that because it's glorious.

"It's almost a joke, but I kind of half mean it: you want people to watch the show and turn to their partner and say 'we booked a holiday for next September or whatever - what about there?

"And Googling 'where is Dolphin Cove' - oh, Austinmer? Why don't we go there?

"My dream is to be in the Qantas in-flight magazine: 'the real Dolphin Cove'. Here we are in Austinmer.

"Here we are at the rock pool, wherever."

With the show already pre-sold to the BBC, there is a chance of a second series in the Illawarra if this one is a success. And people tuning in to location-spot the Wollongong coast will only add to the regular viewers.

"A lot of television now is watched while you're on your phone," Mattessi said. "Whereas this type of show is something that audiences really engage with and watch closely - they want to figure it out.

"I've had a lot of people say ' Oh, I love Death in Paradise, I watch it with my teenage daughter', so it's a real multigenerational thing.

"It's just an audience that's more into the show than a lot of other shows."