7 secrets from the set MURDER IN PROVENCE

We go behind the scenes of the sun-dappled crime drama

- CAREN CLARK

MURDER IN PROVENCE

LAST ONE SUNDAY, 8PM, ITV DRAMA

1 A PLACE IN THE SUN

Provence provides a stunning backdrop to the twisty whodunnits solved by investigating judge Antoine Verlaque (Roger Allam) and his partner, criminal psychologist Marine Bonnet (Nancy Carroll), and the cast and crew filmed in and around the city of Aix-en-Provence to capture the region's diverse scenery.

'It's a main character and one of the most beautiful places in the world -you can't replicate it anywhere else,' says executive producer Alison Owen as she joins TV Times for an exclusive interview.

'The urban shots in Aix play well on camera - the architecture's so distinct. Then drone shots of the countryside were the icing on the cake. A south of France vineyard [the site of a death in this week's final episode] wasn't hard to find. We were spoilt for choice!"

2 FRANCE IN DIDCOT!

Many of the drama's interior sequences were filmed a long way from sunny Provence-in Didcot, Oxfordshire - and the production team worked hard to seamlessly blend the English and the French-shot scenes.

'We had this great find in Carmel College,' says Alison. 'It's an old Jewish college campus and it provided so many different locations for us. They had an art gallery, a synagogue, and an amphitheatre that we converted into a courtyard and cafes.

'The architecture felt "other", so we were able to make it look European. Production would also send us shots of the exterior of a building in Provence so the designer could make the inside of a window match the outside, where we'd be filming months later.'

3 MOVIE-WORTHY STUNTS