Locals in seaside town where TV show filmed want tourists to stay away
Residents in a seaside town where a new TV show is filmed want tourists to stay away, fearing the "Doc Martin effect".
Looe in Cornwall is the setting for BBC drama Beyond Paradise, the spin-off to long-running show Death in Paradise, filmed in the Caribbean.
Locals already have to put up with thousands of snap-happy visitors each year in the summer - but now fear it will be just as busy in the quieter winter months too.
The historic county is no stranger to playing host to film crews, with fellow Beeb shows Doc Martin and Poldark both making use of its coastal towns and villages.
But Looe - famous for its fresh fish - hasn't been so popular with location scouts before.
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The cast of Beyond Paradise, including Kris Marshall (centre) (BBC / Red Planet Pictures / Todd Anthony)That being said, its main business today is through tourism, with much of the town given over to hotels, guest houses, holiday homes and Cornish pasty vendors.
However, the potential interest generated by the new Kris Marshall-starring show, which first aired on February 24, has proven too much for those who call it home.
Some fear it will ruin the ambience, drive costs up and ultimately destroy the community feel.
Locals fear the fishing town will be overrun (Adam Gerrard / Daily Mirror)Phil Spencer, who has lived in the fishing port for 50 years, thinks it will push the price of everything up.
The 67-year-old told the Sun: "The cost of renting a place in the town has gone through the roof and as more and more people see just how attractive the place is through programmes like this, it will only get worse."
He said rent prices normally associated with London are "not sustainable" for people in lower wage brackets outside the capital, particularly as many jobs in the town are seasonal.
Michael Pengelly, a sixth generation fisherman from Looe, agreed that having a successful TV show filmed in the town could warrant unwanted attention like it has in Port Isaac, where Doc Martin is shot.
Looe has not seen regular film crews before other parts of Cornwall (Getty Images/iStockphoto)"The last thing we want is for Looe to end up like Port Isaac with thousands of people flocking here just to see where the action took place," the 71-year-old said.
He added that he didn't want the town to be "overrun" as there is still a "thriving community feeling" and many independent businesses.
His son Will, 29, said: "The Doc Martin effect badly affected Port Isaac and something like that would be too much for Looe."
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He also pointed out that life in the town is not as it is depicted in the show, with visitors "in for a shock".
Regular visitors Catherine Brealey, 67, and her husband Lee, 68, fear tourists year round will make congestion and parking a nightmare.
Beyond Paradise is also supposed to be set in Devon, not Cornwall, which has confused people on Twitter.
One said: "What Devonian stereotypes are they going to put in Cornwall then to make it look like Devon?"
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