'I own Beyond Paradise's Ten Mile Kitchen and not all locals are happy about the show'

The BBC's Death in Paradise and its UK-based spin-off, Beyond Paradise have captured the nation, with filming in Looe, Cornwall. Kris Marshall reprises his role as Humphrey Goodman from the original series, now leading a new troop of detectives in the quaint town of Shipton Abbott.

The hit show delves into his personal life too, depicting his relationship with his fiancée, Martha Lloyd (played by Sally Bretton), who's recently launched The Ten Mile Kitchen.

Yet, the real-life backdrop to this on-screen eatery is actually 2024 Great British Menu winner Ben Palmer's highly-regarded establishment, The Sardine Factory.

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Ben shared insights with the Daily Express regarding his restaurant's newfound fame as a viewer favourite and the contrasting opinions among locals witnessing its escalating renown.

Since the third series of Beyond Paradise showcased it, the Sardine Factory has seen an astonishing hike in interest – its bookings shot up to 245, scaling a peak from a modest 45 the previous week, marking an eye-opening leap by 444%.

While the surge spells great news for Ben's venture, not all residents are thrilled.

Ben conceded: "You know you get a lot of kickback from a lot of locals saying, we don't want more people coming to town, but you know what it's so important to bring tourism to the restaurant business, we rely on it," reports .

Despite a mixed reception, Ben disclosed that many locals are enthused about the new attraction, saying: "As locals, we were all really proud when we saw our beautiful kind of hometown on the telly, it was really kind of cool, and everybody was kind of asking, 'where is this beautiful place?'"

He added: "You know, we're incredibly lucky. It kind of gives you a sense of feeling like we're really proud that this is our hometown, and it just showcases it, making you realise how beautiful it is as well.

"It's a lovely place, but then when you come to see it, you think, 'my God, it is actually,' we're very lucky. It's a very beautiful place, and then everybody wants to come and visit where they saw on TV, which was really cool."

Ben even confessed his surprise at not realising the show Beyond Paradise's popularity, stating: "I never kind of really watched it, and then obviously I thought, you know, it's in my own town and stuff, you might catch a glimpse of someone you know. I started to watch it and, you know what? It's pretty good."

In a bid to revitalise the area, Ben launched his restaurant in 2018, alongside the introduction of a museum for the town. Named 'The Sardine Factory', the restaurant honours its history as a former sardine processing plant.

Beyond Paradise is available on BBC iPlayer