Where is The Madame Blanc Mysteries filmed? Surprising real locations featured in the Channel 5 mystery series

The Madame Blanc Mysteries filmed in a different place to where the drama takes place - we look at where the real life locations from the show can be found.

Cosy Channel 5 drama The Madame Blanc Mysteries has a cult following. With season 3 underway, the series certainly crept up out of nowhere and stole the hearts of the nation. It both stars, and is written by Corrie legend Sally Lindsay. Keen fans of British TV also have fun spotting the host of beloved faces who nab guest roles. Set in the village of Sainte Victoire in France, viewers enjoy the background scenery of the show just as much as they love watching Jean solve mysteries with the colourful collection of locals. Keep reading to find out exactly where the action was shot - the answers might be surprising.

We also have the lowdown on where new BBC drama Boarders was filmed, and where to locate all the beautiful sites featured in Apple TV+ series The Buccaneers. For those who enjoyed the Steven Knight penned All The Light We Cannot See, filming took place in quite a few European locations.   

Where is The Madame Blanc Mysteries filmed?

Despite being set in France, The Madame Blanc Mysteries is actually filmed in Malta and Gozo.

Sally Lindsay admitted she was sceptical about filming in Malta, as the show had originally planned to film in France but coronavirus restrictions made it difficult. She told Entertainment Daily "We were going to film in France, but it proved so complicated to do that. Channel 5 suggested Gozo, but I wasn’t really sure… I’d been to Malta a couple of years ago when my father was passing because it was on his bucket list, and the bit we went to looked more like Spain than the South of France." 

Sally continued to say "We got the ferry to Gozo, but it was unbelievable – literally just a tiny drive in and it was like we were in the South of France. Even our French actors thought it looked like France!"

Producer Andy Morgan also discussed his feelings about the change of location, and how the team managed to make Malta resemble the South of France. He said "I was always confident that we could create Sainte Victoire on Gozo. Once I set foot in the square there, it just felt absolutely right."

He concluded "We had our church, our police station and our pub – create some shop signs, dot some French cars around and you’re there if you use clever framing. When shooting we would close the square so that we could drive cars on the other side of the road, and simple things like that work really well."

Where in Gozo is The Madame Blanc Mysteries filmed?

A lot of The Madame Blanc Mysteries filmed in the town of Sannat in Gozo.

Sannat is a small town in the southern part of the island of Gozo. The town is home to Ta' Cenc Cliffs, the highest cliffs on the island of Gozo with stunning views of the surrounding Mediterranean Sea. Mgarr ix-Xini Bay can be found at the bottom of the town's Hazira Vally, a large valley splitting Sannat from the towns of Xewkija and Ghajnsielem. Mgarr ix-Xini is a diving destination on the island, featuring clear water for snorkelling, and interesting cave formations. A behind the scenes picture from filming shows crews setting up in Sannat square, which forms a stunning backdrop to the action. 

Speaking on the Visit Gozo YouTube channel, Sally Lindsay said "Sannat, the square, I just fell in love with that square and said 'We've got to film it here.'" The actress added "It's just beautiful. It's a magical place." 

Is Saint Victoire a real place?

Saint Victoire is a fictional village, made up for The Madame Blanc Mysteries. However, it takes inspiration from real French village Vauvenargues.  

There is a Montagne Sainte-Victoire in Southern France, a limestone mountain ridge popular with hikers - artists also frequent the region for the beauty. Vauvenargues can be found at the foot of the north massif of Mount Sainte-Victoire, and although the fictional village name was inspired by the area, still no actual village of that name exists.

Sally Lindsay spoke about choosing France for the setting of the show. She said "I remember sitting in my caravan in rainy Manchester filming Cold Call thinking it would be nice to somewhere sunnier. That was a big influence on where The Madame Blanc Mysteries would be set!" 

Where is the Chateau in Madame Blanc Mysteries?

The exact location of the Chateau owned by Judith and Jeremy in The Madame Blanc Mysteries is unknown, only that it is the Prime Minister of Malta’s secondary residence. 

Show producer Andy Morgan said "We used the Prime Minister’s wife’s secondary residence for Jeremy and Judith’s chateau. It was basically like filming at Chequers. We turned their dining room into a lounge – it was being wasted as a dining room as it looked out onto the beautiful gardens. I feel like we made the place even more homely. I really wanted the PM and his wife to visit the set and get some ideas from us, but we didn’t see them during filming."

Madame Blanc: Cast

• Sally Lindsay as Jean
• Steve Edge as Dom
• Sue Vincent as Gloria
• Adrien Mubu as Yves
• Alex Gaumond as Caron
• George Layton as Martin
• Karine Ambrosio as Brigette
• Lyna Dubarry as Lea
• Murielle Huet des Aunay as Lily
• Robin Askwith as Jeremy
• Sue Holderness as Judith

Sir Tony Robinson is a series regular on the show, and shared a video of himself chatting to Sally Lindsay about this, to his Instagram account. He told her about a conversation he'd had with his wife after Sally invited him to be part of the series. 

He said "I went home and said to my wife 'Sally Lindsay's just asked me to be in her show. It won't happen, it's just one of those things people say when they're a little bit p***ed, you know.'" 

Robinson hit it off with everyone on the show when his part did come to fruition, and the cast wanted him to remain a part of the series - which he now is. He concluded their chat by saying "I'm actually proud to be working on the show." 

For more location details, we've revealed where Lenny Henry's Three Little Birds filmed, and the surprising details about BBC's Boiling Point restaurants. Fans of long running Netflix drama Virgin River, are always keen to find out where the beautiful locations featured in the series can be found.