channel 5 the holiday© Photo: Channel 5

Where is Channel 5 drama The Holiday filmed?

The new series sees Jill Halfpenny lead the cast

Senior Features Writer
March 2, 2022

Are you watching The Holiday? The new series, fronted by former EastEnders star Jill Halfpenny, tells the story of family trip that takes a bad turn when police officer Kate realises her husband has been having an affair.

MORE: Viewers all have same complaint about Channel 5 drama The Holiday

Not only that, but there's a sinister twist and she realises that someone is prepared to commit murder in order to keep the affair a secret.

WATCH: Are you watching Channel 5's The Holiday?

The series has been adapted to TV from the best-selling thriller book of the same name by T.M. Logan, meaning viewers can witness the picturesque, Mediterranean views on screen – despite the gritty plot. But where is the show filmed? Here's what we know…

The Channel 5 drama sees Kate, her husband Sean and their children head to Malta for what they think is going to be the holiday of a lifetime. And the actors got to enjoy the sunny climates too as they were able to film on location.

The cast and crew headed to the gorgeous island for five weeks in April 2021 to film scenes for the drama. As they arrived, they had to undertake 14 days of isolation and testing before heading to set due to Malta being in a lockdown at the time.

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© Photo: Channel 5

Are you a fan of the Channel 5 drama?

However, former Strictly winner Jill said it was worth it to get back working. "Malta was in a pretty strict lockdown when we were there, so we were in complete isolation for 14 days, doing fittings and read-throughs on Zoom," she told press.

"And then we were working six day weeks, so we had to just go to set, film, and go back to our hotel rooms. There was a beach right outside the hotel, but police were patrolling it, making sure people wore masks, so it wasn’t very relaxing!"

She continued: "We would much rather be working in those conditions than not working at all though, so we were all still really pleased to be out there."

© Photo: Channel 5

The cast and crew spent five weeks in Malta for filming

Malta is a beautiful island south of Italian island Sicily and provides an idyllic location for a series set abroad. But despite it looking gorgeous sunny on screen, Jill also said it wasn't as warm as they thought it would be!

"It was April when we were filming and I think you can tell in some of the shots that it was incredibly windy. In fact, there was one day filming that was the coldest day I've ever had on set in my life."

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