Where is The Chelsea Detective filmed? Fans already run a walking tour of the spots

Every British crime drama swears it's set in London. Most of them are lying to you, sweetly, the way a man lies about his height. They shoot in some suburb with a rented phone box and call it a day. The Chelsea Detective is the rare show that actually put the camera where the title says.

DI Max Arnold's beat is shot in Chelsea itself — the actual Royal Borough, actual money, actual residents pretending not to look at the crew. Adrian Scarborough, who plays Max, has been smug about this in interviews, and he's earned it:

"We are glued to the Thames, and Albert Bridge, and that houseboat," Scarborough said, noting that other shows settle for London lookalikes.

The actual map

If you want to stand where a fictional body was found (and you do, don't pretend), here's where the show plants its flag:

• The King's Road and Chelsea Green — the bread-and-butter street scenes;
• Chelsea Embankment and Albert Bridge — the moody Thames-side shots, underpasses included;
• Max's houseboat — yes, it's a real mooring, and yes, it's the best character on the show after Max;
• Brompton Cemetery — the gothic showstopper, where the crew once spray-painted a prop angel white and presumably gave several dog walkers a small heart attack;
• The Chase in Clapham — the ringer, drafted in when the script needed houses with actual gardens.

The tour is real and it's two miles long

Fans didn't wait for permission. There's now a proper guided walk — The Chelsea Detective Tour — two hours, roughly two miles, covering locations from all three series, houseboat and Brompton Cemetery included, with behind-the-scenes gossip along the way.

Two hours of walking past multi-million-pound houses while discussing fictional murders committed in them. Honestly? A perfect afternoon. The residents of Chelsea did not agree to become a theme park, which makes it better.