Former Coronation Street star signs up for new role in Death in Paradise – as Don Gilet joins the show as new Inspector
FORMER Coronation Street star signs up for a new role in Death in Paradise as Don Gilet joins the show as a new Inspector.
The much loved show will return with a brand-new series on Friday 31 January to tackle crime on the island of Saint Marie.
Following his debut in the 2024 Christmas special, Don Gilet will return to the show as DI Mervin Wilson.
The former EastEnders actor who played murderer Lucas Johnson is an abrasive Londoner who is decidedly unimpressed with what the island has to offer.
Following the recently cracked case of ‘who shot the Santas?’, along with the revelation that his estranged mother has passed away, Mervin is ready to get back home and leave the island for good.
But when a case close to the hearts of those at the station presents itself, is he tempted to extend his stay?
As Mervin continues to ruffle feathers, the police team pull together to solve some of the island’s most confounding cases yet.
Elsewhere, Commissioner Selwyn Patterson (Don Warrington) must deal with momentous news from the Chief Commissioner in Jamaica that rocks the police department to its very core.
In an unexpected twist, Naomi (Shantol Jackson) finds herself at an emotional crossroads when an old flame from St Barnabas makes a surprising appearance on the island,
And with the opportunity to learn more about his mother’s life, Mervin begins to discover things may not be all that they seem in Saint Marie.
Making their mark across the series is a host of fantastic guest stars including: Tobi Bakare (Kingsman), reprising his role of Sergeant JP Hooper, Michelle Greenidge (Kaos) and Adam James (The Day of The Jackal).
Also guest starring is Coronation Street‘s Bhavna Limbachia who played Rana Habeeb in the long running soap.
Rana was introduced as a love interest for Zeedan Nazir (Qasim Akhtar) and an old friend of his sister Alya (Sair Khan).
She was the show’s first Muslim lesbian character and her partnership with Faye Brookes, who played her lover Kate Connor has been highlighted amongst fans and the community.
Bhavna played the role for three years until it was announced in 2019 that Rana would be killed off after the actress quit the role.
Her character died with Kate by her side on their wedding day, after being trapped under the rubble in the Underworld factory collapse.
Timeline of Death In Paradise Detectives
Death In Paradise started in 2011 and has welcomed four detectives so far to the island.
These are all of the actors who have played the lead detective in the hit BBC series so far:
Ben Miller as DI Richard Poole – Actor Ben played the first ever detective from seasons 1 to 2, and then returned as a guest star in the third and tenth series.
Kris Marshall as DI Humphrey Goodman. Next up My Family star took on the role for three years from series 3 to 6.
Ardal O’Hanlon as DI Jack Mooney. Father Ted star Ardal was a fan favourite and was the detective for three seasons from series 6 to 9.
Ralf Little as DI Neville Parker. The actor started in 2019 and is the longest-running star to have the detective role. He was on the show for four seasons from 9 to 13.
During the investigation into the roof collapse, the cause was determined to be sabotage.
Later, her ghost returned to haunt Carla Connor (Alison King), who knew the factory roof was unsafe because of fire damage.
On the same day, her murderer was revealed to be Gary Windass (Mikey North).
Since then Bhavna has appeared in the comedy sensation Inside No. 9 and the British police procedural drama Ridley.
She currently stars as Meena in the comedy drama Brassic but is it still unknown as to what role she will take in Death in Paradise.
Death in Paradise returns to BBC and BBCIplayer at 9pm on January 31.