Death in Paradise fans have been wondering about the link between the original show and its new spin-off, Return to Paradise… and it's finally been revealed that it's DI Jack Mooney!
While the first spin-off from the hit crime drama, Beyond Paradise, has an obvious connection to the original as it follows the adventures of former Saint Marie detective DI Humphrey Goodman (Kris Marshall), it wasn't clear what the actual link was between Return to Paradise and Death in Paradise beyond sunshine and murders.
However, we now know that Ardal O'Hanlon appears as DI Jack Mooney in the first episode of Return to Paradise, which begins on BBC One on Friday, November 22 at 8 pm.
Return to Paradise follows DI Mackenzie Clarke, a high-ranking officer in the London Metropolitan Police, who’s forced to return to Australia when she’s framed.
Now, star Anna Samson has revealed that DI Jack Mooney is her character's London boss.
She tells us: "Yes, this is a wonderful nod to the original show. There's a phone ringing and a shot of London that reels you in — then we see it's DI Jack Mooney calling. He is Mackenzie's boss at the Metropolitan Police, which she left under a cloud of suspicion. Mooney's overseeing the ‘trouble’, but he can only tell Mackenzie so much, as it's all very secret.
"I didn’t actually get to meet Ardal as he was filming in London while I was shooting in Australia, but I would love to."
Anna continues that she hopes that the other detectives on Death in Paradise can make appearances.
“Yes, I want them all in this show! To prepare for the role of Mackenzie, I watched all the Paraverse detectives to help me understand how an actor works within this genre, and where I could push the humor. I’d say my character most overlaps with Ben Miller’s DI Richard Poole in terms of the way they interact socially with the world. But I love them all."
Other key cast includes Lloyd Griffith (Ted Lasso, Nolly), Tai Hara (Home and Away, Colin From Accounts, Austin), Catherine McClements (Total Control, Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries), Celia Ireland (Wentworth, Total Control), Andrea Demetriades (Mother and Son, The Artful Dodger) and Aaron McGrath (Gold Diggers, Preppers).
Return to Paradise begins on BBC One on Friday, November 22 at 8 pm in the UK. All episodes will be available as a boxset on BBC iPlayer from that date. We don't have a US release date yet.
