Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise star makes candid admission as they return to beloved BBC role
Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise star Don Gilet has opened up on returning to the BBC drama for the 2025 Christmas special
Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise Christmas Special cast(Image: BBC)
A Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise favourite has expressed his delight at reprising his role on the small screen, confessing: “It was great to come back”.
Don Gilet, 58, first appeared in the BBC series as DI Mervin Wilson last year, following in the footsteps of previous leads including Ben Miller and Ralf Little as the latest detective to take centre stage, reports the Express.
The actor is now looking forward to the 2025 Christmas special, and discussing his return to the character, he acknowledged feeling “slightly daunted”.
“It felt good. Slightly daunting, but in a positive sense because you want to do the same again, if not better,” he revealed in a BBC interview ahead of the festive episode. “I jokingly describe it as the second album, the first album went really well, but you can’t rest on your laurels and be complacent, there’s still more audience out there to win over.”
He continued: “So, I went out to Guadeloupe with a renewed appetite. It was great to come back and reconnect with the characters and the actors.”
Don Gilet made his entrance into the BBC drama as DI Mervin Wilson last year(Image: BBC)
Discussing what audiences can look forward to in the Christmas special, Don promised “plenty of humour, but even more heart”.
He elaborated: “It pushes and pulls emotionally and comedically in equal measure. Mervin faces far more antagonism, and things are a lot more challenging for him, especially now he knows there’s a half-brother out there to find.
“However, you can still get cosy, sip your Baileys and enjoy another great Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise Christmas special.”
The forthcoming Christmas special presents one of the team’s most perplexing cases yet, as a body is found in a swimming pool on Saint Marie, but the weapon used to kill him was locked away in a drawer in England when the murder took place, leaving detectives completely stumped.
Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise is returning for a Christmas special (Image: BBC)
Meanwhile, Don has recently spoken about the “pressure” of following in the footsteps of his predecessors as the show’s latest lead detective.
Speaking on BBC The One Show on Monday (December 16) evening, he told Alex and co-host Roman Kemp: “I feel the pressure doing this. I’ve said this before, it feels like the second album, you know the first one went well, I was the replacement like a replacement Doctor Who and people have their favourites prior to that.
“So there’s always this sense of ‘well is he going to be as good as…’ are people going to switch off, but luckily no one has switched off yet but you’ve got to come back and do it again and better so I’m not resting on my laurels.
“I do feel a bit pressure but it’s an enjoyable pressure. I love coming back and doing more of the same but with something a bit extra.”
