Dᴇᴀᴛʜ In Paradise star feels ‘pressure’ as he worries fans will ‘switch off’
BBC Dᴇᴀᴛʜ In Paradise star Don Gilet opened up about his role as DI Mervin Wilson ahead of the Christmas special when he appeared on The One Show
Dᴇᴀᴛʜ In Paradise star Don Gilet on The One Show(Image: BBC)
It’s been a year since actor Don Gilet made his debut in popular BBC drama Dᴇᴀᴛʜ In Paradise as DI Mervin Wilson and now the actor is counting down to the 2025 festive special.
British Detective Mervin arrived on the island looking for answers about his birth mother’s Dᴇᴀᴛʜ and he’s since become a fan favourite.
Don, 58, appeared on BBC’s The One Show on Monday, alongside fellow guests Ricky Gervais and Alex Scott, to speak about the upcoming festive edition, which sees the team facing one of their most baffling cases yet.
A man is found dead in a swimming pool in Saint Marie, but the murder weapon was locked in a drawer in England when he was killed, leaving them completely stumped.
Don with Alex Scott and Ricky Gervais on The One Show(Image: BBC)
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After playing a preview clip, host Alex Jones told Don: “Now the thing is Don people absolutely love this show don’t they? We’ve had lots of people get in touch already including Janice and she says ‘I love Don as the new detective – can’t wait for the Christmas special.'”
A clearly touched Don replied: “Oh thank you, thank you Janice. It’s for you, thank you!”
Talking about following in the footsteps of stars like Ben Miller and Ralf Little as the latest detective, Don admitted to feeling “pressure”.
A scene from the Dᴇᴀᴛʜ In Paradise 2025 Christmas special(Image: BBC)
He told Alex and fellow 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.”
Don went on to say his character Mervin was now settling in after feeling, during his first series, that he “didn’t want to be here”.
“There’s been some draw, some familial draw that keeps him there now so aside from all the intrigue and the whodunit-ness about it he’s got some kind of family to deal with which obviously I won’t say too much about.
“But yeah there are reasons for him to stay there now and I’m very happy to be playing the personal family side to it as opposed to just getting the bad guy, the bad person (catching the murderer).”
