“Fans Think They’ve Finally Solved The Mystery…” — A Hidden Death In Paradise Pattern May Reveal The Next DI
Actor Don Gilet joined the BBC crime drama at the end of 2024 when he became the new lead detective
Death in Paradise has has a plethora of lead DI’s (Image: BBC)
Since Death in Paradise first aired in 2011, BBC fans have seen a plethora of faces front the programme as the main Detective Inspector. Originally, actor Ben Miller took on the role of Detective Inspector Richard Poole for two series before Kris Marshall took over as DI Humphrey Goodman.
Although he’s still in the Paradise universe with his own spin-off show, he left Saint Marie in 2017 with Ardal O’Hanlon joining as DI Jack Mooney before Ralf Little became a staple in 2020 as DI Neville Parker. As DI Neville left the island to be with DS Florence Cassell (Joséphine Jobert), the lead role on the show has since been taken up by Don Gilet as DI Mervin Wilson.
However, as the show often has a new Detective Inspector every few years, some fans have already started to speculate who could be taking over from Don Gilet when the time comes.
On a Reddit thread, one viewer believes they’ve spotted a pattern with who takes over, highlighting that the previous DIs have had cameos in the past.
In the post, they wrote: “I’m doing a full rewatch and I was surprised to find 2 very familiar faces in early episodes of the show. In season 2 episode 6, Ralph Little (DI Neville Parker) is a suspect in DI Richard Pool’s case.
“In season 4 episode 1, Don Gilet (DI Mervin Wilson) is a suspect in DI Humphrey Goodman’s case. If we were to follow the trend and were to pick a “suspect” from DI Jack Mooney to be the next DI, who would you like it to be?
Ralph Little played DI Neville Parker for four years (Image: BBC)
It wasn’t long before people commented on the theory, with many airing their thoughts on who could become the next DI in the future.
One person replied: “S7E2 Mark Benton?” In agreement, someone wrote: “He’s fabulous in Shakespeare & Hathaway! Definitely would be great DI.”
While a third wrote “He’s even more fabulous in Smoggie Queens!”
Don Gilet is the current DI in the BBC crime drama (Image: BBC)
Meanwhile, someone else shared: “That bloke who played Neil in the Inbetweeners was one of the suspects in the Zoo episode. He was dumb in The Inbetweeners like Dougal in Father Ted, so maybe he could be a clever DI like Jack.”
However, someone shared that Ralf Little’s ‘real life partner in crime’ Will Mellor would be a great addition to the BBC show.
Death in Paradise is available to watch on BBC iPlayer
