Patsy Kensit (EastEnders), Doon Mackichan (Two Doors Down), Youssef Kerkour (House of Gucci), Geoff Bell (The Curse), Bronagh Waugh (Ridley), Amelia Clarkson (The Last Kingdom), Freddy Carter (Shadow and Bone) and Leila Khan (Heartstopper) are celebrating Christmas on the sunny shores of Saint Marie this year. They join Death in Paradise series regulars Ralf Little (D.I Neville Parker), Don Warrington (Commissioner Selwyn Patterson), Shantol Jackson (D.S Naomi Thomas), Tahj Miles (Officer Marlon Pryce), Ginny Holder (Trainee Officer Darlene Curtis) and Élizabeth Bourgine (Catherine Bordey) for the BBC Caribbean crime drama’s festive feature-length special, airing on BBC One and iPlayer.
When entrepreneur and family man, Gerry Stableforth (Geoff Bell), is found dead in a ravine, his family – wife, Bella (Patsy Kensit), children Benjamin (Freddy Carter), Mariana (Amelia Clarkson), and niece Riley (Leila Khan) - are left in shock. As DI Neville Parker, DS Naomi Thomas, Officer Marlon Pryce and Trainee Officer Darlene Curtis set to work on cracking this mysterious death, things take a turn as the family’s visiting digital marketing guru, Debbie Clumson (Bronagh Waugh), suddenly disappears. Once news of Debbie’s disappearance reaches home, her hapless partner, Dave (Youssef Kerkour), is determined to find out what happened to her.
Meanwhile, Neville’s larger-than-life mum, Melanie (Doon Mackichan), arrives on the island to spend Christmas with her son in the sun. Quickly striking up a fabulous friendship with Catherine Bordey, the pair take the Saint Marie dating scene by storm. But not before Melanie attempts to impart some words of wisdom upon her love-scarred son, who is battling the notion that some people just aren’t meant to find love, with him being one of them…
Also taking notes from Neville’s mum, Naomi attempts to loosen up and focus on herself outside of work – but is she about to make things awkward between herself and a close friend at the Christmas party? And is Neville the man responsible for putting an awkward stop to Commissioner Selwyn Patterson’s big Christmas lights switch on?
Filmed on the French Caribbean Island of Guadeloupe, the Death in Paradise Christmas Special will be followed by a brand new series in 2024, set to deliver once more its perfect blend of exotic escapism, gripping whodunnits and deeply satisfying plot twists.
Last year’s Christmas special was seen by 8.5 million viewers, making it one of the UK’s top titles across the festive period. Licensed to over 230 territories across the globe, Death in Paradise is much loved by audiences worldwide often proving to be the best performing drama on its respective channel in each region. It was recently announced that the Death in Paradise franchise has bult on its international success and is hitting Australian shores with an original, home-grown spin-off series, Return to Paradise. Coming to ABC in Australia in 2024 and the BBC in the UK, Return to Paradise combines the DNA of the original global smash hit murder mystery series, with a new, unique Australian take.
Death in Paradise is a Red Planet Pictures production for the BBC made with the support of the region of Guadeloupe and internationally distributed by BBC Studios. The feature length episode and series 13 is executive produced by Tim Key and Ceri Meyrick for Red Planet Pictures and Danielle Scott-Haughton for BBC and produced by Joanna Hanley. All series of Death in Paradise are currently available on BBC iPlayer.
SJP