Death in Paradise introduces franchise’s first female lead in Australian spin-off

Anna Samson will lead the Australia-based ‘Return to Paradise’

Death in Paradise fans can look forward to a new dose of fish-out-of-water detective action as production begins on a new spin-off – which introduces the franchise’s first female lead.

The long-running whodunit recently waved goodbye to its leading actor Ralf Little as his character DI Neville Parker left town for new beginnings.

On Monday (8 April), the BBC announced that a new Australian series titled Return to Paradise has begun filming in Sydney and the Illawarra coastal region, following last year’s Kris Marshall-led spin-off Beyond Paradise.

Anna Samson, who has starred in the Australian miniseries Dead Lucky and Wake in Fright, takes the lead as DI Mackenzie Clarke, the first woman to be a lead detective in the so-called “Paraverse”.

DI Clarke is an Australian expat who has had a successful career in the UK, becoming known throughout London’s Metropolitan Police for solving uncrackable murder cases.

Things, however, take an almighty shift when she is accused of tampering with evidence, and she is forced to find a job back in her hometown of Dolphin Cove, Australia. Sadly for Mackenzie, people aren’t too pleased to see her back – the last time she was there, she’d been fleeing town after leaving her ex-fiancé Glenn (Tai Hara) at the altar.

Mackenzie reluctantly joins the team at Dolphin Cove Police Station and soon finds herself immersed in a murder case that she can’t leave alone.

A description from the BBC reads: “Once a case lands on her desk, she can’t rest until she’s figured it out, and the killer is in handcuffs. It’s that tenacity and work ethic that might just, over time, help Mackenzie win over her new colleagues, and the people of Dolphin Cove.”

Anna Samson in ‘Return to Paradise’, an Australian spin-off of ‘Death in Paradise' (BBC / John Platt)

Starring alongside Samson, the ensemble cast includes Lloyd Griffith (Ted Lasso, Nolly), Tai Hara (Home and Away, Colin From Accounts), 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).

In a statement, co-creator and executive producer Peter Mattessi said: “I’m beyond excited to welcome Producer Di Haddon and our two fabulous directors Mat King and Tenika Smith who are coming together with our amazing cast to bring the world of Return to Paradise to life.

“We are having so much fun creating this brand-new mystery series that brings an Australian twist to one of the globe’s most successful television franchises. We think audiences in Australia, UK and around the world are going to fall in love with our wonderful characters, our delicious whodunits, and our gorgeous coastal Australian locations.”

The original Death in Paradise series is yet to announce who will replace Ralf Little as the lead detective of the fictional island of Saint Marie.