Death in Paradise star makes surprise cameo in spin-off series Return To Paradise

If you're totally addicted to Death In Paradise and a regular viewer of Beyond Paradise, brace yourself for the cracking new series, Return To Paradise. Taking us down under to the stunning Dolphin Cove in Australia, the spin-off features Aussie actress Anna Samson as DI Mackenzie Clarke alongside the rising British star Lloyd Griffith as Detective SC Colin Cartwright.

Anna, 34, was stoked to nab this top part but admits she had to push aside thoughts of being the first female lead in the hit franchise or its mammoth success. "You have to put that to the side," she divulged. "The pressure of being the first female, or the size of the franchise, is not helpful. I don’t think being a female changes the DNA of the show. Being in Australia changes it more."

This doesn't diminish her sheer excitement and honour of landing the role as Mackenzie, who returns ‘home’ after time in the UK’s Metropolitan Police. "As well as being fairly overwhelmed, there was great joy and pride," shared Anna. "I was as pleased as punch that I got to play the first female lead in the franchise."

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The plot thickens when Mackenzie hits the glorious Dolphin Cove just as a local realtor Stuart Granger ends up washed ashore with a knife in his back during a surf carnival, pushing her straight into her first case.

Anna is thrilled by the drama's bold choice to make victims less sympathetic, saying, "A wonderful, slightly comforting thing about our show is that you’re not overly sorry to see the person go, be it the estate agent or the wellness influencer," and adds with a grin, "There’s something a bit delicious about who gets murdered."

When Stuart meets his untimely end, Mackenzie has just returned to Australia. Anna reveals, "She’s not meant to get involved in that case at all," but admits her character can't resist, "She can’t help herself. She’s looking to rent out her mum’s house, so she goes to where this estate agent is meant to be and bumps into Colin, who is there to investigate. She can’t help herself, she puts on the gloves and gets involved at the crime scene straight away."

The chemistry between Mackenzie and her rookie partner Colin is set to entertain audiences. Anna describes how Mackenzie feels like an outsider and often overlooks potential friendships in Dolphin Cove, "She can be very blinkered to other people’s feelings, and she gets hyper-focused on the job, which makes her quite hard work, especially for Colin."

However, despite her initial doubts, Colin becomes invaluable. Anna admits, "Mackenzie’s constantly surprised when Colin has something to offer," praising his unexpected competence, "He’s very good at his job."

At times, the script requires Mackenzie to have a heated exchange with Colin, which often results in Anna apologising to Lloyd afterwards. Lloyd shares, "She was apologising for being cruel to me or rude to me... I was like, ‘It’s fine. We’re acting.’ So it’s quite funny seeing the juxtaposition between Anna and her character Mackenzie."

Fans of Return To Paradise will also be thrilled to see a cameo from Death In Paradise favourite Ardal O’Hanlon, who played DI Jack Mooney. "We pay homage to the original series," says Anna. "It’s very similar in spirit, but it’s not a carbon copy."

However, the door is still open for other stars of the franchise, such as Ben Miller, Ralf Little or Kris Marshall. "I’d love to bring them all in," Anna chuckles. In the new series, it's revealed that Anna has previously worked with Ardal’s character Jack in London. However, in reality, the actors have never met. "Ardal shot in London and I shot in Australia," reveals Anna.

"I’d love to meet him, he plays my boss at the Metropolitan Police in London, and Mackenzie left under a cloud of suspicion. Ardal’s character is overseeing the trouble in London and trying to keep Mackenzie informed, but can only tell her so much because it’s all very secret. If Mackenzie has friends, he is her friend."

While the show follows the Paradise format, it also embraces Australian culture. "You fall in love with Australia," says Anna. "It almost gives you a tour of Australia via murder scenes!"

Lloyd was utterly enchanted by the namesake dolphins of their filming location. Gushing about the experience, he shared, "There’s a moment where Anna and I are doing a scene on the beach. We had a bit of dialogue together and I look over her shoulder, and there are dolphins swimming behind her," he said.

"You’re acting, with a fantastic actor, and then you have a pod of 10 to 12 dolphins, right behind her. And everyone else is like, ‘It’s just dolphins, mate, happens all the time.’"