Death in Paradise star Shantol Jackson reveals missing co-star during filming: 'I try not to think about it'
Death in Paradise season 12 has viewers as invested as ever in the island of St Marie, but Shantol Jackson has opened up about one huge change to the show - filming without her close friend and former co-star, Josephine Jobert. Josephine played Florence Cassell on the murder mystery series below leaving in 2021 - and Shantol admitted that she tries "not to think about it".
Chatting to HELLO!, Shantol explained: "It was lovely to work with her but obviously outside of work, we became really good friends and we worked out together and I really haven't had that motivation since.
WATCH: Check out our exclusive chat with Shantol
"It’s really hard to get up by yourself and go to the gym and workout and also I'm doing a lot more this year because i'm stepping into her shoes and it's like big shoes to feel so and i wasn't prepared for all that. Now that I know what to expect I can schedule my time better!"
Shantol opened up about filming without Josephine
She also revealed that the pair were still in touch, adding: "We still speak. If she doesn't see me training, she'll go, ‘Shantol! I don’t see you at the gym!’ I miss her, but we do chat. Hopefully, I'll see her soon. We all miss her and I hope she's just doing the things that she wants to do the way she wants to do it and just having the best time."
MORE: See the stars of Death in Paradise and their families
MORE: Death in Paradise star Josephine Jobert talks dream role amid exit from show
Josephine previously opened up about her reasons behind leaving the series, telling HELLO!: "I already left in series eight, I thought it would be for good, honestly, I thought, 'I'd done.' Then they asked me back for series ten as I was like, 'Hmmm I don’t know, okay I'm going to do it.' But I knew it wouldn't be forever, I knew it. How long, I didn't know. I had an idea but I wasn't sure.
Josephine left the show in 2021
MORE: Ralf Little gives warning about character in Death in Paradise season 12
"Series ten was so good and we ended the series on a big cliffhanger between Neville and Florence, but I couldn't not come back, it would have been unfair… but I knew it would be just four episodes, to finish the story between the two characters and to be fair to the audience and respect them and that they follow the series… I couldn't just leave like that!"
Like this story? Sign up to our What to Watch newsletter and get the heads-up on the shows and films everyone’s talking about.
