Death in Paradise's new star Don Gilet's life off-screen from famous ex to co-star bond
After weeks of intense speculation about who would take over as Death in Paradise’s new lead, EastEnders actor Don Gilet was finally confirmed to be taking on the coveted role on Thursday (May 2.) The actor, who is best known for playing serial killer Lucas Johnson in the BBC soap will be swapping his villainous ways for a far more law abiding role with the actor revealed to be playing Detective Inspector Mervin Wilson.
According to show bosses, Mervin is a cop who hails from London, and has swapped his city home for a new life on Saint Marie - but is far from impressed with his new home. The character will make his debut in a Christmas special later this year before taking on the lead role for series fourteen.
Speaking about his new exciting role, Don said that it feels like "a deeply loved and incredibly precious jewel" has been placed in his hands.
"This is a big show, with a big heart and the love continually grows for it. It is my intention to never lose sight of that and to remain grateful, humbled and dedicated.
"Even during those testing times when every sinew is screaming at me to run off the set and dive into the sea, swimming pool or an ice-cold beer – whichever happens to be closer at the time!”
The news comes after Don briefly returned to EastEnders earlier this year, when Denise Fox sought out advice from her serial killer ex Lucas to help try and cope with the guilt of having been complicit to Keanu Taylor’s death.
As regular viewers will know, Keanu was fatally stabbed to death on Christmas Day by Linda Carter as she tried to stop him from strangling her friend Sharon Watts, but rather than come clean about the crime, Linda, along with the rest of The Six decided to cover up the murder and even buried the body beneath Kathy’s cafe!
But in the wake of the harrowing incident, Denise in particular found herself struggling with psychosis and even hallucinations of the dead and buried Keanu - and sought advice from her former pastor Lucas who was serving time in prison for multiple murders himself!
Yet while Lucas may have had a deadly streak on screen, actor Don Gilet couldn’t be further from his villainous alter-ego.
Here’s everything you need to know about his life off screen….
Early Life
Don Gilét was born on 17 January 1967 in Walsall, West Midlands and spent much of his childhood in the local area with his two older sisters. He initially attended Whitehall Junior School before later progressing to the Blue Coat Academy Church of England and Sunday school at Caldmore Gospel Hall in Caldmore.
After discovering a passion for acting at an early age, Don later went on to train professionally at the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts.
Career
Don’s first on-screen role came in 1993, when he appeared in an episode of British comedy series Desmond’s. A number of smaller roles then followed, including in Now What, The Return of Nick Cotton and Casualty.
However, his first real breakout role came in 2001 series Babyfather, which was widely described as a "black, male, UK version of Sex and the City“ and based on a novel written by Patrick Augustus. It was while working on the show that Don first crossed paths with his future EastEnders co-star Diane Parish, with the duo striking up a firm friendship that even exists to this day.
In addition to his breakout role in the series, Don also later went on to appear in Holby City, Cutting It, Silent Witness, The Bill, and Doctor Who to name just a few of his memorable roles.
He is best known for playing pastor turned serial killer Lucas Johnson in EastEnders, a role he has held intermittently since first arriving in Walford back in 2008.
Personal Life
Unlike his on-screen characters, Don prefers to keep his personal life out of the spotlight, however he was previously married to Soldier, Soldier and Peep Show actress Tracy Whitwell. Together they share one child, a son named Flynn.
The pair previously lived together in Bedfordshire, however have since separated.
More recently, Don has been romantically linked to Siobhan Finneran, who fans may recognise as Clare Cartwright from Happy Valley - however the pair have never publicly confirmed their romance, despite being spotted holding hands.
Co-star Connection
One interesting fact about Don is his close friendship with Diane Parish, who played his on-screen wife Denise Fox in EastEnders between 2009 and 2011. The pair actually knew each other several years before working on the soap, as they both also previously appeared in Babyfather at the very beginning of the 00s.
Now, over twenty years later the pair are extremely close friends.
EastEnders continues Monday to Thursday at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer
