Inside Return to Paradise star Anna Samson’s life from ‘cruel’ trolls and co-star romance to filming challenges
Return to Paradise is on its way, breathing new life into the Death in Paradise universe - but what is there to know about its leading lady, actress Anna Samson?
The upcoming spin-off, which is to debut on Friday, November 22, at 9pm on BBC One, will delve into life at Dolphin Cove in Australia, the hometown that DI Mackenzie Clarke (played by Anna Samson) left behind.
She went to work for Scotland Yard in the UK but is forced to return after leaving with some controversy hanging over her head.
But what will it be like for her when she has to reluctantly work alongside her former community?
With the show gearing up to premiere in the UK, here’s everything there is to know about DI Mackenzie Clarke actress Anna Samson.
Family appreciation
While Samson was born in the UK in November 1989, she spent a lot of her childhood living in Nigeria before relocating to Australia when she was a teenager.
It was then in her late teens that she made the move to Melbourne so she could study at the Victorian College of the Arts.
READ MORE: Meet cast of new BBC drama The Listeners including Hollywood star Rebecca Hall
READ MORE: Return to Paradise star opens up on major difference in spin-off to Death in Paradise
While speaking to Toasting Aussie Theatre, the 34-year-old shared that she was inspired to get into the world of performing thanks to her grandmother.
“Looking back I can see there was a frustrated actress burning in my Nan," she said. “She was a great comedienne and she could command your attention and change the energy of a room remarkably. Perhaps I picked up on this power.”
She also posted a sweet message to Instagram a couple of years ago for her parents, describing them as “extraordinarily kind and wildly brave”.
“Their love for each other is something that never ceases to bolster me. They have given me the most brilliant life," she added.
Online trolls
Over the years, Samson has had roles in hit projects including The Leftovers, Dead Lucky, Conspiracy 365, The Doctor Blake Mysteries and Stephen King’s Children Of The Corn, just to name a few.
But it was in 2021 that she scored her biggest role to date as Mia Anderson in the Australian soap opera Home And Away.
However, it didn’t take long after her casting was announced that trolls started openly criticising her online but the star wasn’t ready to take it lying down.
Taking to Instagram, she wrote: “What an exciting time for Sam Barrett and myself, as we join the cast of Home and Away, this iconic place of Australian television.
“The sad thing is, this is not surprising. In 2021 people still feel they have the right to shame, comment on, and harass women about their appearance.
“This is not new. It's part of a culture of cowardice. Cruelly commenting on our weight loss or gain, our faces, our choices, our voices. In 2021. As if we don't have bigger things to be concerned with.”
She went on to address online bullies directly, saying: "You are guilty of contribution to a very problematic and dangerous culture."
Co-star romance
It was previously revealed that Samson had started dating actor Lee Jones who had appeared on Home And Away as Ambulance Officer Luke.
Prior to working on the Aussie soap opera together, he pair had appeared in the 2017 mini-series Wake In Fright with Samson playing Mick Jaffries and Jones behind Joe Jaffries.
They had shared a number of cute pictures together on social media but haven’t in recent years so it isn’t clear if they’re still an item.
Filming challenges
Ahead of taking on the role of DI Mackenzie Clarke in Return to Paradise, Samson opened up on Morning Live about the difficulties of shooting in Australia.
She shared: "No, it's not that glamorous, you know shooting is a lot of hard work, and I'm set quite a lot in this show, so it's a decent amount of hard slog.
"Also, it looks warmer and sunnier than it is. You know, it's the magic of television. We were on the coast of New South Wales, it's very windy.”
She continued: "Another departure from the original show is that this detective has quite long hair, so the wind was not our friend, and you know when you're shooting a show, continuity is important.
"You can't have this bit of hair up here for one shot and down here for another, so yeah, we were kind of battling the tempestuous weather quite a lot."
Return To Paradise premieres on Friday, November 22, at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
