Death in Paradise fans hail new lead star ‘a perfect fit’ after Christmas special-Kitty Chrisp-Entertainment – Metro

Death in Paradise has returned for the Christmas special – and fans are buzzing (Picture: BBC/Red Planet Pictures/Denis Guyenon)

Death in Paradise’s brand new detective lead Don Gilet made his debut on Sunday evening, and fans have praised his performance.

The EastEnders actor, 57, played Detective Inspector Mervin Wilson in the Christmas special, taking over from Ralf Little’s DI Neville Parker.

The episode saw DI Wilson holidaying in a fictional Caribbean island, St Marie, when Commissioner Patterson gets in touch about a festive murder case.

Fans of the show – now in its 14th season – took to social media to share their thoughts about the new starring actor, with many impressed at Don’s performance.

‘Just watched it. It was a brilliant show so enjoyed it the new DI is so different to others I like it,’ said @inkydeedi.

@AndrewRCushing added: ‘I love this time of year, not because it’s Christmas but Death in Paradise is back and Don Gilét is a perfect fit.’

Don Gilet is the new lead star and fans have branded him the ‘perfect’ fit (Picture: BBC/Red Planet Pictures/Lou Denim)

He replaced Ralf Little, who was the previous much-loved detective (Picture: BBC/Red Panet Pictures / Denis Guyenon)

Big fan @GP98765432 said: ‘The change over of DI in Death in Paradise is a bit like the change over of The Doctor in Doctor Who.

‘Weird at first & you keep expecting to see the face you know & love, but you’re sure before long it will feel like the new guy’s always been there.’

‘Don Gilet is fabulous in Death in Paradise – at last an actor in the role. A proper breath of fresh air,’ agreed @NickDentsBrain.

@mochamyeon said: ‘The best way i can describe the new death in paradise inspector is he thinks he’s in a completely different tv show to everyone else. he’s in a gritty london drama series and everyone else is in a lighthearted comedy

It’s not Don’s first time on the Death in Paradise set, as he actually appeared in the season 4 premiere of the long-running series in 2015 – but he was playing the murderer.

He is best known for his role as Lucas Johnson in EastEnders (Picture: HGL/WireImage)

It looks like fans have taken to him like a new Doctor Who star (Picture: BBC/Red Planet Pictures/Philippe Virapin)

The episode, Stab in the Dark, saw the owner of a rum distillery murdered during a séance, with Don’s character Andre Morgan eventually unveiled as the culprit.

Don appears in the brand new 2025 season alongside returning Death in Paradise regulars Don Warrington, Shantol Jackson, Ginny Holder, Élizabeth Bourgine and Danny John-Jules.

Speaking about his exit on BBC Breakfast in May, former Death in Paradise lead Ralf said: ‘This last series was always going to be my last series, I had talks with the BBC, and with Red Planet, the production company and we all agreed that it just felt… if it was in my heart, like if it was just a heart decision, I’d have wanted to do it for 20 more years.’

It’s not been confirmed exactly when Death In Paradise season 14 will resume for the remainder of the series following the Christmas special, but it will likely be in early 2025.

The Death in Paradise Christmas special is streaming on BBC iPlayer.

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