More fun in the sun for Ardal
THE fictional island of Saint Marie may look beautiful, but any tourists paying a visit in search of sea and sunshine may end up going home in a body bag. Similarly, landing a job on Death in Paradise may sound like a dream gig for an actor, but there’s been quite a high cast turnover during its eight seasons (although luckily everyone who left did so by choice), perhaps because working away from home for months on end can have its drawbacks.
Luckily, it seems that Ardal O’hanlon, who joined in series six replacing Kris Marshall (who in turn had replaced Ben Miller), seems to rather enjoy filming in the Caribbean. The former Father Ted stars says: “I really relished going back to Guadeloupe this time because I knew what the island had to offer. I also knew the pitfalls, so having had a year-and-a-half’s experience out there, a series and a half, I was ready for it. I was really braced for whatever it threw up and it will throw up surprises.
“There’s always a new waterfall to find, there’s always a new little trek to go on. Particularly this year I got into the history of the Caribbean, not just Guadeloupe but the Caribbean generally, learning about the sugar trade and its heritage. That was really enriching and it made the whole experience richer and deeper.”
While he enjoys exploring in his downtime, he also likes the job itself – even if he admits the amount of dialogue can be dauting. Ardal says: “I’m always trying to give my lines to the other actors. There are a lot of scenes to get through so the scheduling is always tough, but of course I enjoy the work. I enjoy preparing for the scenes, I enjoy doing the scenes, I enjoy the company of the guest actors and I enjoy the island.”
Ardal O’hanlon stars as DI Jack Mooney in the crime series set in the Caribbean.
However, in the penultimate episode of the run, his character Jack may not be feeling so happy at work as DS Madeleine Dumas (Aude Legastelois) from Internal affairs in Paris arrives to assess the team’s working practices in light of recent events.
She finds Jack and co working on the case of muchloved local DJ Dezzie Dixon (Terence Maynard), who was fatally shot live on air.
His daughter Faith (Adelle Leonce) and old friend Bunny (Errol Trotman-harewood) had just nipped out of the studio for some food when the incident occurred,
while the station’s owner Carlton (Richard Blackwood) was at a gig. So Madeleine wants to know why Jack is so convinced it’s an inside job when Dezzie’s colleagues all have rock solid alibis…
Viewers have faith in the cop’s ability to work it out, but could Ardal solve the case himself?
He says: “The law of averages would suggest I do get it right once or twice a series but I think the writers are clever; they will always try to wrong foot you. That’s one of the beauties of the show is they will always have another twist or another surprise in store for you.”