Anna Samson says she’s proud to play first female lead in Death In Paradise spin-off, Return To Paradise

Death In Paradise is one of modern TV’s biggest success stories.

Beloved by millions across the world, the long-running series, created by esteemed screenwriter and novelist Robert Thorogood, is a ratings smash-hit both here in Australia and the UK, where it has enjoyed a blockbuster run for 13 seasons on the BBC.

It recently gave rise to a spin-off, Beyond Paradise, also met with a positive response from fans — and now it’s time for us to get in on the act, with a local version of the series, Return To Paradise, arriving on ABC this week.

The six-part original series was filmed in New South Wales’ Illawarra region on its South Coast and sees ex-Home And Away star Anna Samson play Detective Inspector Mackenzie Clarke, an Aussie detective recently returned to her home town of Dolphin Cove after several years working for The Met in London.

Mackenzie is the first female detective lead in the show’s history, and as Samson tells PLAY, the prospect of being front-and-centre in this addition to The Paraverse was a daunting prospect.

“Firstly, I love that they call it this — The Paraverse,” she laughs.

“I love the concept that there’s a whole universe orbiting around the characters — I think it really captures the scale of the success of that show.

“But also, I am very proud — proud that it’s Australian and that it’s our ABC that is the first to make the move into casting a female as the lead detective.

“It’s a very special thing, the Paraverse legacy, and I think fans will love it.

Originally filmed on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, the original Death In Paradise focuses on the various exploits of a string of male British detectives sent to the fictional British island territory of Saint Marie.

They’re fish out of water on the island paradise, and the show leans heavily on this trope.

The show’s first male lead was Ben Miller, who carried three seasons before passing the baton to Kris Marshall, who stayed with the show until series seven, when Irish actor Ardal O’Hanlon stepped in (Marshall has since returned to the Paraverse for its first spin-off, which aired this year).

Ralf Little took the reins next, remaining with the series until its most recent season when Don Gilet took over.

It was more than time for a woman to step to the front.

“There is a sense of pressure and legacy, carrying on the mantle from Kris Marshall, Ben Miller, Ardal O’Hanlon, Ralf Little and now Don Gilet — these incredible, brilliant male actors,” Samson admits, before adding she managed to “quieten” her self doubt by throwing herself wholeheartedly into the role.

Samson temporarily relocated from her inner-Sydney home to the state’s stunning South Coast where she hit the ground running.

She admits she relished losing herself in the character of Mackenzie.

“I am so fond of her,” she says.

“She is so unique, and so unlike many female roles available to us.

“She’s quirky and funny, but also complex — and not particularly preoccupied with being liked.”

Samson compares her detective character to the flinty roles played by Ben Miller and Ralf Little — like Mackenzie, they too felt something of an oddity in their new surroundings.

“She is looking for evidence that she doesn’t belong,” Samson says of her character’s return to Dolphin Cove, a place she’d left several years prior after a failed engagement.

“She overlooks those that have their arms out open to her (on her return) and she self-isolates finding reasons to see herself as unlovable.

“She knows she is a brilliant detective and that’s safe, but human emotions — that is the real puzzle she can’t solve.”

Solving puzzles has always been central to the success of Death In Paradise and its spin-offs — it’s fun as a viewer, after all, to watch along from home and try to figure out whodunnit.

“Audiences love solving puzzles, and they love watching maverick detectives solve puzzles,” Samson muses.

“Murder is a terrible, dark and desperate act of humanity, but it’s explored in the safety of a formula here where you know justice will prevail.

“You will get your answers — and in the case of our show, you will get to laugh along the way too.”

Orbiting Mackenzie at Dolphin Cove are a great cast of supporting characters, including Colin From Accounts star Tai Hara (who plays Samson’s love interest), Wentworth’s Celia Ireland, who plays an assistant to the police, and screen and stage star Catherine McClements, who steps in as the town’s chief police officer.

Ted Lasso’s Lloyd Griffith rounds out the key cast as Colin, a British detective initially in charge of the murder case Mackenzie unwittingly finds herself working on — he’s the ‘affable copper’ to the forthright, stitched-up Mackenzie, and their dynamic works a treat onscreen.

“I cannot understate how wonderful the time on this show was,” she says.

“We, as a cast and a crew, got along famously — it was joy.

“I am very proud of how fun and safe we felt to be our oddball selves, and I am grateful and very proud of the friendships I made.”

Just as we Aussie audiences find the Caribbean locations featured in Death In Paradise irresistibly exotic, foreign audiences will no doubt swoon at the beauty of the Australian coastline, just as the cast did when filming the series.

“It really is astonishingly beautiful (down there),” Samson enthuses.

“I got taken (to the location of Mackenzie’s mother’s house) pre-shooting, and it does take your breath away, that particular house.”

The tiny beach shack where Mackenzie has been raised is perched right on the coast and boasts a stunning view — the real house used as the location would surely command a pretty penny if it were ever to come up for sale.

Samson fell in love with it, and so too her British co-star, Griffith.

“Lloyd, who plays Colin, is English and originally from Grimsby, so there is something real and authentic about his response to Australia and the Australian coastline,” Samson explains.

“He reminded me of how amazing it is to live in Sydney, Australia.”

Return To Paradise is shaping up to be a satisfying addition to The Paraverse, and if early episodes we’ve seen are anything to go by, something tells us this series will become just as beloved as its predecessors.

“(Shows like ours) are a great antidote to the great unanswerable fears of real life,” Samson says.

“Dolphin Cove has a high murder rate, but the baddie … they will always get what they deserve, and that is really comforting.”

Return To Paradise premieres Sunday September 8 at 7.30pm on ABC.