Following his festive debut, Death In Paradise's new detective continues to make waves on the Caribbean island of Saint Marie especially among his colleagues.
Ex-EastEnders star Don Gilet plays straight-talking Londoner DI Mervin Wilson, who is the opposite of predecessor Ralf Little's anxious and sensitive DI Neville Parker.
Cutting a casual figure in a bucket hat and button down shirt, prickly Mervin has rattled his new workmates with his laid-back and "rude" approach.
"He was on his way out," says Don, 57. "His business was done on Saint Marie and he was happy to be leaving." Mervin had travelled to the island to track down his birth mother, only to find she had recently died.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583506613/1737436879/articles/YOMIeRPrA1737458137261/8371217137.jpg]
However, when a report about her death leaves him with more questions than answers, Mervin extends his stay on Saint Marie.
"It affects him very personally, and he's forced to show a vulnerable side, which he clearly doesn't want to do," says Don. "He doesn't want to connect with this place and the last thing he wants to do is show any true feelings."
One person who clashes with Mervin is Mayor Catherine Bordey, played by Élizabeth Bourgine. "Every time she can show that she's the mayor and she has a little bit of power, she will do it, to show him that he is not really respectful," says Élizabeth. "Catherine has to, because he's so rude, he is so different from Neville, from all the others." While the team navigates change and cultural differences, Selwyn becomes upset when he's told his position as commissioner will be dissolved. "He's shocked," says actor Don Warrington, who plays him.
"It's not what he expected. It comes as a bolt from the blue.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583506613/1737436879/articles/YOMIeRPrA1737458137261/7111133373.jpg]
He has to deal with a situation that he hadn't expected, and it's making a big change in his life, in his status. He has to work through a crisis, really. It's monumental for all the other characters as well. It affects everybody equally." But while Mervin ignites tensions on screen, the cast made sure to give Don Gilet a warm welcome behind the scenes. "It's like turning a page," Don Warrington says of the latest addition. "It's exciting because it's a new person bringing their characteristics to it, it's reinvention. We, as characters, are reinvented by the presence of another person.
So, it's thrilling." For Shantol Jackson, who plays ...
Ex-EastEnders star Don Gilet plays straight-talking Londoner DI Mervin Wilson, who is the opposite of predecessor Ralf Little's anxious and sensitive DI Neville Parker.
Cutting a casual figure in a bucket hat and button down shirt, prickly Mervin has rattled his new workmates with his laid-back and "rude" approach.
"He was on his way out," says Don, 57. "His business was done on Saint Marie and he was happy to be leaving." Mervin had travelled to the island to track down his birth mother, only to find she had recently died.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583506613/1737436879/articles/YOMIeRPrA1737458137261/8371217137.jpg]
However, when a report about her death leaves him with more questions than answers, Mervin extends his stay on Saint Marie.
"It affects him very personally, and he's forced to show a vulnerable side, which he clearly doesn't want to do," says Don. "He doesn't want to connect with this place and the last thing he wants to do is show any true feelings."
One person who clashes with Mervin is Mayor Catherine Bordey, played by Élizabeth Bourgine. "Every time she can show that she's the mayor and she has a little bit of power, she will do it, to show him that he is not really respectful," says Élizabeth. "Catherine has to, because he's so rude, he is so different from Neville, from all the others." While the team navigates change and cultural differences, Selwyn becomes upset when he's told his position as commissioner will be dissolved. "He's shocked," says actor Don Warrington, who plays him.
"It's not what he expected. It comes as a bolt from the blue.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583506613/1737436879/articles/YOMIeRPrA1737458137261/7111133373.jpg]
He has to deal with a situation that he hadn't expected, and it's making a big change in his life, in his status. He has to work through a crisis, really. It's monumental for all the other characters as well. It affects everybody equally." But while Mervin ignites tensions on screen, the cast made sure to give Don Gilet a warm welcome behind the scenes. "It's like turning a page," Don Warrington says of the latest addition. "It's exciting because it's a new person bringing their characteristics to it, it's reinvention. We, as characters, are reinvented by the presence of another person.
So, it's thrilling." For Shantol Jackson, who plays ...
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New UK (Digital) - 1 Issue, January 27, 2025