'Death In Paradise' Star Confirms Season 15

Death in Paradise has yet to debut its current season (Season 14) in the U.S. on BritBox, but the first couple of episodes are out in the U.K. after the show debuted at the end of January 2025 across the pond. More importantly, so is the news that the show has been renewed for Season 15, with filming slated to begin this spring. That means anyone hesitating over committing to the show's latest lead detective, Don Gilet as DI Mervin Wilson, can breathe a little easier since he'll be back next year. At least, according to him, he will be.

Gilet is Death in Paradise's fifth lead actor in under 13 years, which is startling when one compares it to, say, Doctor Who, barely on its 15th Doctor in six decades. However, a significant part of that is location (location! Location!); Death in Paradise is partly a hit in the U.K. because it is set in the fictional tropical island of "St Marie," taking British (and American!) viewers away to sunny beaches and warm sand in the dead of winter. However, to have that backdrop, the show films in Guadeloupe, the island grouping in the southern Caribbean Sea, still technically "owned" by France, part of the legacy of colonialism. Non-stop from Heathrow to the islands is a ~16-hour flight, which should give readers an idea of the commute.

That commitment to filming has been why multiple leads have exited the show over the years, and Gilet is already not looking forward to it despite only being a year into his tenure. In an interview on ITV's talk show Lorraine, Gilet told the titular host when she asked if he was returning for another year, "Unfortunately," he said, filming was commencing for it soon. "It is about April time, end of April." 

It was assumed Gilet would not do a one-and-done season, as no lead actor has had that short a tenure. (Even the show's first detective, DI Richard Poole, played by Ben Miller, made it two full seasons before he cried uncle, and then he returned for the top of Season 3 to do the handoff to his replacement, Kris Marshall.) However, there was a small inkling for concern, as the series did not just bring in a new lead for his first full season after introducing DI Mervin Wilson in the Christmas special. It also partially changed the show's long-running crime-of-the-week formula, adding a season-long story arc involving Wilson's family history to solve. 

However, despite the alteration to the show's format, Gilet is not going anywhere, at least not yet. He also admitted he liked that his character had a profound emotional reason for not wanting to be in Saint-Marie and that he wasn't just another stuffy Londoner who cannot handle heat and sun. 

"There is a personal journey that is going on with the detective because he is originally there to find his mother; he happens to still be on the island, leaving and still be on the island when the latest crime happens, so let's make use of him," he told Lorraine in the interview. "He finds out she has died, then he has to stay there in this place, and he has tried to leave. He has all that struggle going on, and he doesn't like these people because he doesn't want to be there."

Since Gilet revealed information the BBC has not officially released, it's not clear if he has only signed on for Season 15 or if he was given a multi-year contract, officially renewing the show through Season 17. There's also no official synopsis, cast list, or holiday special confirmed. However, most of the current cast will likely continue into next season, including Shantol Jackson as Wilson's second in command, DS Naomi Thomas; Ginny Holder as Officer Darlene Curtis, and Shaquille Ali-Yebuah as the show's newest recruit, Officer Sebastian Rose.

Élizabeth Bourgine will also most certainly be back as Catherine Bordey, one of the two remaining stalwarts who have been in every season since the show launched. The other, Don Warrington, who plays Commissioner Selwyn Patterson, is currently in the midst of a Season 14 storyline that may conclude with his retiring from the series, so his return status is still uncertain.

Death in Paradise Season 14 debuts in the U.S. on BritBox starting Wednesday, February 19, 2025, and will stream with weekly episodes every Wednesday through mid-April. Season 15 will be out in 2026.