{"id":257305,"date":"2026-01-22T04:08:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T04:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/257305\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T04:08:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T04:08:15","slug":"death-in-paradise-with-a-happy-valley-twist-what-surprise-new-cast-means-for-shows-revamped-15th-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/257305\/","title":{"rendered":"Death in Paradise with a Happy Valley twist! What \u201csurprise\u201d new cast means for show\u2019s \u201crevamped\u201d 15th series"},"content":{"rendered":"

There’s nothing quite like a murder mystery<\/a> to beat the winter blues, especially if it goes by the name of Death in Paradise. Fans will be thrilled to hear that the beloved BBC drama is on its way back to our screens with something of a revamped 15th series – and the best part? It’s got a Happy Valley twist! <\/p>\n

The show’s cast favourites will be joined by an impressive host of new faces, including Happy Valley’s Siobhan Finneran and EastEnders Vicki Fowler. Other well-known faces popping up on the sandy shores of Saint Marie include Spooks’ Hermione Norris, Gavin & Stacey’s Steffan Rhodri and Ghosts star Ben Willbond. So, pull up a deck chair, because this is everything you need to know about the new series before it airs, including the cast, plot and release date. <\/p>\n

What is Death in Paradise about? \"txPhotographer:\/\/BBC<\/p>\n

Happy Valley\u2019s Siobhan Finneran guest stars in Death in Paradise<\/p>\n

Death in Paradise is the perfect murder mystery series to ease the winter blues. The palm-fringed beaches, turquoise seas and Caribbean sunsets are the backdrop for DI Mervin Wilson (Don Gilet) as he and his police team solve a myriad of baffling cases on the fictional Caribbean island of Saint Marie. <\/p>\n

What will happen in Death in Paradise series 15?<\/p>\n

Series 15 will see DI Wilson still struggling to adjust to island life, while also faced with another string of baffling murders. Series 14 ended with an emotional cliffhanger when Wilson discovered his half brother Solomon (Daniel Ward). Mervin\u2019s newfound happiness quickly turns to frustration as the pair navigate their relationship \u2013 discovering they have more differences than similarities.<\/p>\n

Returning Commissioner Selwyn Patterson (Don Warrington) confronts the impact of his recent absence, and after some tough love from old friend Catherine Bordey (Elizabeth Bourgine), he\u2019s determined to win back the trust of the island. Meanwhile, Detective Sergeant Naomi Thomas (Shantol Jackson) and Officer Sebastian Rose (Shaquille Ali-Yebuah) help new recruit Sergeant Mattie Fletcher (Catherine Garton) settle into the fold, which might be easier said than done as shadows from her past begin to reveal themselves. <\/p>\n

\"tx<\/p>\n

Photographer:\/\/BBC<\/p>\n

As the personal relationships play out \u2013 there is, of course, a series of cases for the team to solve. Actor Shantol Jackson, who plays Detective Sergeant Naomi Thomas, teased a pretty unexpected story line: \u201cThere is a sea monster! We see the team divided \u2013 the Inspector obviously doesn\u2019t believe it, but Seb does – it really plays into the impossibility of these cases in a very memorable way.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cWe also have a hilarious group of theatre actors performing a Shakespeare play who were all so funny, we had a great time with them. The play was The Tempest, so we had a beautiful shipwreck set on the beach, which was fantastic.\u201d
<\/p>\n

Who\u2019s in the cast of Death in Paradise series 15?\"txPhotographer:\/\/BBC<\/p>\n

Death in Paradise is back for series 15<\/p>\n

The cast of Death in Paradise series 15 includes:<\/p>\n

Don Gilet as DI Mervin WilsonDon Warrington as Commissioner Selwyn PattersonShantol Jackson as DS Naomi ThomasCatherine Bordey as Elizabeth BourgineShaquille Ali-Yebuah as Officer Sebastian RoseCatherine Garton as new recruit Mattie Fletcher<\/p>\n

The guest stars include:<\/p>\n

\"txPhotographer:\/\/BBC<\/p>\n

Cold Feet favourite Hermione Norris guest stars in series 15<\/p>\n

Siobhan Finneran (Happy Valley)Hermione Norris (Spooks, Cold Feet)Sarah Hadland (Stictly Come Dancing)Gary Wilmot (Midsomer Murders)Steffan Rhodri (Gavin & Stacey)Phoebe Sparrow (Downton Abbey)Is Death in Paradise any good?\"tx<\/p>\n

Photographer:\/\/BBC<\/p>\n

Yes – who can resist the escapist setting of the Caribbean Isle where so many mysteries need to be solved? It’s the perfect pick-me-up for dark winter nights… in fact, it\u2019s a bit like leafing through a holiday brochure (if you ignore the murders!).
<\/p>\n

How can I watch Death in Paradise?<\/p>\n

Death in Paradise series 15 airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Friday 30th January at 9pm.
<\/p>\n

What other detective dramas can I watch now?
<\/p>\n

Can’t wait for Death in Paradise to start? Try Beyond Paradise, the spin-off that stars Kris Marshall as Humphrey Goodman, who left Saint Marie to set up home in Shipton Abbot near the Devon coast. You can watch it on BBC iPlayer<\/a>. If you love a bit of crime-solving, we’d also recommend Channel 4’s Patience. There are two series available of the crime drama, set in York about talented autistic archivist who helps the police to crack curious cases, which you can watch on Channel 4<\/a> now. <\/p>\n

READ MORE TV NEWS HERE<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There’s nothing quite like a murder mystery to beat the winter blues, especially if it goes by the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":257306,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[1578,99347,93,88611,61,60,282],"class_list":["post-257305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-bbc","tag-death-in-paradise","tag-entertainment","tag-happy-valley","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257305"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257305\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/257306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}