Siobhan Finneran’s delayed debut on Death in Paradise finally makes its way to the screens tonight after the BBC murder mystery was bumped from its usual Friday slot last week because of the football. Finneran has been cast alongside her real-life partner Don Gilet, who stars as DI Mervin Wilson, as this week’s investigation puts their characters at opposite ends of a murder case.
Episode three sees Happy Valley’s Finneran step into the role of the eccentric artist Fleur Edwards, who is caught up in the middle of a murder investigation when her neighbour Henry Carpenter (Aneirin Hughes) is found shot dead. Fleur, who moved to Saint Marie only three months prior in hopes of inspiring her creativity, now finds herself a suspect in Henry’s murder, despite being at home when the fatal shot was fired.
A teaser shared by Radio Times hinting at Fleur’s trouble was aired ahead of the episode, and showed the interaction between the artist, DI Mervin and DS Naomi Thomas (Shantol Jackson). In the tense scene, DS Thomas suspects Fleur of hiding something to which Fleur says: “All I’m guilty of, detectives, is bruising Henry’s delicate ego.” However Mervin clearly makes it known that he doesn’t believe her.
This isn’t the first time the real-life couple have worked together. Gilet and Finneran were previously brought together when they worked on the 2017 ITV drama The Loch (also under the name of Lochness – currently streaming on ITVX and Netflix) where they were reported to have begun dating.
The six-part series follows officer Annie Redford (Laura Fraser) and her no-nonsense partner Lauren Quigley (Finneran) as the new colleagues team up to investigate a slate of killings. Meanwhile Gilet played the psychological profiler Blake Albrighton.
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Gilet spoke of the pair’s recent on-screen reunion on Death in Paradise during an interview on This Morning stating that Finneran “loved doing it and it was great working with her”, before jokingly adding: “She has come a long way. Have you not seen the stillness she’s created in front of the camera since being with me? There’s something – you can’t bottle it.”
Fans of Finneran can look out for her upcoming British film Chatlines, an LGBTQ+ sci-fi that has been compared to Black Mirror.
Set in 2027, Chatlines follows Jordan, a 30-something year old with terminal cancer. In his final days Jordan forms a deep bond with another terminally ill guy Danny though an app that swears it’s 2005.
Death in Paradise season 15 airs Fridays on BBC One. Death in Paradise and its spin-offs Beyond Paradise and Return to Paradise are all available to stream now on BBC iPlayer.
Read more Death in Paradise news on our dedicated homepage
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TV writer, Digital Spy Janet completed her Masters degree in Magazine Journalism in 2013 and has continued to grow professionally within the industry ever since. Â For six years she honed her analytical reviewing skills at the Good Housekeeping institute eventually becoming Acting Head of Food testing. Â She also freelanced in the field of film and TV journalism from 2013-2020, when she interviewed A-List stars such as Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. In 2021 she joined Digital Spy as TV writer where she gets to delve into more of what she loves, watching copious amounts of telly all in the name of work. Since taking on the role she has conducted red carpet interviews with the cast of Bridgerton, covered the BAFTAs and been interviewed by BBC Radio and London Live. In her spare time she also moonlights as a published author, the book Gothic Angel.
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