Death in Paradise has been pulled from BBC schedules this week, meaning audiences will have to wait even longer to watch the third episode of season 15. It’s also not the only series to be subjected to a reshuffle as Gladiators and Silent Witness will also not be on TV at their usual times.
The sun-kissed crime series has been a mainstay on the BBC for over a decade, but if you don’t know the drill, it follows the investigations of the police on the Caribbean island of Saint Marie. The current iteration is led by reluctant DI Mervin Wilson (Don Gilet), who is still coming to grips with life on the island and the personal life changes he is going through after reuniting with his brother.
Death in Paradise usually airs on Friday evenings on BBC One, but it won’t be on TV on 13 February. Here is why and when the next episode will air.
Why is Death in Paradise not on TV tonight?
Death in Paradise’s schedule has been moved around because of the FA Cup.
(BBC / Red Planet Pictures / Philippe Virapin)
The beloved BBC drama isn’t airing as usual on Friday, 13 February because of the Match of the Day’s coverage of the FA Cup, which sees Hull City and Chelsea battle it out on the pitch in a fourth-round tie.
The match begins airing on BBC One from 7.30 p.m., with kick off at 7.45 p.m., and rather than demoting Death in Paradise to a different channel, it has simply been delayed.
When will Death in Paradise episode 3 air?
Death in Paradise episode 3 will return on Monday, 16 February.
(BBC / Red Planet Pictures / Philippe Virapin)
The good news is that viewers won’t have to wait long for Death in Paradise’s newest episode to return to TV, as the show has been delayed to Monday, 16 February. It will air at the show’s usual time of 9 p.m. on BBC One.
Episode 4 finds the team at Saint Marie investigating the murder of a reclusive pensioner, with witness testimony tying an unassuming accountant to the crime scene. However, the suspect has an airtight alibi, making it that much harder to figure out what happened.
Elsewhere in the episode, Commissioner Selwyn Patterson (Don Warrington) is hoping to get back on the good side of the islanders after leaving his position by hosting a community-focused initiative. But tensions between him and Mervin start to rise, with the cracks showing at the launch event.
It is important to note that while Death in Paradise has been delayed, fans will actually get to enjoy two episodes in one week to make up for it. That’s because episode 4 of the series returns to its usual slot at 9 p.m. on Friday, 20 February.
BBC reshuffles schedule for Gladiators…
The newest episode of Gladiators is airing slightly later on Saturday.
(CREDIT LINE:BBC/Hungry Bear/Shutterstock/Getty)
Match of the Day coverage of the FA Cup means that the latest episode of Gladiators has been delayed to a later time slot for the next two weeks. On 14 February, the final heat of Gladiators will air at 8:00 p.m., rather than its usual 5:45 p.m., on BBC One, provided the game doesn’t go into extra time.
On 21 February, the first Gladiators quarter-final will air at 7:15 p.m., but fans of the show can watch the episodes early on both days, as they will be available on BBC iPlayer from 4:00 p.m.
…and Silent Witness
Elsewhere, Silent Witness has also been delayed as part of the reshuffle. The crime drama normally airs every Monday and Tuesday on BBC One, but in the week of 16 February, the series will instead air on Tuesday and Wednesday to accommodate the change in Death in Paradise’s schedule.
This marks the second time that Silent Witness has been reshuffled, as the series swapped episodes on the week of 9 February because the case of the week mirrored a real-life crime in Birmingham. The two-part story, The Enemy Within, was due to air on Monday, 9 February, and Tuesday, 10 February, but was swapped with the fifth and sixth episodes, Creekwood.
Silent Witness is being delayed by a day.
(BBC/Ben Gregory-Ring)
The Enemy Within finds Dr Nikki Alexander (Emilia Fox) and her team investigating a racially-motivated knife crime attack, which the BBC felt was too close to events that took place the weekend before.
Two teenagers were attacked with a machete in Birmingham in what is believed to be a targeted attack. A 12-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and a 14-year-old boy, who was also arrested, has been bailed pending further inquiries.
The Enemy Within will now air on Tuesday, 17 and 18 February.
Death in Paradise episode 3 airs on Monday, 16 February, with episodes returning to the usual slot