The first-ever Death In Paradise Christmas special in 2021 was such a huge success, gaining over 8.8m viewers, the BBC wants more of it!
The broadcaster has now announced it will be going back to sunny Sainte Marie for the festive season again in 2022. The feature-length episode is written by James Hall, produced by Candida Julian-Jones and directed by Ruth Carney.
Executive Producer Tim Key: “We were overwhelmed with the fantastic response to our first Christmas special and delighted that we’ve been asked to take the viewers back to Saint Marie this Christmas. We can promise something very different this year, but still with all the Death in Paradise fun, sparkle, and intrigue that the viewers will expect.”
The previous festive episode saw DI Neville Parker (Ralf Little) preparing to head to Manchester to spend the holiday with his family, but a huge crime intervened. His plans were abruptly changed when a billionaire shipping magnate dies in mysterious circumstances.
With Florence away for Christmas, the Commissioner (Don Warrington) decided to enlist the help of retired officer, Dwayne Myers (Danny John-Jules) to help solve the case.
With its huge audience, it was the third most-watched show of the festive period in 2021 (based on all-screens 30+ days figures).
The hit detective series, filmed on the French Caribbean Island of Guadeloupe, has also seen the current Death In Paradise season 11 averaging nearly eight million viewers (based on all-screens 7+ days figures), and each episode being the most-watched programme every Friday of broadcast.
Series 12 of Death In Paradise and the feature-length Christmas episode go into production this spring with returning cast Ralf Little, Don Warrington, Élizabeth Bourgine, Tahj Miles, Shantol Jackson and Ginny Holder. Guest cast joining series 12 and this Christmas special will be announced later this year.
Death in Paradise is licensed to over 230 territories and has proved incredibly successful worldwide, often proving to be the best performing drama on its respective channel in each region. Death in Paradise is a Red Planet Pictures production for BBC One made with the support of the region of Guadeloupe and internationally distributed by BBC Studios.
