Don Gilet's first Death in Paradise series gets release date at last

Death in Paradise season 14 lead Don Gilet as DI Mervin Wilson
(Image credit: BBC)

Don Gilet's first Death in Paradise series has been given an end-of-January release date by the BBC.

Death in Paradise season 14 will begin on Friday, January 31 on BBC One at 9 pm, the BBC has officially confirmed. It will mark Don's first series as DI Mervin Wilson after making his debut in the hit crime drama's Christmas special. Mervin's first case saw him investigate when three men, all unconnected apart from the fact that they were dressed as Santa Claus, were seemingly all shot with the exact same gun at the exact same time.

Now, Mervin will get a fresh set of cases in the new series. We already know a fair amount Mervin thanks to the Christmas special. His brusque style rubbed his colleagues up the wrong way, with even the normally cheerful Naomi (Shantol Jackson) finding him tricky.

A posed shot of the cast of the Death In Paradise Christmas special 2024. They are on the beach in front of the yellow-and-blue police ATV. There is a Christmas tree on the left of the picture, and a palm tree on the right. Pictured from left to right: Catherine Bordey (Élizabeth Bourgine), Commissioner Selwyn Patterson (Don Warrington), DS Naomi Thomas (Shantol Jackson), DI Mervin Wilson (Don Gilet), Officer Darlene Curtis (Ginny Holder), Officer Dwayne Myers (Danny John-Jules)

Mervin didn't make a good first impression with the team in the Christmas episode (Image credit: BBC)

The biggest revelation about Mervin was that he had travelled to Saint Marie to meet his mother for the first time. It was a fact he eventually shared with his boss, Selwyn (Don Warrington), and that gave the pair a chance to bond a little. Tragically, it turned out that Mervin's mother had recently died, so he never got a chance to meet her. Selwyn suggested that Mervin would get to know a little of his mother by staying longer on Saint Marie, and he will be staying longer on the island as we know for the foreseeable future he will be the island's lead detective.

Death in Paradise season 14 lead Don Gilet as Mervin with the show's famous yellow cop car behind him

Mervin had a family secret on Saint Marie (Image credit: BBC)

Talking about Mervin's struggles with the pace of life in Saint Marie, Don said: "Everything in Saint Marie runs counter to how things are supposed to be done, as far as he's concerned. His approach is more suited to a London pace of life, but nobody, even back in London, works the way he does."

Meanwhile, fans await news on whether Aussie spin-off Return to Paradise will be getting a second series or not.

Death in Paradise season 14 will begin on Friday, January 31 at 9 pm on BBC One.

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David Hollingsworth
Editor

David is the What To Watch Editor and has over 20 years of experience in television journalism. He is currently writing about the latest television and film news for What To Watch.

Before working for What To Watch, David spent many years working for TV Times magazine, interviewing some of television's most famous stars including Hollywood actor Kiefer Sutherland, singer Lionel Richie and wildlife legend Sir David Attenborough. 

David started out as a writer for TV Times before becoming the title's deputy features editor and then features editor. During his time on TV Times, David also helped run the annual TV Times Awards. David is a huge Death in Paradise fan, although he's still failed to solve a case before the show's detective! He also loves James Bond and controversially thinks that Timothy Dalton was an excellent 007.

Other than watching and writing about telly, David loves playing cricket, going to the cinema, trying to improve his tennis and chasing about after his kids!

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