Return to Paradise season 2, the latest Death in Paradise spin-off, is filming now in Australia.

The crime drama will again star former Home and Away actress Anna Samson as DI Mackenzie Clarke, a London cop who was forced to return to her hometown of Dolphin Cove in the first series.

Mackenzie had trouble getting on with her team, who included Detective Senior Constable Colin Cartwright (Lloyd Griffith), who's also back for the second run.

Mack's cases in season 2 will take her "from the literary world to state-of-the-art shark labs, dating apps and rock concerts".

Tim Key, Executive Producer, Red Planet Pictures, who makes the show, says: "We were delighted that the world took Mack and the rest of the Australian team to their hearts and it’s a pleasure to be back on the beat with the wonderful cast and crew Down Under.

"We can promise another series full of ingenious murders, romantic complications and glorious Australian locations, all infused with the unique warmth and humor of the Paradise shows."

Here's everything we know about season 2...

Return to Paradise season 2 release date

With the second series filming now, we'd expect Return to Paradise season 2 to air in the winter of 2025 on BBC One.

It will be shown on ABC in Australia and will head to BritBox in the US.

Return to Paradise season 2 plot

Spoilers ahead if you've not seen the end of Return to Paradise season 1! So, the big twist was that Mackenzie was about to leave Dolphin Cove for London when she heard her ex, Glenn, confess to their dog that he was still in love with her. Mackenzie, that is, not the dog!

Mackenzie looked dumbfounded, and we know that she still has feelings for Glenn. So that plot is sure to develop in series 2.

The makers tease; "Series two will reunite us with Detective Sergeant Mackenzie ‘Mack’ Clarke (Anna Samson), who's longing to get back to the UK and the life she’s always craved. But for now, she's stuck in Dolphin Cove, dodging her ex-fiancée Glenn's (Tai Hara) upcoming wedding after overhearing his unexpected declaration of love in the series one finale — a confession that she can’t unhear.

"Luckily for Mack, her compulsion to solve impossible cases serves as a great distraction, and there’s no shortage of murders to investigate. From the literary world to state-of-the-art shark labs, dating apps and rock concerts, Mack and her team face challenging mysteries with their unique blend of humour and tenacity. But Mack’s biggest challenge of all? Finding a way to exist in Dolphin Cove as the ultimate outsider."

Return to Paradise season 2 cast

As mentioned, Anna Samson returns as DI Mackenzie Clarke and Lloyd Griffith as Detective Senior Constable Colin Cartwright. Also back are Tai Hara (Home and Away, Colin From Accounts, Austin) as Glenn Strong, Catherine McClements (Total Control, Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries) as Senior Sergeant Philomena Strong, Celia Ireland (Wentworth, Total Control) as Reggie, Andrea Demetriades (Mother and Son, The Artful Dodger) as Daisy and Aaron McGrath (Gold Diggers, Preppers) as Constable Felix Wilkinson.

It has also been confirmed that Ardal O'Hanlon will again guest star as DI Jack Mooney. Plus Australian screen stars Danielle Cormack, Meyne Wyatt, Roz Hammond, Justine Clarke, Michelle Lim Davidson, Greg Stone, Zoe Carides, Simon Lyndon and Miah Madden also guest. Tim Rogers, the iconic lead singer of rock legends You Am I also guest stars.

Is there a trailer?

No, not yet.

Return to Paradise season 2 behind the scenes and more

Return to Paradise is shot in Australia's idyllic Illawarra coastal region, Sydney’s northern beaches, and across the city. The show is commissioned by ABC in Australia in association with the BBC and produced by BBC Studios Productions Australia and Red Planet Pictures.

The series is co-created and executive-produced by Peter Mattessi, James Hall and Robert Thorogood. Di Haddon is producer. Executive producers for BBC Studios Productions Australia are Kylie Washington and Sophia Zachariou, for Red Planet Pictures are Belinda Campbell and Tim Key and for the ABC are Rachel Okine and Brett Sleigh.

Return to Paradise season 2 has at last been officially confirmed after fears that the Aussie Death in Paradise spin-off had been axed.

Return to Paradise aired last year, and fans had hoped for a swift recommission. However, as the months went by, viewers wondered if they'd seen the last of DI Mackenzie Clarke (Anna Samson) and Detective Senior Constable Colin Cartwright (Lloyd Griffith). However, Lloyd has tweeted out the news that the show is returning, and even more excitingly, he added that filming had already started.

Lloyd also revealed that fans are likely to see Return to Paradise season 2 on screen later this year on BBC One, while US fans will probably have to wait a little longer for it to hit BritBox.

The first series of Return to Paradise saw DI Mackenzie Clarke have to reluctantly return to Australia to her hometown of Dolphin Cove while she was under investigation in the UK. She wasn’t exactly popular in Dolphin Cove after ditching popular local boy Glenn Strong (Tai Hara).

However, her team eventually warmed to her as she solved a string of outlandish murders, including a killing at the bowls club. Spoilers ahead if you've not finished season one!

But at the end of series one, she was ready to head back to the UK after being cleared. However, season 2 has been set up perfectly because in the final moments of the last episode, she heard her ex Glenn say to their pet dog that he still loved her. It also seems clear that Mackenzie still has feelings for Glenn, so we expect their relationship to develop in the second series.

We also hope to see more of Death in Paradise legend Ardal O’Hanlon, who reprised his character, DI Jack Mooney, for the series. Mooney is Mackenzie’s boss back at New Scotland Yard, might be put in an appearance?

Return to Paradise season 2 will return later this year.

Return to Paradise is the latest spin-off from Death in Paradise, starring former Home and Away actress Anna Samson as London Metropolitan police officer DI Mackenzie Clarke.

The show starts with Mackenzie returning to her hometown of Dolphin Cove, where she's highly unpopular with many of the locals after ditching poor Glenn (Tai Hara) at the altar.

Now, that the first series has aired thoughts are turning to a potential second season, here’s everything we know…

Return to Paradise season 2 status

Return to Paradise season 2 has finally been commissioned, and filming has started. It's no great surprise, as the first series got decent viewing figures. Return to Paradise opened with over four million viewers (7-day figures) and then retained an audience of over three million for the remaining episodes. While it's not in Ludwig territory, it's not bad. The BBC also made quite a big thing of calling Return to Paradise part of the Paraverse along with Death in Paradise and Beyond Paradise. So it would have been odd if it had been axed, however, there was quite a long wait between the end of the series and the news that it would be coming back!

However, as of April 2025, the BBC has confirmed it's coming back. Tim Key, Executive Producer, Red Planet Pictures says: "We were delighted that the world took Mack and the rest of the Australian team to their hearts and it’s a pleasure to be back on the beat with the wonderful cast and crew Down Under. We can promise another series full of ingenious murders, romantic complications and glorious Australian locations, all infused with the unique warmth and humour of the Paradise shows."

Where will the plot go?

Spoilers ahead!! The makers clearly hoped there would be a second series as the first ended on a massive cliffhanger. Mackenzie was about to leave Dolphin Cove for London when she heard her ex Glenn, say to their pet dog that he still loved her. And we're pretty sure Mackenzie still loves Glenn. Thus, everything is perfectly set up for their romantic journey to continue in the second season. Also, the team now feels well established. Especially fun is the awkward relationship between Mackenzie and Detective S.C Colin Cartwright (Lloyd Griffith). We really loved the moment Colin buys Mackenzie a coffee only for her to throw it in the bin!

The BBC teases: "Series two will reunite us with Detective Sergeant Mackenzie ‘Mack’ Clarke (Anna Samson), who’s longing to get back to the UK and the life she’s always craved. But for now she’s stuck in Dolphin Cove, dodging her ex-fiancée Glenn’s (Tai Hara) upcoming wedding after overhearing his unexpected declaration of love in the series one finale - a confession that she can’t unhear.

"Luckily for Mack, her compulsion to solve impossible cases serves as a great distraction, and there’s no shortage of murders to investigate. From the literary world to state-of-the-art shark labs, dating apps and rock concerts, Mack and her team face challenging mysteries with their unique blend of humour and tenacity. But Mack’s biggest challenge of all? Finding a way to exist in Dolphin Cove as the ultimate outsider."

Return to Paradise season 1 is available on BBC iPlayer now.

Return to Paradise episode 6 sees DI Mackenzie Clarke crack a classic locked room case, while she wonders what to do about Glenn...

Mine owner Vince Ogden describes to a tour group, including Colin, how his ancestor Charles struck coal. Next, they head to the "haunted shower block" where the miners would wash after their long shifts. Vince describes how Charles gambled away the profits at the bookies in Dolphin Cove. Colin appears to be one of those tourists who has to film everything!

Vince describes how Charles took his own life with a knife. Vince says Charles was found by his great-grandfather who set off an alarm and Vince says you can still sometimes see his ghost… and then it looks like Vince has seen a ghost (this proves important!) It turns out to be the last tour he's giving. His son Finn asks him if he's going to blow his inheritance on the "wicked stepmother". She tells him it's Vince's inheritance and not his. Father and son appear to hate each other.

His daughter Lottie later knocks with a pie she's baked. She says it’s "mum’s recipe". Later at the bar, Colin is asking Glenn about when the big day is and he says it’s an ongoing discussion. Daisy seems a little more eager than Glenn to get the wedding sorted. Mackenzie is also at the bar and so is the "wicked stepmother". Mackenzie and Colin talk but are interupted by the alarm from the mine. Vince is found dead by the same blade as his ancestor Charles used. The door was locked and bolted from the inside.

DI Jack Mooney says Mackenzie has been cleared

As they look at the body, Colin says it appears Vince has taken his life just like Charles did. Mackenzie gets a phone call and it's DI Jack Mooney in London! He tells Mackenzie she's been cleared! He says they found someone else was tampering with the evidence. Jack says she's free to come back. And ideally, he wants her back asap as he's snowed under. She's rather ruffled by the news.
They go to speak to the family and the "wicked stepmother", whose name is Priya. She says Vince had been moody and paranoid recently. Finn adds he was miserable. Lottie steps away and says to Mackenzie she hates the way Finn and Priya are at each other's throats. She says she had a tough relationship with her dad. She says he was a cruel man. Mackenzie asks her if she knows what was in the box on top of the chest and she says no.

Colin wonders why a man about to get millions of dollars would take his own life. Mackenzie is wondering where the pie Lottie took him is. She finds the pie in the oven — why would a man about to take his own life put a pie in the oven?
Back at the station, Mackenzie says they need to work out how the killer escaped from a locked room and why the alarm went off.

Mackenzie goes to talk to Philomena. She tells her she's been cleared. Philomena asks if she will return to London and Mackenzie says she will but then starts crying. Philomena isn't exactly sympathetic and tells her to stop crying and then Colin wanders over! Colin has found the will and Priya inherits everything. She says she’d never talked about it and didn’t know. They’d be married for eight years. Mackenzie asks Priya if she is aware Vince took a call on the landline a couple of days before. She says she does remember and he said something like "I keep my promises". She doesn't know what it meant.

Colin's print is on the murder weapon!

Glenn says he's found a clear print on the murder weapon and it's Colin's! He held it on the tour. They joke with Colin that they’ll have to put him in the cells. When he leaves Mackenzie tells Glenn she plans to head home back to London. They share an awkward hug. Glenn says she will miss the wedding. Well, she’s got form there! Felix and Reggie have a witness who saw Vince and Finn unloading a boat with drugs in the middle of the night. They were also arguing. They go interview Finn. Rather than drugs they find cigarettes. He says they argued because the cigarettes were out of date.

Colin looks back at the filming of his mine trip. He appears to spot the moment Vince reacted strangely as if seeing a ghost. As Mackenzie swats mosquitos at her home, Jack rings and wants her back in London. He says she can come over for dinner with him and Anna. Anna, hang on is Jack back with Anna (played by Nina Wadia in Death in Paradise?! Colin then turns up and she tells Jack she has to go. She then whacks Colin claiming it was to kill a mosquito! He plays Mackenzie the footage and on the blade we see a reflection of a woman. The mystery woman is Dot, Vince’s supposedly dead first wife!

They go to talk to the family again. Lottie admits seeing Dot but she says Dot isn’t the killer. She was with Lottie at the time of Vince's death she says and she'd got what she wanted from the boxes — letters from Dot to Lottie. It’s revealed Vince never passed them on to Lottie. Lottie says she doesn’t know where Dot is.
Felix and Reggie run into Dot and bring her to the station. Dot says she took the letters and went straight to Lottie. She says Vince had her sectioned as a power play. Vince was a bully who loved being in control. She says she wished she killed him, but she didn’t. She says when she left Vince the pie was on a table not in the oven (this is bound to be crucial!).

Mackenzie goes to see Glenn and they share a moment over the fact Glenn has stockpiled her favorite chocolate milk drink in the fridge for her. And then she does her thing and cracks the case! They head to see Daisy. They ask what Priya was drinking. Mackenzie shares a moment with Glenn about working out the case and Daisy looks on. She can't fail to notice the chemistry between Mackenzie and Glenn.

Mackenzie gathers the suspects. Mackenzie says the key question is how did the killer escape a locked room. And the answer is they didn't. She tells Priya she was at the surf club at the time the alarm went off. She says Dot and Lottie both have clear motives, but again how did the killer escape? She turns to Finn and asks him how he escaped.

Mackenzie says the clever bit was that Priya and Finn had hated each other for years. They were in it together! They are the killers! They pretended the door was bolted and then Priya locked it. Mackenzie says they were in love! Mackenzie spotted Finn had the bottles of prosecco that Priya loved in his fridge. More conclusively she checked his phone records.

Mackenzie says the final straw for Priya was Dot's return. She knew that Vince could do what he did to Dot to her. We see Finn killing Vince, breaking the bolt and turning on the alarm. He did that so as to get an independent witness to the mine, which was Lottie. Unbeknown to Lottie Priya locked the door. Thus making it look like the murder was impossible. Lottie then broke down the door. They are arrested. Mackenzie says if you don't have love you don’t have anything and she appears to be talking to herself!

Return to Paradise ending explained

Back at the station, the gang gives Mackenzie a boomerang as a departing gift. Colin tells Mackenzie she's "very odd" before adding she's a "tremendous detective".
She goes outside to talk to Philomena, who returns to Mackenzie her warrant card. They get a little emotional. Back at her home, Mackenzie has her case packed.
She heads to the beach bar, where Daisy, Glenn and the whole of Dolphin Cove are. Daisy and Glenn are making speeches at their engagement bash. Daisy shows off her ring. Mackenzie stands there looking very awkward. Daisy and Glenn kiss.

Cab driver Trevor tells Mackenzie she has five minutes otherwise he's off. She takes the chance to have a final word with Glenn. Mackenzie congratulates him. "I don't really fit here", she says. Glenn says he's going to miss her. Trevor beeps. She walks off to the cab. Frankie the dog jumps in the back of the cab. Trevor says she has two minutes to return Frankie. "Shut up Trevor or I’ll stay" she replies!

Glenn welcomes Frankie back and thinking they’re on their own tells the dog he still loves Mackenzie! But Mackenzie hears him! And the series ends neatly setting up a potential season 2...

Return to Paradise episode 5 sees Mackenzie investigate when a player is shot dead on the bowling green! Original Neighbours actor Peter O'Brien guest stars as the murder victim.

We're at Dolphin Cove Bowls Club and Philomena is among the competitors in an intense-looking game. One of her opponents accuses Philomena's team of cheating! "You always have been a cheat Ted Haddon!," declares arch-rival Arthur (Peter O'Brien). And they end up grappling on the bowling green! The referee suspends the match as a no result! After the match, Arthur continues to act an idiot and things are tense. Later on, they clear up the bar and they hear a gunshot! And obnoxious Arthur is lying dead on the bowling green! As he was such an idiot everyone has a motive! His blood seems to be making a right mess of the green as well!

Colin and Mackenzie arrive. Mackenzie notes that Philomena is still playing even after saying she hated the game and was quitting forever! Mackenzie tells her boss to stay put while she inspects the body. Colin says the victim is Arthur O'Farrell, everyone called him Artie. Glenn is also at the scene. Mackenzie via touching Glenn’s chest works out where the bullet is lodged.

Interviewing the witnesses, it's revealed that Artie was a late replacement. Philomena said she'd never met him before. He used to play for Dolphin Cove but had been thrown out of the club 40 years ago. Philomena says no one else was with her at the time of the gunshot. Mackenzie recovers the bullet. Glenn claims not to remember Mackenzie giving his engagement ring back after the footy game. When of course he tried to slip it on her finger! He says he was very drunk.

The bullet is a lead ball from an antique gun. It's the one that belonged to Bushranger Bill, Dolphin Cove's very own Robin Hood. But Philomena says she saw the gun when the gunshot sound was heard. How did the killer murder Artie with a gun that never left the wall? Artie was shot at 4.10 pm, having left at 3.25 pm. Mackenzie tells Philomena to go home until they rule her out! This doesn't go down well. They say the main entrance was locked, but there's another way in via Lover's Lane. Everyone has heard of Lover's Lane except a bemused Colin! It appears Mackenzie and Glenn know it well! They find Artie's car, which is covered in blue paint. When Glenn goes, Colin confirms Glenn was very drunk on the footy night.

Felix and Reggie do a locker room search and find a shoe with blue paint on. Bowler Mal, the son of Ted who'd argued with Artie, admits throwing the paint on Artie's car. Artie caught him in the act but he claims he said nothing and drove off. 

Back at the station, Mackenzie goes through the suspects. Ted, who'd had an argument with Artie. Mal, who was angry about Artie upsetting his dad who has heart issues and threw paint over the victim's car. They study a photo of Artie with his team with the gun behind him which killed him but didn't move. "It doesn't make sense!" complains Mackenzie.

Mackenzie heads to Glenn's to catch Philomena and Daisy's there in the kitchen cooking. All getting awks again! Mackenzie discovers Philomena is wearing a smartwatch — given to her by Daisy of course — and that tracks her movement thus Mackenzie can prove her boss wasn't on the bowling green at the time of the murder and clear her! OK, got all that?! Glenn and Daisy get a bit inappropriate in front of Mackenzie. Mackenzie is then talked into dinner somehow with them. Afterwards, she catches Glenn out about the ring and he admits remembering putting the ring on her finger. They have another little moment. 

At the station the next day, Philomena is cleared and immediately takes her photo off the murder board! They watch camera footage of Helen walking out of the clubhouse and she's not taking the rubbish out as she stated. In fact, she threw something in the bin. They go through the rubbish and find a note from Artie about meeting at "our spot". Looks like they were having a relationship. 

Helen says the relationship was 40 years ago and nothing. Mackenzie isn't convinced after all her husband Ted and Artie came to blows on the bowling green. She admits it wasn't nothing. She was in love with Artie all those years ago but he'd just vanished. Helen lets slip that there was a baby to think of and quick as a flash Mackenzie deducts that Mal is Artie's son and not Ted's! Helen says she's never told anyone. She says Artie left the note and she went to the meeting place but he didn't show up.

At the station, it's revealed that Artie received a huge sum of money from the Bowls Club, which he used to buy his car. They go to see Ted,  who is the club treasurer, but he denies paying off Artie.  Mackenzie then asks him if he knows Artie is Mal's father. He's stunned. He asks them not to tell Mal.

Colin feels unhappy they told Ted, but Mackenzie said they had to. Glenn confirms the antique gun was the murder weapon and they have a set of prints on them, Rita's, Helen's mum.

They go to talk to Rita who says she cleaned the gun because Artie's team had their grubby hands on it and that's why it's her prints on the gun. She doesn't exactly seem upset he's dead.

Back at the station, Felix says there's a transaction on Mal's credit card moments away from where Artie lived. They go to talk to Mal. 

Mackenzie confronts Mal with her theory. When Ted had his heart problems, Mal went to donate blood but when his blood type came back different to his dad's he realised he couldn’t be his son. Mal admits she's right and says an old photo led him to Artie. He saw Artie, but he turned him away. 

They head to Daisy's bar where Mal is drowning his sorrows. Mackenzie starts to wonder if the note was for Helen. Mal gets a cab home. The cops talk about Bushranger Bill and Daisy pops a balloon for the party she's got at the bar later and this seems to kick on Mazkenzie's brain!

"Everything about this crime is the difference between fact and myth," declares Mackenzie as she gathers the suspects in the club. 

Mackenzie says that Mal was turned away by his father Artie. But Artie didn't stop there. He phoned Rita and told her to get him $25,000 to keep the secret that she paid him 40 years ago to leave her daughter, Helen. Rita was sure he wasn't good enough for her daughter — she has a point here! — and paid him off. But then she had to pay him off again! 

But then Rita saw Artie's name on the team sheet for the game and knew he'd demand more money. The note confirmed it. Helen thought the note was for her, but it was meant for Rita. Mackenzie drags out an old photo of Bushranger Bill but he's with someone — Midnight Mo. Two bushrangers mean two guns! Both identical. And Rita used the secret gun to murder Artie. But how did she escape from the bowling green when everyone heard the gunshot? Well, Mackenzie says there was no gunshot! She'd muffled the shot using her cushion! And she blew out a tire on a lawnmower to create the sound of a gunshot. Then when everyone went to investigate the sound she switched the murder weapon on the wall with Bill's inoperable gun. Felix found the gun in Rita's garage. Rita is arrested for Artie's murder.

Back at the station, Mackenzie surprises Colin by agreeing to come out to dinner at the surf club. When she arrives she sees Frankie and she's stunned to see in the distance on the beach Glenn getting the ring out of his pocket apparently about to propose to Daisy! But she watches as Glenn puts the ring back in his pocket and in fact doesn't propose. For some reason best known to herself, she then later asks Glenn about what happened. Why didn't he propose? Just as Glenn's about to answer Daisy arrives and then she proposes as Mackenzie awkwardly looks on. Glenn says "Yes". But well surely that’s not the end of that story...

Return to Paradise episode 4 sees DI Mackenzie Clarke (Anna Samson) investigate the murder of an eco-warrior.

We open with some eco-warriors walking through a wood before cutting through a fence marked "DANGER". Activist Byron Jones makes a video statement that the land is meant to be protected for kola conservation but tomorrow a timber firm is cutting the trees down. There's a bit of arguing between the activists and then they start chaining themselves to a digger.

In the morning, they awake to find Byron has been murdered! Mackenzie bumps into Daisy and Glenn by the beach. They chat about Glenn's upcoming footy game, which Mackenzie clearly finds boring. When Daisy goes off, Glenn asks Mackenzie for his engagement ring back. Wouldn't he want a different ring after what happened last time?!. OK, it's his grandma's, but still! Anyway, Glenn wants to pop the question to Daisy. But does he really?!

Philomena breaks it to Mackenzie that not only does she want her to work on patrol at the footy game, but she also wants her in uniform. At the scene of the murder, Colin says the victim was whacked over the head. They cut free the protesters. Colin is a big fan of kolas, but Mackenzie points out that most of them have Chlamydia! Lovely!

Mackenzie notes oddly Bryon was wearing only a single sock. This is bound to be key! Operations manager Fiona found the body and they speak to her. She says they have security cameras covering the perimeter. Mackenzie thinks Fiona is lying about something as she said "honestly" twice. They intereview the protestors — Bryon's husband Ken Sen-Jones, Bryon's brother Henry Jones and Maggie Mitchell. Maggie won't say a word other than a bit of singing, but the others reveal they broke in around 2 am to the site. They reveal they felt the chains shaking in the middle of the night. When Mackenzie suggests Bryon is the leader, Maggie lets slip that she founded the movement when "Bryon was still in nappies". Felix says there's no evidence of anyone else entering the site from the camera footage.

Where's Glenn's ring?!

At the station, it's revealed that Bryon was arrested over a previous protest which saw some miners get hurt when someone tampered with a bulldozer. However, Bryon was acquitted. Mackenzie asks Felix to see if any of the victims are in Dolphin Cove. Mackenzie is confused by the victim only wearing one sock.
Glenn confirms that Bryon was whacked on the head. Mackenzie seems to think one of the protestors did it but Glenn reckons it's unlikely given they were all chained to the digger. He reminds her about the ring, and she assures him she knows where it is. Does she?!

Reggie comes over to Mackenzie's to help her find the ring! Reggie wants to hypnotize Mackenzie to help her find it! Suddenly Mackenzie remembers throwing the ring off on her wedding day and they start searching the garden. She digs it up eventually!

The next day, Mackenzie and Colin discuss that Bryon's phone records show him calling only one unlisted number. They call the number and observe as Fiona picks up! Mackenzie wonders how Fiona knew to go to the exact spot where the protestors were. She claims to have heard them yelling when she reached the entrance to the site but Mackenzie says it was over 1km away from where they were so she couldn't have heard. Mackenzie has worked out that Fiona knew Byron was there. Fiona was paying Byron for information!

In a weird partnership, Byron got money to keep the group going while Fiona got advanced warnings of protests so she could contain them. On the night of the murder, she claims she was staying with her sister. Colin says her alibi checks out. Felix reveals there was a noise complaint on the night of the murder and they work out that the brothers were having an argument. But what about? At the headquarters of the group, they talk to Henry who says he and his brother were very different. He hands over some files from the mining incident. They start searching for the victim's phone and Mackenzie finds it. And she finds the missing sock! Colin finds some tablets, which turn out to be painkillers. Henry explains Byron became addicted after using them for a shoulder injury. Henry says Bryon's husband wouldn't have been happy if he'd found out. Mackenzie thinks Bryon being under the influence of drugs explains the one sock. Colin's not convinced.

At the station, Philomena gives Mazkenzie her football patrol kit! Mackenzie produces a copy of the calendar she found at the headquarters. It has colored dots on it. Why? At the timber firm, Ken Sen-Jones is kicking off. Felix bundles him into the car. Mackenzie confronts him and points out that the dots on the calendar are for an ovulation cycle and suggests they had a surrogate lined up. She says by spending all their money and taking drugs Bryon had ruined their chances of having a baby, thus a perfect murder motive. Felix goes to see Maggie, who’s refusing to talk to him. Cue the entry of Reggie undercover as an environmentalist. Maggie invites Reggie into her camper van for a cup of tea.

Bryon's killer is revealed

Glenn reveals that Bryon wasn't drugged up and so Mackenzie wonders why he then was only wearing one sock. Mackenzie goes all weird about the ring and Philomena turns up. Back at the campervan, Reggie tries to get info out of Maggie. She says that a "leech" tried to take away the protest group. The next morning, Mackenzie, Colin and Felix study the footage from Henry's head camera. It shows Bryon wearing a bandana on his wrist, but it is missing from his body. Reggie walks in and reveals Bryon proposed a motion to bar Maggie from the group and it passed. She also found Maggie's got a one-way ticket to Tasmania. Mackenzie and Colin go to speak to Maggie but she denies killing Bryon and says she's off to Tasmania for a protest.

At the station, Colin makes a discovery about the 1-7-S-K written on the file about the mining protest. The 1-7 refers to the crime act he was charged under. But what about the S-K? Mackenzie looks at a newspaper article about Bryon's trial and there's a photo of Fiona Kollos! S-R stands for Sarah Roberts, whose maiden name was Kollos. So they work out Fiona's sister was one of the victims in the mining incident.

They go to talk to Fiona, who admits she wanted Bryon to suffer. She says, though, her plan was to expose him for being on the take from a logging company. She denies killing him. Mackenzie is still trying to work out how you kill someone when you're chained to a digger. So she takes the team along, including Glenn, and chains them all to a digger! She quickly rules out the three protestors working together. As she goes to unchain Reggie, they have a whispered chat about Glenn. Reggie mentions digging for the ring and this sparks something in Mackenzie's mind! She's got it! She says she needs the bandana and she knows where it is.

She gathers the suspects. She goes back to earlier in the evening on the night of the murder. She says Henry and Bryon argued. Henry shoved Byron at headquarters and he hit his head which they know because the splinters in his wound were from floorboards. He used the bandana on the wound not realising his injury was a ticking time bomb. His head injury explains Bryon's odd behaviour such as only wearing one sock. Mackenzie says Henry must have been aware Bryon was dying from a head wound especially as he had medical training and yet he did nothing. Mackenzie says Bryon eventually had a seizure due to a bleed on the brain. She says the blood on the bandana proves that Henry was the killer. That is why Henry took the bandana. That is why when they were cut free of the chains, Henry pretended to vomit in the woods. He took the chance to dig a hole and bury the bandana!

Henry also planted the painkillers to make it look like that was why Bryon was acting oddly and to misdirect the police. He also took Bryon's money to make it look like he was spending his money on drugs. She also reveals that Henry was the one taking money from the loggers and not Bryon! He also gave the file on the mine incident to the police to make it look like Fiona was the killer. That explains why Bryon acted like he didn't know Fiona when he saw her because he didn’t know her for real! And that made Bryon realize what Henry had done. Bryon then produces her key piece of evidence — the bandana with Henry's DNA all over it. Henry tearfully admits his crime.

Back at the station, Mackenzie agrees to cover the footy game. Mackenzie, now in uniform, sees Glenn after the game and gives him his ring back. Glenn then weirdly tries to put the ring back on her finger! Mackenzie recoils but there's clearly something there still between them...

Return to Paradise episode 3 sees DI Mackenzie Clarke (Anna Samson) investigate the murder of a hairdresser, while Glenn finally blasts her for ditching him at the altar.

We're at a hairdresser's where we meet Bianca. Daisy, Glenn's girlfriend, is getting her hair done for her anniversary. The three hairdressers tell Bianca they're going to take her out for a birthday lunch, she doesn't seem that thrilled and says she has to make some calls.

Daisy leaves and says she'll see them in 15 minutes or so. They go to chase Bianca up but she's still on the phone. We see them at lunch where Daisy is serving them, but there's still no Bianca. So they head back to the hairdressers and Bianca is dead! Three episodes in and I'm not entirely warming to the theme tune. Anyway, the episode continues with Mackenzie getting a call about the murder. Glenn, Colin and Felix join her at the scene.

Glenn is in one of those Silent Witness forensic suits, but not the other two? Surely they should all have one? He says Bianca has been strangled. Death occurred in the last couple of hours and they don't know how she was strangled. There's evidence of a struggle. Mackenzie finds a massage room with no smoke detector — this is bound to be important! Senior Stylist Tahnee explains how she organised the lunch for 12 but Bianca got stuck on the phone and they all left together. The other two are Skye, Bianca's sister, and Donna, the apprentice, who rubs her hands nervously. Tahnee, Bianca's best friend since year two, reveals they came back at one. There's no evidence of a robbery. Mackenzie looks at the appointments and sees that every minute of Bianca's day is booked out with something.

Donna is an ex con!

Donna goes out of the room and Mackenzie follows. She notes Donna's prison tattoo and asks her what she was in prison for. Armed robbery! Bianca took a chance on Donna and gave her a job. Donna says Bianca hated her landlord and they had a massive row the previous week. Glenn asks Mackenzie if she'd look after Frankie at the weekend and she says yes. Mackenzie and Colin head to see Daisy. She says the three hairdressers didn't leave during lunch. Colin then asks Daisy if this will ruin her anniversary weekend. Awks! Daisy says her and Glenn are going glamping.

Colin suggests it could be a random killer but Mackenzie says people are normally murdered by someone close to them. All three of the hairdressers though were seen at lunch together, so how could one of them have done it?

With her parents dead, Colin says in theory Skye will inherit. Philomena suggests an outsider could have done it. But Mackenzie says Bianca was working around the clock and the three employees were the main thing in her life, so she suspects one of them is the killer. Colin says, though, Bianca owed her landlord a huge sum of money.

Philomena tells Mackenzie she wants her to sign a permanent contract. She says she’s just here temporarily and she's sure she will be cleared in London. Mackenzie reveals a little about what happened in London. She says they had the suspect but then key evidence disappeared. Philomena says she either works here or she doesn't and gives her two days to decide.

They go to see Troy, who judging by his phone call is the type of person who gives landlords a bad name. Let's hope he's the killer! He reveals that Bianca had given him $42,000 in cash and was ready to give him the rest soon — so why would he kill her? She asks him why there's no smoke detector in the massage room and he has no idea. They go to see Glenn who doesn't know what the murder weapon is still. Glenn gets awkward when they ask him about his camping trip with Daisy. We reckon Glenn's in a bit of a tizz over Mackenzie being back in town.

Skye has a dark secret

Mackenzie and Colin go to talk to Skye. Mackenzie has dug into her past and discovered she was a teenage arsonist! You'd certainly want a smoke detector with an arsonist around the place! Mackenzie wonders why her teen accomplice was convicted and she wasn't. Her mum pulled some strings and chucked her out, she says. She reveals she was brought up in a strict religious family. She reconnected with Bianca after her mother's death. She's outraged when Mackenzie says inheriting the business gives her a motive.

At the station, Felix and Reggie reveal they have a witness who can place Troy at the scene of the murder. Mackenzie and Colin go to see Troy who, after they upend his alibi, admits going to the salon for the rest of the rent. He says he found her dead and bolted.

Back at the salon, Mackenzie looks again at the smoke alarm and tells Felix to keep an eye on Troy. Colin boasts he saw dolphins this morning. "In Dolphin Cove?! Well, I never!" retorts Mackenzie, who wants to be in rainy London. Mackenzie finds a brochure for a nursing home in a cupboard and an unpaid invoice for $42,000.

Mackenzie sees Tahnee and asks her how she feels about her grandma losing her nursing home place. Tahnee used the money to buy into the business not realizing what a terrible financial state it was in. So Bianca lied and we reckon that gives Tahnee a very strong motive. Tahnee found out when she saw Bianca giving the money to Troy. Tahnee says she knew they could get through it.

Felix and Reggie are spying on Troy, who's fetching stuff out of a skip to use in his rentals. Felix is unimpressed Reggie has taken a beauty sample from the crime scene. Think he has a point.

At the salon, Colin and Mackenzie ask Donna how she feels about not being paid for the last 11 weeks. Donna admits to nicking some cash to pay for the team coffees. It seems Bianca was a bit of a nasty piece of work. She knew she had a hold over Donna, so Donna carried on working for free. She admits hating her but says she didn’t kill Bianca. Felix talks about all the stuff Troy was picking out of the skip, but Mazkenzie asks him about what Troy was throwing away. Felix didn’t look! Perhaps Felix isn’t quite the brilliant officer he thinks he is. She tells him to look the first thing the next day.

The next day they all head to the skip. On a side note, it seems incredibly unfair that Reggie isn't getting paid despite seeming to do almost the same job as Felix! Mackenzie congratulates Glenn, who’s helping in the skip search, about his five-year anniversary. Glenn finally snaps and asks Mackenzie what did she expect him to do after she walked out. Just at that point, Felix finds something in the skip and it's the smoke detector! Troy threw it away because it contained a camera and he's been illegally filming women in the massage room.

They watch the footage from the smoke detector camera at the time of Bianca's death. Mackenzie gets excited because there is a speaker on the shelf which vanishes. Why did someone move the speaker? Looks like Mackenzie has got it! Colin is lost and so I imagine is most of the audience!

The murderer is revealed — and an unlikely murder weapon

Mackenzie wants all the suspects at the salon — and Daisy! Mackenzie lists their motives and says she knows it wasn't Troy due to Skye's perfume. Mackenzie says the killer wanted her to think that when they left for lunch at 12 Bianca was alive but when they returned at 1 she was dead. Mackenzie tells Skye she killed her sister!

We see Skye strangling Bianca in the office. But Tahnee and Donna say they saw Bianca alive after that when they left the lunch. But it wasn't Bianca on the phone they saw but Skye! Skye had changed her hair and dressed herself up as Bianca. We see Skye on the phone pretending to be Bianca, while Bianca lies dead on the floor. Donna says she heard Bianca in the washroom, but Mackenzie says no she heard her voice coming through the speaker, which was in fact Skye using her phone. OK, this is starting to get very confusing! Anyway, that's why the speaker was moved. Hang on, Tahnee was in on it as well! Tahnee pretended to check in with Bianca. She also distracted Donna while Skye took off Bianca's top, but leaving her incriminating perfume on it. Mackenzie says this all created a false time for the murder. At this point, Daisy arrives. Mackenzie says the murder weapon was something you'd find in a salon. She then cuts a bit of Daisy’s hair off! What!! OK, they're hair extensions but still! And we see Daisy's hair extensions were the murder weapon! Skye and Tahnee are arrested.

Mackenzie goes to see Glenn and Daisy to collect Frankie. Daisy isn't altogether impressed that Mackenzie didn’t warn her hair was a murder weapon! Alone with Glenn she finally apologises for leaving him at the altar. She gets rather tearful and they have a moment but then Daisy beeps the car and the moment is broken. He leaves and it's just Mackenzie and Frankie. She looks at her computer to see rainy London, which she's missing.

Return to Paradise is a Death in Paradise spin-off starring Anna Samson as DI Mackenzie Clarke. Here's everything that happened in the first episode...

Return to Paradise opens on the beach in Dolphin Cove. We see some surfers. Stuart Grainger, the president of the local surf club, introduces himself and shows off the trophy they will be competing for. He declares the surf carnival open. In the bar, Stuart smugly kisses his partner and dismissively tells waitress Becky to get cleaning. Becky gives him a look.

We see a property for sale board with husband and wife estate agents Susan and Stuart's pictures on. Stuart shows someone around the property while someone on a motorbike looks on. Back at the beach, the surfers pull a body out of the water. And it’s Stuart! He has a knife plunged in his back. And the theme tune starts...

We see DI Mackenzie Clarke in a cab to Dolphin Cove. When the cab driver, Trevor, realizes it's her he throws her out of his cab for what she did. She's obviously not liked! He drives off and leaves Mackenzie stranded miles away from Dolphin Cove. She starts walking…

She arrives at her beach property, which looks not a million miles away from the shack in Death in Paradise. Certainly, it has a great view. Detective S.C Colin Cartwright (Lloyd Griffith) inspects the body on the beach with Constable Felix Wilkinson (Aaron L Mc Grath). It turns out to be Colin's first murder case. Their boss, Senior Sergeant Philomena Strong (Catherine McClements), turns up. Colin says he's talked to Susan and the victim Stuart had a 2 pm appointment with a buyer called Grant at a property. Philomena breaks it to Colin that they need a senior detective on the case. Mackenzie talks to a crying woman on the phone.

Colin interviews the man, Grant, looking at the property, who says he left about three leaving Stuart to lock up. Grant says he knew Stuart but not well. Mackenzie walks into the house and asks where Stuart is! Colin says he's unavailable. Mackenzie replies: "He's dead, that's why his receptionist is crying. You're a detective so it wasn't natural causes. Murdered then". Colin looks highly uncomfortable as Mackenzie rapidly pieces together parts of the case. She explains she's a London cop. She heads outside and spots what looks like a surveillance camera! She notes Stuart's stuff is in the house but he was found in the water. Together they watch the camera footage. Grant left at 2.59 pm and the body was found around 4 pm. On the camera footage there's no sign of Stuart leaving the property. But how did he then end up dead on the beach 2km away?

She observes that the place isn’t cheap and that Grant is a mechanic. Colin checks his notes looking baffled. Mackenzie says: "Grease under his fingernails, pay attention!” She wonders why a mechanic would come to see a house he probably can't afford. The boss turns up and swiftly packs Mackenzie on her way, saying they have all the help they need. “Check his lungs,” Mackenzie says and then makes it clear she's going. Mackenzie phones London and we see a postcard from Saint Marie! The person she's calling declines the call.

The next day, Philomena learns that she’s not getting a detective to help on the murder case. She’s gutted, we wonder who might be able to help?! Mackenzie is cleaning her mum's house out. Philomena turns up and asks for her help. Mackenzie says she’s got too much on in London, but Philomena tempts her in with details of the case.

Mackenzie heads to the police station, which looks remarkably similar to the one in Saint Marie complete with a murder board. She's introduced to Felix. She doesn’t hang about. She looks at the photos of the body and asks why Stuart’s blazer is missing a button. What happened to it? The button is clearly going to be crucial! Police volunteer Reggie Rocco (Celia Ireland) walks in and she's actually pleased to see Mackenzie and gives her a big hug. Reggie is a retired teacher who now volunteers with the police. Colin reads out the victim’s phone messages: "She knows about us and she's fuming. We need to meet". Colin says Stuart deleted the message after he’d sent it to waitress Becky.

They go to intereview Susan who says she was on a run between 3 and 4 pm on the day of the murder. Susan says she knew Stuart was having an affair with Becky. Susan says Stuart had ended it with Becky. Reggie and Felix go to investigate someone’s letterbox being knocked over.

Becky seems a lot more upset than Stuart's wife about his death. She says she was in love with him. She says he didn't dump her and was going to leave his wife and move in with her. She claims he didn't because Susan made him sign a pre-nup so if they divorced he'd get none of the family fortune. Mackenzie spots that Becky is pregnant!

Hooray! It's DI Jack Mooney!

Later, Mackenzie hides her number and again tries London — and DI Jack Mooney (Ardal O’Hanlon) picks up! She asks him if there’s going to be an inquiry and he indicates he can't talk but says it will be months before he can update her on what's happening. He puts the phone down on top of some files about Mackenzie, which references Operation Nightshade (drug trafficking) and Operation Blackout (cybercrime). Colin comes into the house and Mackenzie says the house is her mother's. Colin smirks and says you can sometimes see a lady bathing out the back naked. And Mackenzie says yes, that’s her mum! Awkward!

Mackenzie asks if there’s anything from forensic accounts and Colin says that's him and he’ll get onto it tomorrow. The autopsy is tomorrow as well. "Oh yeah, no rush," says Mackenzie sarcastically. Lloyd hits back that they're a small team without big city resources. He does have the last week of security footage from the house and Mackenzie starts whirling through that. The next morning, Colin turns up with two coffees at Mackenzie's. Colin said there's no evidence at the house and no evidence a killer has cleaned up either. Mackenzie says she doesn’t drink coffee and throws it in the bin! Turns out she's been up all night looking at the footage. There's not much other than Stuart coming in and out of the house while always glued to his phone.

We meet Glenn

Colin says Glenn Strong, the boss's son, is the pathologist. Mackenzie clearly knows Glenn and looks worried. She ducks out of seeing Glenn. Glenn emerges from the water after surfing. He says that the murder weapon is just a standard kitchen knife and there are no prints. Glenn looks stunned when Colin says Mackenzie is on the case. Colin comments she's not winning many friends and Glenn replies she's a good person deep down. "How deep?" quips Colin.

Back at the station, Colin asks Reggie if there's anything between Mackenzie and Glenn. She says nothing except Mackenzie leaving Glenn at the altar six years ago, flying to London, and never speaking to him again! Meanwhile, they've identified the motorbike that knocked over the letter box. It's owned by a criminal called Zayne who lives with Becky! They go to talk to Zayne who makes a dash for it. He passes Mackenzie who joins in the chase and she turns out to be a lot quicker runner than Colin or Felix and executes a perfect rugby tackle to take Zayne down on the beach. Zayne admits to being at the house on the day of the murder and seeing Stuart and the mechanic. He says he's no longer living with Becky and went around to hers just to pick up his engagement ring. Mackenzie suggests being dumped for a rich estate agent is a good motive for murder. But Zayne says he was lurking at the house to wait for Becky, not Stuart.

The team has their suspects: Zayne, Becky, Susan, and Grant. Colin says Becky had a key to the house but Mackenzie points out there’s no evidence Stuart was killed there.

At home, Mackenzie finds a dog waiting for her, Frankie. Frankie is closely followed by Frankie’s owner, Glenn. He says there was water in Stuart's lungs and Mackenzie says she knew it! Glenn says the victim drowned and was stabbed! He drowned before the knife wound killed him. Glenn says there's a maximum five-minute window between the knife being used and Stuart going into the water. She says they need to time how long it takes to get from the house to the nearest water and if it’s more than five minutes they know Stuart was killed in the house. Poor Glenn does the running and it takes more than 10 minutes to get to the sea, so Mackenzie knows he wasn't killed in the house. Glenn clearly wants to talk, but Mackenzie shuts him down.

Back at the station, Colin says mechanic Grant's finances were a mess and he was in debt to Stuart. Also, it seems he had a childhood crush on Stuart’s wife, Susan. Mackenzie says they all have motives but how did they do it? Reggie says it’s like they’re investigating the wrong crime and that comment resonates with Mackenzie. "If we could fit the crime to the evidence, what crime would that be and who benefits," she ponders. Mackenzie heads to the coastline with Colin and finds something, we presume the missing button!

Stuart's killer is revealed

In true Death in Paradise/Agatha Christie style Mackenzie gathers the suspects. She says the murder makes no sense until you look at it from the other direction. Stuart was murdered but he wasn't meant to be the victim. She continues Stuart publicly declared he was meeting someone at the house and knew where all the security cameras were at the house and the blind spots. And the buyer he was showing around was no such thing as Grant clearly couldn't afford it. Stuart was creating an alibi, she declares, so he could kill his wife!

Stuart, taking advantage of the blind spots on the cameras, slipped out of the house with the idea of intercepting his wife on her run and killing her by pushing her off the cliff. He then planned to return to the house and leave in full view of the camera with his accomplice Grant. He'd then be able to marry Becky, bring up their baby, and inherit all his wife's money.

Mackenzie then reveals that Grant warned Susan of what her husband was planning because he's always loved her. And then we see Susan plunge the knife into her husband’s back! They struggle and he falls off the cliff to his death. Well, he deserved it really! Susan denies it and says there's not a shred of evidence that Stuart was there. But then Mackenzie produces the button! Susan is arrested for Stuart's murder.

Back at the station, Mackenzie says sorry to Colin for throwing his coffee in the bin and explains she’s not really a people person. She says Colin can be her tenant, but he says he can't afford it, and she says just to pay what he likes. She goes to see Glenn and says she's off to London. Finally, Glenn confronts Mazkenzie about why she left and hasn't called him in six years. She says it was about her and not him. She wanted more than Dolphin Cove.

She goes to see her boss Philomena who says DI Mooney has explained how Mackenzie was facing suspension for tampering with evidence. She denies she was and says she was stitched up. Philomena believes her but says there's only one place in the whole of Australia that would let her be a detective and that's Dolphin Cove! And can she bring some milk in the morning… Mackenzie knows her fate!

Return to Paradise episode 2 sees DI Mackenzie Clarke (Anna Samson) and Detective S.C Colin Cartwright (Lloyd Griffith) investigate the murder of a famous influencer during a fun run.

The episode opens with two fun runners, who are influencers. They're talking to the camera and they're photobombed by Colin and Glenn. They’re at the start line for the annual Dolphin Cove 10k run. The race starts.

Mackenzie is about to have breakfast but she has no milk. She listens to a voice message from a man called Curtis who says he needs her help or more people are going to die. She phones back but there's no reply. Mackenzie goes out to get milk but isn't allowed to cross the path of the fun run by angry Trevor. One of the runners, Daisy, says hi to her and persuades Trevor to let her pass. Mackenzie blasts Trevor. We see Colin and Glenn on the run taking some water at a water station.

Colin looks sweaty while Glenn is ice cool! Jade, one of the two runners we saw at the start, waves to the cameraman as she takes a drink. At the finish line, Colin's gutted because he's missed his PB by 30 seconds. They're closely followed by our two influencers, Jade and Curtis. Just after they cross the line together, Curtis collapses! He's dead!

Mackenzie goes to the scene, where she finds Philomena, Colin, and her ex Glenn. Curtis is the person who phoned Mackenzie asking for help and she plays the voice message to the other cops. In his wallet, Mackenzie finds what looks like a phone number. She says it could be poison, while Glenn thinks it's more likely a heart attack… we're going with poison!

Mackenzie and Colin have an awkward little chat about who's senior. They go to speak to Jade, Curtis's partner. She says she promotes wellness and fitness to her online followers. Mackenzie plays the voice message, but Jade says she has no idea what that could be about. She recalls he did have a drink during the race and Mackenzie heads to the drinks station. It seems it would be easy for anyone to get access to the water.

Mackenzie says they will need to pick up all of the discarded drinking cups. Colin looks thrilled! Glenn starts testing all the cups for poison. They get a hit! How did the killer get the right cup into Curtis's hand? Colin reckons it's "impossible" but Mackenzie disagrees. They go to talk to drinks man Keith, who admits he was a friend of Curtis's once. He's a bit funny about Curtis. Mackenzie notices a cut on his hand, which he explains away.

At the station, they look through the footage of the race, and helpfully the moment Curtis arrives at the drink station is on camera and he drinks his poison (or does he?!). It's revealed Jade had had cancer twice. It's revealed she now has a wellness empire worth 40 million Australian dollars. Colin says Jade's firm is being sold for that price. Jade and Curtis owned the business, so she has an obvious motive as she now gets the lot.

They go to visit Jade, who lives in a mansion. Jade says she's looking forward to not being an influencer anymore and throwing her phone in the sea. Cameraman/Manager Nick seems a little too comforting and Mackenzie seems to pick this up. Is something going on there?

Colin asks if Mackenzie would look like a drink for team bonding reasons and she looks horrified! Poor Colin he keeps trying. Colin goes for his drink and is served by Daisy who teases him that Mackenzie is a better detective than him. She points out that he still hasn't found who nicked her pink bike. Mackenzie shows up just as Colin starts a rant about her! She walks off.

Mackenzie goes to see Glenn who says they've found a partial print on the cup but not enough to help. They then start discussing Mackenzie leaving town. And there’s a very awkward silence… eventually, they return to the case. He thinks it’s a random murder, she doesn't and they have a bet on it like they used to do when they were dating. There's a bit of chemistry between the pair and then Glenn's girlfriend turns up!

And it’s Daisy! Glenn agrees his dog Frankie can stay the night with Mackenzie.
Mackenzie watches a video of Jade claiming she beat cancer without using conventional medicine. One of the accounts keeps popping up on Jade's feed and Mackenzie speculates this person might be obsessed with Jade.

The next morning at the surf bar, Colin tries to build some bridges by offering Mackenzie a drink and then mocks her for liking a children's drink when she goes for chocolate milk. When they're alone, Daisy says Glenn's an idiot and should have told Mackenzie about them.

Moments later Colin says sorry for bad-mouthing Mackenzie. Felix phones and he says he's found evidence of an argument between Curtis and manager Nick. Nick's speaking Mandarin on the phone and of course, Mackenzie knows the language although she’s a "bit rusty". Mackenzie says Curtis messaged he was unhappy with the deal and asks Nick how much money he'd have lost if it had fallen through. Felix and unhappy Reggie are busy trying to track down the origin of the phone number found in Curtis's wallet. Reggie complains about how dull the work is.

Glenn says he found evidence of a bruise under Curtis's eye. Mackenzie remembers Keith's cut on his hand. Excited she runs off. Colin says to Glenn he's glad it's not just him she walks out on, before realizing how tactless saying that is to a man dumped at the altar!

Back at the station, Felix finally gets through on the phone number. It's a dry cleaners, that can't be right!. Mackenzie writes up on the murder board “Just in time”, the user name of the person obsessed with Jade. It's Justine, who the team says is Keith’s daughter! Mackenzie wants to talk to her, but Reggie says she died six months ago.

They go to see Keith who admits hitting Curtis. A very upset Keith says his daughter was so obsessed with Jade's alternative methods she didn’t go and see a doctor and by the time he found out she was sick it was too late to help. He believes Jade killed his daughter and was horrified by the business being sold thinking more people would get sucked in and die. We see a flashback of Keith whacking Curtis. Mackenzie makes sense of Curtis's words when he said more people were going to die. Keith, though, denies killing anyone.

At Jade's, Mackenzie asks why she lied. She said no one had a grudge against Curtis when clearly Keith did and punched him. Jade claims Curtis said it was an accident. Jade says she's flying out for the launch in Singapore tomorrow. Mackenzie shows Jade the phone number, but she suggests perhaps it could be a bank account. At the station much later, Glenn arrives with the toxicology report. Curtis was poisoned with nicotine in liquid form. There’s another flicker of chemistry between Glenn and Mackenzie as he gently mocks her forgetting to eat for over a day. Glenn finds Colin's health drink, one of Jade's creations, in the fridge and gives it to Mackenzie, who takes one swig and spits it out. “What’s in this?” she complains. And suddenly everything seems to fit into place.

Mackenzie gathers the suspects and plays Curtis's voice message. She points out that Curtis was killed by liquid nicotine and vaping enthusiast Nick had access to it. Mackenzie explains the killer wanted them to look at the cups and spend their time trying to figure out how the killer could make sure Curtis drank out of the right cup. But, she declares, the cup wasn't the murder weapon! After eventually getting his glove on, Colin shows the murder weapon, the water bottle Curtis drank from at the start.

Mackenzie says Jade handed it to Curtis but Jade points out she drank from it. "And who would suspect someone who drank the exact same thing as the victim?!" says Mackenzie. “Surely if the nicotine was in the bottle you’d have been poisoned as well. And you were!" But Jade was downing effectively an antidote to the poison contained in the new wellness drink she'd developed. Mackenzie notes they saw her constantly drinking this drink and Colin says the new drink was loaded with activated charcoal which absorbs toxins including nicotine. And she planted the decoy cup before the race while she was looking for a place for Nick to film from.

Mackenzie says Jade killed Curtis because he was about to reveal that chemotherapy and surgery cured her cancer, not supplements. When news of the deal leaked, Keith contacted Curtis desperate for no more people to die. And Curtis then started doing his own research including the mysterious phone number. It turns out it wasn't a phone number but a patient ID. Jade's patient ID. Jade says how could she hide the fact she was in the hospital from her followers. Mackenzie says simply it was during her "digital detox" when she had a break from online. Jade starts defending her actions and we see Jade dropping nicotine into Curtis's drink. Jade is arrested for murder.

Back at the station, Mackenzie praises Felix and Reggie for their solid police work. Philomena takes Mackenzie for a chat and tells her she's a great detective but needs to make sure she's not a "pain" to everyone. She says she has a lot of making up to do for walking out on her son and her police job. Mackenzie buys Colin a smoothie. And she points out that the store holder has a pink bike with a missing front wheel just like the one Daisy had stolen! Poor Colin he's just getting outsmarted all the time! Mackenzie later tells Glenn he's better off with Daisy and that they work better as just friends. Not sure Glenn’s convinced…

Return to Paradise is officially a spin-off of Death in Paradise. But unlike the first spin-off Beyond Paradise, which follows past Saint Marie favorite DI Humphrey Goodman (Kris Marshall), this Aussie version isn't about a character from Death in Paradise. Indeed, other than a quick cameo by Ardal O Hanlon as former DIP lead DI Jack Mooney, it's a bit of a stretch to call this a spin-off!

However, once Anna Samson appears on the screen as DI Mackenzie Clarke you forget all this and suddenly you feel like you truly are in the so-called "Paraverse". Anna told us she believes her character is like DI Richard Poole, Death in Paradise's first and I think best detective. Mackenzie has that awkward brilliance Poole displayed while struggling to deal with social situations.

Indeed Mackenzie has managed to offend the people of Dolphin Cove, the fictional Aussie setting, so much that when a cab driver realizes it’s her he kicks her out of his car! Mackenzie is on leave from London, where she's a top cop working with DI Jack Mooney. But she's left London under something of a cloud and ends up back in a place she loathes. Desperate for help on a murder, the local police chief Philomena Strong (Catherine McClements) — a sort of Commissioner Patterson type — asks Mackenzie to lead the case, much to the upset of Detective S.C Colin Cartwright (Lloyd Griffith) who thinks he can crack the case by himself.

Death in Paradise has always hinged on the central relationship between the lead detective and their deputy and luckily Return to Paradise on early evidence gets this right. There are some nice comedy moments between Mackenzie and Colin. On discovering Mackenzie is living at her mum's place, Colin gleefully says you can often see someone bathing naked out the back. Mackenzie replies yes that's her mother! There's another great moment where Colin buys Mackenzie a coffee only for her to just dump it in the bin and declare she doesn't like coffee! The supporting cast is all perfectly fine, but it's Anna's show and your engagement lifts every time she's on screen.

The first murder she has to solve is very Death in Paradise with an estate agent found with a dagger in his back on the beach. He was last seen miles away from where his body was found, so how on earth could he have got there? If you’re a DIP fan you’ll enjoy all the nods to the series like the murder board in the police station. One thing Return to Paradise has over Beyond Paradise is that Mackenzie is investigating murders, which are much more interesting than some of the lower-level crimes DI Humphrey Goodman gets stuck with in Beyond Paradise.

In some ways then Return to Paradise is actually closer to Death in Paradise than Beyond Paradise. It has that fish-out-of-water vibe that Beyond Paradise lacks as Humphrey is now settled with Martha.

If you love Death in Paradise there's more than a good chance you'll enjoy Return to Paradise. And if you’ve never seen it in your life then you don’t actually need any prior knowledge to appreciate Return to Paradise. It's a fun, gentle crime series lifted by a great central performance.

Return to Paradise is airing on BBC One on Fridays at 8 pm. The whole series is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer.

Death in Paradise fans have been wondering about the link between the original show and its new spin-off, Return to Paradise… and it's finally been revealed that it's DI Jack Mooney!

While the first spin-off from the hit crime drama, Beyond Paradise, has an obvious connection to the original as it follows the adventures of former Saint Marie detective DI Humphrey Goodman (Kris Marshall), it wasn't clear what the actual link was between Return to Paradise and Death in Paradise beyond sunshine and murders.

However, we now know that Ardal O'Hanlon appears as DI Jack Mooney in the first episode of Return to Paradise, which begins on BBC One on Friday, November 22 at 8 pm.

Return to Paradise follows DI Mackenzie Clarke, a high-ranking officer in the London Metropolitan Police, who’s forced to return to Australia when she’s framed.

Now, star Anna Samson has revealed that DI Jack Mooney is her character's London boss.

She tells us: "Yes, this is a wonderful nod to the original show. There's a phone ringing and a shot of London that reels you in — then we see it's DI Jack Mooney calling. He is Mackenzie's boss at the Metropolitan Police, which she left under a cloud of suspicion. Mooney's overseeing the ‘trouble’, but he can only tell Mackenzie so much, as it's all very secret.

"I didn’t actually get to meet Ardal as he was filming in London while I was shooting in Australia, but I would love to."

Anna continues that she hopes that the other detectives on Death in Paradise can make appearances.

“Yes, I want them all in this show! To prepare for the role of Mackenzie, I watched all the Paraverse detectives to help me understand how an actor works within this genre, and where I could push the humor. I’d say my character most overlaps with Ben Miller’s DI Richard Poole in terms of the way they interact socially with the world. But I love them all."

Other key cast includes Lloyd Griffith (Ted Lasso, Nolly), Tai Hara (Home and Away, Colin From Accounts, Austin), Catherine McClements (Total Control, Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries), Celia Ireland (Wentworth, Total Control), Andrea Demetriades (Mother and Son, The Artful Dodger) and Aaron McGrath (Gold Diggers, Preppers).

Return to Paradise begins on BBC One on Friday, November 22 at 8 pm in the UK. All episodes will be available as a boxset on BBC iPlayer from that date. We don't have a US release date yet.

Death in Paradise spin-off Return to Paradise has at last been given a release date by the BBC as the so-called "Paraverse" expands.

The Aussie take on the hugely popular murder mystery TV series will land on BBC One on Friday, November 22 at 8 pm. It's been given a primetime slot by the broadcaster who’s hoping it will match the success of the existing spin-off Beyond Paradise.

Return to Paradise stars former Home and Away actress Anna Samson as brilliant London Metropolitan police officer DI Mackenzie Clarke who's forced to return home to Australia after being accused of tampering with evidence.

The main twist here on Death in Paradise and Beyond Paradise is we are following the adventures of a female detective, rather than a male cop. Mack returns to her childhood home of Dolphin Cove, which is stunningly beautiful and a place that she loathes!

The makers tease: "Having fled the town six years ago, infamously leaving her ex- fiancée Glenn (Tai Hara) at the altar, Mackenzie is not welcome here.

"But with no other job options, and a unique talent for solving a mystery, no matter how challenging, a reluctant Mack joins the team at Dolphin Cove Police Station. Once a case lands on her desk, she can't rest until she’s figured it out, and the killer is in handcuffs. It’s that tenacity and work ethic that might just, over time, help Mackenzie win over her new colleagues, and the people of Dolphin Cove.”

Other key cast includes Lloyd Griffith (Ted Lasso, Nolly), Tai Hara (Home and Away, Colin From Accounts, Austin), Catherine McClements (Total Control, Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries), Celia Ireland (Wentworth, Total Control), Andrea Demetriades (Mother and Son, The Artful Dodger) and Aaron McGrath (Gold Diggers, Preppers).

Return to Paradise begins on Friday, November 22 at 8 pm on BBC One having already been on in Australia. Meanwhile, Death in Paradise season 14 will start early next year, while Beyond Paradise season 3 will air next spring. There are also Death in Paradise and Beyond Paradise Christmas specials to look forward to.

It will be interesting to see what fans make of the new spin-off...

The ever popular Death in Paradise has spawned another spin-off, and this time it's on the other side of the world altogether. Return to Paradise has hit the golden beaches of Western Australia and all episodes are available to watch now. 

You can watch Return to Paradise for free in Australia on the ABC iview streaming service with the show set to arrive on BBC iPlayer in the UK on November 22. But don't worry if you're on holiday, because you can watch Return to Paradise from anywhere with a VPN right now.

With Beyond Paradise taking the jovial police procedural back to Britain last year, now it's Australia's turn with Return to Paradise.

The titular returnee is DI Mackenzie Clark (played by Home and Away's Anna Samson), who left her home years before under a shadow of ignominy — leaving her fiancé jilted at the altar. Now she's back on home turf in Dolphin Cove and she has some serious facing up to do.

Things may not always run smoothly in DI Clark's personal life, but she can rely on her sharp detective's instincts to throw herself into her work. Just like the Caribbean island of Saint Marie, there always seems to be some kind of mystery to solve in Dolphin Cove...

It's comfort viewing at its best. Here's how to watch Return to Paradise online from anywhere in the world and for free. We've got all the information you need below.

How to watch Return to Paradise in Australia for free

Return to Paradise went out on ABC Down Under, with all episodes having aired. That means they can now all be streamed for free on its ABC iview streaming service.

All you need to do to watch is register on ABC iview with your name, date of birth and postcode.

Can I watch Return to Paradise in the US?

No US premiere date or host network has yet been announced for Return to Paradise. We suspect it will eventually come to BritBox, as that's where Death in Paradise and the ilk are streamed.

If you're traveling to the US from Australia and want to watch your domestic stream, then we can only recommend using a VPN. Not familiar with the software? All is explained further down this page.

How to watch Return to Paradise in the UK for free

In the UK, Return to Paradise will join the rest of the franchise on BBC iPlayer from Friday, November 22.

Brits away from home who still want to watch their usual Return to Paradise stream can use a VPN...

How to watch Return to Paradise from anywhere with a VPN

You can watch Return to Paradise on the streaming service above by using a VPN — no matter where you are in the world!

Normally a streaming service will know where you are trying to tune in from and block you if you're not in the right country but a Virtual Private Network (VPN) is an app that hides your location. That means you can access your usual sports and entertainment services even while you're traveling abroad.

Our favorite VPN is NordVPN, which is the No. 1-rated VPN in the world right now according to our sister site, TechRadar, where you'll find a deeper reader on the best VPN services available right now.

How to use a VPN to watch any stream

• Download the app at NordVPN
• Choose the location of the streaming service you want to watch (UK, US, etc)
• Navigate to the streaming service you require and start watching!

What was the Return to Paradise release date?

Return to Paradise aired over the course of September 2024 in Australia, with episode 1 going out on September 8 and instalments 4 through 6 on September 27.

That means all episodes can now be seen on ABC's iview streaming service.

All episodes are set to land on BBC iPlayer in the UK on Friday, November 22. They'll also air on BBC One every Friday.

All you need to know about Return to Paradise

Return to Paradise has finally dropped its first trailer, with the makers of the upcoming BBC show declaring it's "a new Aussie take on Death in Paradise".

The six-part crime drama, the second Death in Paradise spin-off after Beyond Paradise, stars former Home and Away actress Anna Samson as London Metropolitan police officer DI Mackenzie Clarke who's forced to return home to Australia.

The new trailer contains several nods to Death in Paradise. Just like its parent show, it's clear that a lot of the action will take place around beautiful beaches, with a body being seen found on the shore with a knife in it. If you look closely you can also see they use the same distinctive yellow crime scene tape they use in Death in Paradise. 

While in a scene that could be straight out of DIP, DI Mackenzie Clarke is seen rushing down the beach before rugby tackling a suspect. Return to Paradise is also clearly intent on having the same comedy-drama style and it looks like the team dynamic will also be similar. Plus the police station in Return to Paradise is like the one in Saint Marie, even having the same type of crime board with photos pinned up!

The main difference between the two shows is that rather than a male lead detective, we have a female character driving the series. Death in Paradise has always had male leads and despite speculation they might cast a woman to replace Ralf Little, they've again gone for a man for Death in Paradise season 14, with Don Gilet taking over detecting duties.

As for the plot of Return to Paradise, the makers tease: "Having fled the town six years ago, infamously leaving her ex- fiancée Glenn (Tai Hara) at the altar, Mackenzie is not welcome here.  

"But with no other job options, and a unique talent for solving a mystery, no matter how challenging, a reluctant Mack joins the team at Dolphin Cove Police Station. Once a case lands on her desk, she can't rest until she’s figured it out, and the killer is in handcuffs. It’s that tenacity and work ethic that might just, over time, help Mackenzie win over her new colleagues, and the people of Dolphin Cove." 

Return to Paradise will air on BBC One in late 2024 it's been confirmed although we don't have an exact date. It will probably head to BritBox in the US, while it will be screened on ABC in Australia.

In the beginning, there was Death in Paradise, then Beyond Paradise and now the BBC has revealed a first look at another new spin-off Return to Paradise, set in Australia.

Yes, the "Paraverse", as the makers have curiously dubbed the Death in Paradise universe, is expanding faster than a chocoholic's waistline at Easter. 

The first picture from the show features ex-Home and Away star Anna Samson as DI Mackenzie Clarke, the first female lead detective in the franchise. Filming for the new six-part series is taking place now across Sydney and the idyllic Illawarra coastal region. Also starring are Lloyd Griffith (Ted Lasso, Nolly), Tai Hara (Home and Away, Colin From Accounts, Austin), Catherine McClements (Total Control, Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries), Celia Ireland (Wentworth, Total Control), Andrea Demetriades (Mother and Son, The Artful Dodger) and Aaron McGrath (Gold Diggers, Preppers).  

The makers promise it will have an "Australian flare", while also sticking to the traditions of the original show, Death in Paradise.

The setup for the series sees DI Mackenzie Clarke, an Australian ex-pat who's made a name for herself in London's Metropolitan Police as a brilliant murder-cracking cop, head back to her hometown of Dolphin Cove when she's accused of tampering with evidence. Having originally fled Australia and left her ex-fiancée Glenn (Tai Hara) at the altar, Mackenzie isn't well-loved in Dolphin Cove. But soon she's thrown into solving a murder mystery and sets about using her wonderful detective skills.

So, like Death in Paradise, it's set in a beautiful location with a talented but eccentric cop at its heart. The first Death in Paradise spin-off, Beyond Paradise, has been an enormous hit, with Beyond Paradise season 2, currently airing on the BBC. But the big question is can the franchise sustain another spin-off? Well, undoubtedly a lot will depend on whether viewers will take to the character and the mysteries. Plus might there be a crossover with Death in Paradise?

Co-creator and Executive Producer Peter Mattessi says: "We are having so much fun creating this brand-new mystery series that brings an Australian twist to one of the globe's most successful television franchises. We think audiences in Australia, UK and around the world are going to fall in love with our wonderful characters, our delicious whodunits, and our gorgeous coastal Australian locations."

The BBC confirmed Return Paradise will air later this year. ABC will show it in Australia, while it will likely head to BritBox in the US.

Return to Paradise is a new Death in Paradise spin-off starring former Home and Away actress Anna Samson as London Metropolitan police officer DI Mackenzie Clarke who's forced to return home to Australia. And the whole series is now available in the UK via BBC iPlayer!

It's the second Death in Paradise spin-off, following on from the success of Beyond Paradise, which sees Kris Marshall returning to his role as DI Humphrey Goodman as he enjoys a new life in Devon with partner Martha.

The series is six parts and it was filmed across Sydney and the idyllic Illawarra coastal region.

In the trailer, we see  DI Mackenzie Clarke returning home to Australia and getting stick from a taxi driver for coming back after what she did. Then in a scene very similar to what you might see on Death in Paradise, there's a body on a beach with a knife in it. "A new Aussie take on Death in Paradise," the trailer declares. We even see a chase on a beach, just like Death in Paradise.

Ardal O'Hanlon makes a guest appearance as DI Jack Mooney, the former lead detective on Death in Paradise.

Anna Samson tells us: "Yes, this is a wonderful nod to the original show. There's a phone ringing and a shot of London that reels you in — then we see it's DI Jack Mooney calling. He is Mackenzie's boss at the Metropolitan Police, which she left under a cloud of suspicion. Mooney's overseeing the 'trouble', but he can only tell Mackenzie so much, as it's all very secret.

"I didn’t actually get to meet Ardal as he was filming in London while I was shooting in Australia, but I would love to."

Here's everything we know...

• Best Death in Paradise episodes ranked

Return to Paradise release date

Return to Paradise started on BBC One on Friday, November 22 at 8 pm. The episodes are airing on Friday evenings on BBC One. The whole series is available as a boxset on BBC iPlayer.

Return to Paradise went out on ABC in Australia with all episodes having aired. That means they can now all be streamed for free on its ABC iview streaming service.

• How to watch Return to Paradise online

What's the plot?

Meet Mackenzie Clarke, a high-ranking officer in the London Metropolitan Police. She's of course known for being brilliant at solving tricky cases. But she's forced to return home to Australia after being accused of tampering with evidence.

The main twist here on Death in Paradise and Beyond Paradise is we are following the adventures of a female detective, rather than a male cop. Mack returns to her childhood home of Dolphin Cove, which is stunningly beautiful and a place that she loathes!

The makers tease: "Having fled the town six years ago, infamously leaving her ex- fiancée Glenn (Tai Hara) at the altar, Mackenzie is not welcome here.  

"But with no other job options, and a unique talent for solving a mystery, no matter how challenging, a reluctant Mack joins the team at Dolphin Cove Police Station. Once a case lands on her desk, she can't rest until she’s figured it out, and the killer is in handcuffs. It’s that tenacity and work ethic that might just, over time, help Mackenzie win over her new colleagues, and the people of Dolphin Cove." 

What happens in episode 1?

Return to Paradise opens on the beach in Dolphin Cove. Stuart Grainger, the president of the local surf club, introduces himself and shows off the trophy they will be competing for. He declares the surf carnival open. In the bar, Stuart smugly kisses his partner and dismissively tells waitress Becky to get cleaning. Becky gives him a look.

We see a property for sale board with husband and wife estate agents Susan and Stuart's pictures on. Stuart shows someone around the property while someone on a motorbike looks on. Back at the beach, the surfers pull a body out of the water. And it’s Stuart! He has a knife plunged in his back. And the theme tune starts...

Soon, Mackenzie Clarke, a high-ranking officer in the London Metropolitan Police, reluctantly arrives back in Dolphin Cove.  But despite just wanting to apparently enjoy her time away from London, she quickly finds herself helping the local police try to solve Stuart's murder...

What happens in episode 2?

Just before participating in the Dolphin Cove fun run, entrepreneur Curtis Faleafar calls Mackenzie to warn her that many lives are in danger. He later collapses, apparently poisoned, and Mackenzie is convinced his warning had some connection to his death. Away from matters of work, she also has to work out a way to stop local bathers from taking shortcuts through her property.

What happens in episode 3?

Mackenzie investigate the murder of a hairdresser, while Glenn finally blasts her for ditching him at the altar.

What happens in episode 4?

An activist is mysteriously bludgeoned to death while chained to a digger with his group during a protest. Mackenzie's investigation soon finds her in a dilemma as of the four suspects, three were chained to the excavator with the victim and therefore unable to kill him, while the other in the frame had no motive to do so. Away from this case, Mackenzie also finds herself prevailed upon to patrol a local football match.

What happens in episode 5?

Mackenzie investigates when a player is shot dead on the bowling green! Original Neighbours actor Peter O'Brien guest stars as the murder victim.

What happens in episode 6?

Mackenzie looks into the murder of a mine owner, while she faces a big decision about her future...

Return to Paradise cast

Anna Samson (Dead Lucky, Wake in Fright, Home and Away) stars as Mackenzie Clarke. Other key cast includes Lloyd Griffith (Ted Lasso, Nolly), Tai Hara (Home and Away, Colin From Accounts, Austin), Catherine McClements (Total Control, Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries), Celia Ireland (Wentworth, Total Control), Andrea Demetriades (Mother and Son, The Artful Dodger) and Aaron McGrath (Gold Diggers, Preppers).  

As mentioned Ardal O'Hanlon guests as DI Jack Mooney.

Is Dolphin Cove a real place?

Yes, there’s a place called Dolphin Cove in Australia. Dolphin Cove though isn't a town but rather a beautiful beach which is a tourist attraction in the Cape Arid National Park in Western Australia. There was also an American TV series called Dolphin Cove, which ran for one series in 1989, and was also set in Australia.

Is there a trailer?

Yes, see above.

Return to Paradise behind the scenes and more

Return to Paradise is produced by BBC Studios Productions Australia and Red Planet Pictures. The series is co-created and executive-produced by Peter Mattessi, James Hall and Robert Thorogood. Di Haddon is producer. Executive producers for BBC Studios Productions Australia are Kylie Washington and Warren Clarke, for Red Planet Pictures are Belinda Campbell and Tim Key and for ABC are Rachel Okine and Brett Sleigh.