Death in Paradise season 13 finally gets surprise release date

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Death in Paradise gets a new Sunday night slot...

Death in Paradise season 12 cast
(Image credit: BBC / Red Planet Pictures / Denis Guyenon)

Death in Paradise season 13 has finally been given a release date and in a surprise twist, it's moved from its normal Friday slot to Sunday nights.

Yep, the new series will begin on Sunday 4 February on BBC One. It's expected to air at 9 pm, which therefore means it will be screened straight after Call the Midwife.

The BBC believes that Death in Paradise and Call the Midwife combined on a Sunday evening will be a viewer magnet. The new series will open with the show's 100th episode.

Poor Death in Paradise fans have been made to wait for the new episodes as normally the show returns in January (minor spoilers ahead if you've not seen the festive episode).

But the broadcaster has this year held it back to February as Ralf Little returns as DI Neville Parker.

Ralf is now the longest-serving Death in Paradise detective, having clocked up 31 episodes including the recent festive episode. Kris Marshall had held the record as DI Humphrey Goodman (30 episodes). 

Naomi (Shantol Jackson) stands wearing a smart pale lime-coloured evening dress and sipping a glass of fizz, opposite Marlon (Tahj Miles) who is in a maroon suit and a floral shirt, also holding a glass of fizz

Awks... what's next for Naomi and Marlon after that kiss? (Image credit: BBC)

Neville of course is trying to mend a broken heart after his quite disastrious relationship with the dreaded Sophie. Meanwhile, the team will be trying to cope with the fallout from Naomi (Shantol Jackson) kissing Marlon (Tahj Miles). Yes, that really did happen in the festive special and quite how everyone is going to react will be fascinating.

It will also be interesting to see if The Commissioner (Don Warrington) finally cuts Neville some slack. The Commissioner seems to spend most of his time getting annoyed with Neville, even though Neville basically solves every murder put in front of him in record time!

Hayley Mills is meant to be guest-starring in the new run and we expect a string of guest stars to be revealed shortly. But we don’t know yet if Doon Mackichan will be putting in another appearance as Neville’s mum, Melanie.

Elizabeth Bourgine returns as Catherine Bordey along with Ginny Holder as Darlene. It will be fun to see if there's any reference to the world of Beyond Paradise and even the new spin-off show, Return to Paradise.

Death in Paradise returns to BBC One on Sunday 4 February on BBC One.

David Hollingsworth
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!