Ex Hollyoaks and Broadchurch star Will Mellor (pictured here on set looking shifty!) revealed why Death in Paradise is the best guest job in television in a recent chat with What’s on TV…
Death in Paradise’s leading man Kris Marshall recently told us Death in Paradise is the best guest role in television…
"It has to be! When you get a phone call offering to fly you out to the Caribbean for a few weeks you can't help but think 'why not?' It's a belter! I also knew a few of the other guest actors in my episode, which was perfect."
We know you play a doctor in this week's Death in Paradise. What else can you tell us about the story?
"I play Karl Slater, who’s a doctor on the island of Saint Marie. It's quite a different role for me. Playing a doctor is very cool! He grew up with surfer Jake (Dean Lennox Kelly) and they're the best of friends. Karl is at Jake and his wife Katie’s (Claire Goose) house when everything kicks off, so he’s one of the first people on the [murder] scene."
Is Karl one of the murder suspects?
"The storyline has lots of interesting twists and turns, but I can't give anything away! There are loads of suspects. Viewers will recognise lots of actors from other TV shows, who throw up many curve balls.”
Who else were you filming with in Guadeloupe?
“Dean Lennox Kelly plays murder victim Jake the surfer. We're already good friends from working on Sorted, a BBC series about postmen, and stayed in touch ever since. My other good friend Joel Fry also stars in this Death in Paradise episode. We'd lived together while working on White Van Man. We all met on the plane and had a ball together from start to finish!"
What did you get up to when you weren’t filming?
"We had the best time when we had time off. We watched the World Cup by the beach. Even though England were poor in the tournament I wasn't as depressed as I'd have been at home because we could go and swim or have a cocktail!"
What else made Death in Caribbean such a memorable job for you?
"When they called me up and offered me the part of Karl I started giggling to myself – I couldn't believe I'd be in the Caribbean. I tried to make it sound like I was going to work, but my wife told me not to call it work! It was a great job in a beautiful location and I hope people will enjoy it. It's so nice to have sunshine, sunsets and cocktails on the telly when it's cold and dark at home."
What have you been working on since filming Death in Paradise?
"I got my payback for my two weeks in the Caribbean when I ended up freezing in a warehouse in Manchester for five months! It was for a gritty new police series by Paul Abbott called No Offence and goes out on Channel 4 later this year. I haven't played a detective since ITV's MIT years ago. Paul Abbot's drama has some heavy moments with big issues but also dark, twisted comedy undertones. It doesn't pull any punches. In July we're filming the second series of Kay Mellor's In the Club. I've not seen the scripts yet but Kay's a genius at writing from the heart and touching people emotionally."
Catch Will in Death in Paradise on BBC1, Thursday 15th January at 9pm
