BBC Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise producer’s brutal warning to star as he said ‘you can still get out’
Ardal O'Hanlon was issued a stern warning by a Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise producer about the gruelling schedule.
Ardal O’Hanlon was on Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise for four years (Image: BBC)
Ardal O’Hanlon has issued a stark warning to new Dᴇᴀᴛʜ In Paradise star Don Gilet about the “gruelling” nature of the job, which he claims is unsustainable for more than a few years. The BBC actor confessed that during his stint as DI Jack Mooney on the hit BBC drama from 2017-2020, he was working up to 12 hours a day, six days a week.
While promoting his new stand-up tour, Ardal reflected on his time in Guadeloupe, admitting it wasn’t easy and he envied guest stars who could fly in and out. He revealed that producers even gave him a ‘talk of doom’ to prepare him for the intense filming sessions in the heat.
He explained: “They kind of tell you that at the beginning, like they said, ‘You know, you might last two years or three years, but you know, you probably won’t last four! Nothing prepares you for it. I remember the producer came to visit me and we spent a day together. This is maybe a month before I went out there. And he was basically trying to go, ‘You know, you can still get out of this, if you want!’
The Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise police station is the centre of the drama (Image: Red Planet Pictures/Denis Guyenon)
“Do you know what I mean, he was kind of almost… he was really painting a very bleak picture saying, ‘You know, like, it’s gonna be tough.’ You know, there’s hurricanes to deal with. There’s people going crazy because, like, people go stir crazy in that environment, you know, you’re always dealing with something, like there’s creatures that want to kill you.”
Looking back, the 59 year old actor and comedian admitted that the filming schedue was “tough”, as he added that he looks back on it as a “great experience”, despite the grueling schedule.
Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise’s Ardal was given a warning by producers (Image: (Image: BBC))
The former Father Ted star was promoting his new stand up show for 2025, titled Not Himself.
Ardal was replaced on Dᴇᴀᴛʜ In Paradise by Ralf Little who played DI Neville Parker for 5 years. The new lead Don Gilet will join the show in the upcoming Christmas special as new lead DI Mervin Wilson.
Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise remains one the UK’s most watched returning drama across all broadcasters and streamers, with the 2024 series watched by over 8 million viewers.
