Kris Marshall spills which Beyond Paradise star is a ‘joy to work with’ – it’s not Sally
BBC fans have fallen in love with the cast and crew of the D.e.a.t.h in Paradise spin-off Beyond Paradise - but there's one star who has won over the cast and crew.
Actor Kris Marshall has revealed who his favourite co-star is on Beyond Paradise (Image: BBC/Red Planet Pictures/Joss Barratt )
In D.e.a.t.h in Paradise, DI Humphrey Goodman – played by Kris Marshall – shared his Caribbean bungalow with his beloved pet lizard Harry. His four-legged friend has since appeared in almost every episode since he made his debut in 2011.
So when the detective relocated to Devon for the BBC spin-off series Beyond Paradise, there was room for a feathered friend to join him on his adventures. When Goodman bought a houseboat, he quickly learnt that it came with a duck, which he fondly named Selwyn after his former boss, Commissioner Selwyn Patterson (Don Warrington).
The leading man has become firm friends with his co-star duck Mek Mek (Image: BBC)
But while Harry was a computer-generated lizard, Selwyn is very much a real duck who has continued to steal the limelight in every episode.
Anthony Bloom, who works for Birds for Film near Colchester in Essex explained that while male ducks are far more colourful, the moult and start looking for females. This meant that for the continuity, Selwyn had to be a female.
His cheeky friend is played by three different ducks – usually five-year-old Mek Mek, who was given the unusual name due to her unusual call.
Speaking to Radio Times, Bloom revealed: “Rather than ‘Quack, quack’, she goes ‘Mek Mek’.” And it’s fair to say she’s been a hit with the cast as crew, as Kris admitted: “She’s an utter joy to work with.”
Meanwhile, Mini-Me – who is slightly smaller, is a “very good back-up”, followed closely by Nelly, who’s “not such a good back-up”. Bloom trains and looks after around 200 birds, including pigeons, flamingos, ravens, and 10 ducks.
When he transports the Selwyn trio to film Beyond Paradise, they travel in individual dog carries in what has come to be known as the “duck truck”.
He gushed: “Everyone likes ducks, don’t they? There’s no doubt they’re cute. Mek Mek is generally the calmest and the tamest, she’s a natural. She’s not afraid of much.
But it hasn’t been entirely plain sailing with the ducks on set, who are known for being quite vocal when they want to be.
Bloom admitted: “In a scene in series two with Sally [Bretton as Martha Lloyd] and Zahra [Ahmadi, as DS Esther Williams], Mek Mek didn’t stop quacking, and then she started pecking one of them. I was nervous thinking, ‘You’re not going to bite her on the cheek, are you?’”
Luckily, the cast are very forgiving, with Mek Mek becoming a firm staple in the Beyond Paradise team.
