Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise star Shantol Jackson’s life – Royal encounter to career admission

Actress Shantol Jackson has been a firm fan-favourite on Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise since she made her debut as Naomi Thomas three years ago. Originally, her character worked underneath DI Neville Parker (Ralf Little), although she was quickly promoted to Detective Sergeant.

Shantol joined the Saint Marie police force at the start of series 11, replacing the beloved JP Hooper (Tobi Bakare). Since then, she’s been involved in solving numerous murders and has been a key member in welcoming DI Mervin Wilson (Don Gilet) to the team. Although Shantol’s role in the show could’ve been very different as she originally tried out for the role of Ruby Patterson, who is played by Shyko Amos.Despite being crushed over not getting the role, two years later Shantol was offered the part of Naomi.

She told The Mirror: “They called to say they had the right role for me. They saw something in me and I was so grateful. I absolutely love playing Naomi. The murders are all crazy! Each time, I think how are you going to make this work? One of my favourites was when the Commissioner got shot as it was more than just solving the crime. It was emotional.”

As the actress continues to be a firm favourite on the BBC show, we’re taking a look into her life when the camera’s stop rolling.

‘Difficult’ love life

Although the 32-year-old tends to keep her life quite private and out of the public eye, it seems as though the actress’ busy filming schedule has made it tough to find love.

Speaking to Hello in the past, Shantol confessed: “It is a long time to be away, and that makes having a partner quite difficult, I’m hoping to work on that this year. We have biological clocks, so we need to get the ball rolling when it comes to that.” The actress shared she needs to find someone who is able to understand her busy schedule and lifestyle.

She added: “It has to be somebody who can hop over now and then, who understands that this is my life and can handle something that is a bit difficult.”

Career confession

Despite impressing BBC viewers as Naomi Thomas, the actress almost went down an entirely different career path. In the past, the 32-year-old revealed she used to have dreams of becoming a veterinarian.

However, when her dad put her to the test, her desires quickly changed. “My dad got a dead frog and he told me to dissect it. I looked at the frog and then I looked at my dad and said, ‘Daddy I don’t think I’ll be able to be a veterinarian’,” she told Pride Magazine.

It wasn’t until she started school that Shantol found her passion for acting, admitting she joined the drama club and enjoyed telling stories. However, her dad had hopes of her getting a more conventional job, which resulted in Shantol going to nursing school while attending a local theatre club at night.

However, after watching her perform on stage, Shantol’s father became supportive of her dreams and is proud of her success.

Royal encounter

Shantol is no stranger to being among impressive stars, such as Ralf Little and Don Warrington, she’s also starred in Idris Elba’s film Yardie. However, one encounter she faced was a little less than unexpected.

While spending time in Kingston, where she lives, Shantol attended the premiere of the Bob Marley film, One Love. When walking to the red carpet, she bumped into the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Speechless by the royal encounter, she told Hello!: “Meghan and Harry just casually walked past me. I’m sure only the government officials knew they were coming.

“They were very sweet and very excited. I was dumbstruck because I wasn’t expecting it. I’m like: ‘This never happens.’ They enjoyed being there and it didn’t feel as though you couldn’t access them. Of course, there were bodyguards, but if people said hello, they said: ‘Oh, hi.’ It wasn’t like: ‘Oh, don’t speak to me.'”

Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.