Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise’s Don Gilet admits his new detective is “not really liked”
"He rubs his colleagues up the wrong way."
Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise‘s Don Gilet has spoken about what makes his new lead character different from the ones we’ve seen before.
The former EastEnders actor makes his debut as DI Mervin Wilson in next week’s Christmas special, and as Gilet revealed on tonight’s (December 18) The One Show, Mervin isn’t exactly having a great time in Saint Marie.
“He’s not really liked, to start with,” the actor said. “He doesn’t wanna be there, doesn’t like the place, the pace of the place… All this is working against him and against his methods.
“He doesn’t suffer fools gladly. He doesn’t have much patience, he’s a guy who doesn’t stand still. Everything needs to be happening like that, at the pace of London and if it’s not, he gets impatient.
“And that’s when you decide if you’re gonna like him or not. Because he rubs his colleagues up the wrong way.”
In fact, he explained that Melvin is meant to be leaving the island when he gets called to work on a murder case, having been there “kind of on holiday”. He then “reluctantly” gets involved in solving the Christmas mystery.
Hosts Alex Jones and Clara Amfo then introduced a clip of Melvin’s boss calling him as he’s on the plane to leave, desperately trying to get out of staying in Saint Marie. Unfortunately for him, he’s not successful.
Recently, Gilet admitted that it was “both exciting and terrifying in equal measure” to be taking over the show.
“I liken it to one of those scary rides at a theme park,” he said. “I’m going on it, and I know it’s going to be scary, but I’m going to do it.”
