Death in Paradise

Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise’s Selwyn rejects job offer in shock twist – but is it the end?

Have we really seen the last of Don Warrington?

Don Warrington as Commissioner Selwyn Patterson, wearing a bright blue shirt with orange foliage design. There are palm trees in the background and he is looking at the camera scowling.
BBC / Red Planet Pictures / Lou Denim

Has Don Warrington really left Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise?

That is the burning question on all of our lips following the season 14 finale, in which former commissioner Selwyn Patterson – *sobs* – was offered his job back after initially being replaced, only to reject said offer.

“You were never going to accept, were you?” asked Catherine.

“No,” he confirmed. “It felt wrong to say yes, too much has happened. And right now, I can’t see a way to get back to how things were.”

Selwyn will now take some time for himself, which he’s certainly earned following 50 years of service, part of which will involve visiting his daughter Andrina.

But after that?

“Who knows,” he said. “Promise me you will look after yourself, and them,” he added, gesturing to his ex-colleagues.

And Catherine also had a request for him. “Promise me this isn’t farewell, but au revoir,” asked the mayor.

“Au revoir then, my friend” he said, before hopping into a taxi.

After making one more stop to inform Mervin that the mysterious ‘S’ was in fact the DI’s brother, Solomon, and to urge him to get in contact, Selwyn then departed.

But is this the last we’ve seen of him?

Death in Paradise's Catherine (Élizabeth Bourgine) celebrates Selwyn Patterson's (Don Warrington) reinstatement
Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise’s Catherine (Élizabeth Bourgine) celebrates Selwyn Patterson’s (Don Warrington) reinstatement. Red Planet Pictures/Philippe Virapin.

The door has clearly been left open, which could see him return as the commissioner in season 15.

Some much-needed time to recover following what has been an intensely difficult period for him could be just what the doctor ordered. And once the dust has settled, he might be itching to get back.

Perhaps his boss won’t be able to find a suitable replacement and Selwyn will feel compelled to step in until they can, out of loyalty to the island and its people. There really is no one better equipped to step into Selwyn’s policing shoes than, well, Selwyn.

Is there a world in which he could feature in the show without officially being part of Honoré PD, flitting in and out, as he did for much of season 14, offering words of wisdom and investigatorial insight here and there?

“Well, who knows? Anything can happen in this life,” Warrington said ahead of season 14, when it was suggested that viewers couldn’t imagine the show without his character.

But while guest star Tobi Bakare believes that Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise could “definitely survive” without the commissioner, he acknowledged that he’d be “a big miss”.

“Don is just Don,” he added. “So there’ll be some coming back from him.”

Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

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