Meet the Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise cast and their real-life families
Ralf Little leads the cast as DI Neville Parker
Whether it’s new episodes or reruns of old ones, we love watching Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise and are well and truly hooked on series 13.
For those who don’t know, the show follows a police inspector from the UK, DI Neville Parker, as he and his police team investigate grizzly crimes on the fictional Caribbean island of Saint Marie.
While we know all about the lives of the island’s residents, what about the actors who play them? A number of stars on the BBC drama have families of their own to keep them busy. Meet some of the main cast members’ children and partners here…
© Walter McBride/WireImageRalf Little
Ralf stars as the show’s current detective DI Neville Parker. When he’s not busy filming in Guadeloupe, he can be found at home in King’s Cross, London, with his wife-to-be Lindsey Ferrentino, who is a playwright and screenwriter.
The pair met when Ralf starred in the London run of her play, Ugly Lies the Bone, alongside his DIP predecessor Kris Marshall.
The actor popped the question in 2018 but the couple have put their wedding plans on hold for the past few years. Chatting to The Mirror back in 2020 about getting down on one knee, Ralf said: “We were in a country house, it was a big surprise. I planned it in advance. I had a total result with the ring, though. She said to me if she ever got engaged there’s only one ring for her — her grandma’s, it’s absolutely beautiful.”
As for his family, Ralf has a brother named Ross, who works as a doctor, and two sisters, Rowena and Ceri.
Sadly, though, Ceri died at the age of 14 when Ralf was nine years old. She fell 150ft from a cliff during a family holiday to Cornwall.
Opening up about the tragedy during a conversation with Radio 4 presenter Reverend Richard Coles, Ralf said: “It was devastating. It’s incredibly difficult to recover from something like that, particularly as parents.”
“Out of everyone in the family, I was the one that was affected least because I was nine years old. Kids are quite resilient anyway, but I just had stuff to get on with.”
© Tony Kyriacou/ShutterstockDon Warrington
Much like other members of the cast, Don spends six months of the year filming in Guadeloupe before returning home to London for the other half.
The actor, who was born in Trinidad to Basil Kydd, a politician, and hairdresser Shirley, is married to Mary Maddocks, an actress known for her roles in Coronation Street, Midsomer Murders, and Doctor Who.
The couple share two grown-up sons, Jacob and Archie, with the latter having followed in his parents’ footsteps with a successful career in the entertainment industry as a comedian and writer.
© Photo: Getty ImagesÉlizabeth Bourgine
Élizabeth, 66, who portrays Catherine Bordey in the drama, spends her time in Paris when she’s not sunning it up in Guadeloupe.
The actress lives near the Luxembourg Gardens with her writer and director husband, Jean-Luc Miesch.
The couple share a son named Jules, 33, who like his mum, is an actor. Jules, who attended one of France’s most prestigious drama schools Cours Florent, is known for his roles in the Disney+ drama Tout va Bien, and the crime comedy, Capitaine Marleau.
Fans can look forward to a cameo from Jules in the eighth episode of series 13. Speaking about her son visiting the set last year to film for the show, Élizabeth told HELLO!: “He knew the cast, because he came very often and knows Don [Warrington] very well. He was taking care of the guest cast on his episode and it took them around Guadalupe. He said those three weeks were wonderful.”
She also revealed that her husband is a big fan of her character Catherine and “loves the way she speaks and dresses”. “He just thinks that she’s beautiful,” she said.
© Amelia TroubridgeShantol Jackson
Shantol has become a fan-favourite on the BBC show ever since making her debut as police officer Naomi Thomas in 2021.
While Shantol was born and is still based in Jamaica, she loves visiting London. “I call it my ‘second city’,” she told HELLO!.
Opening up about her love life during an exclusive interview, Shantol revealed that she hasn’t yet found love and is looking for someone who “understands” her lifestyle and filming commitments in Guadalupe.
“It is a long time to be away, and that makes having a partner quite difficult,” she told HELLO!. “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.
“But you need to find someone who understands your lifestyle when you have to work away from wherever home is, and it has to be someone who is also able to come to you When you’re there, you’re there; you can’t leave,” she continued, adding that she’s looking for someone who “understands that this is my life and can handle something that is a bit difficult.”
For Shantol, the main man in her life is her dad, who she shares a close relationship with. Sharing her father’s reaction to her role in Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise, Shantol told us: “He’s so proud – and that’s my biggest dream, to be honest: to make my daddy really proud.”
© Red Planet Pictures/Denis GuyenonTahj Miles
Tahj – aka Marlon Pryce – tends to keep his private life out of the spotlight, so very little is known about his relationship history.
We do know, however, that the actor lives in Hackey, London, with his mum, aunts and nan.
Speaking about his love of the east London borough, where he was born and raised, the 22-year-old told the Hampstead & Highgate Express: “My mum is always saying how this Hackney compares to hers when she was 20, but I loved my time growing up here. East London is in my heart. I know it like the back of my hand, the good spots to eat. I love it.”
© Red Planet Pictures/Denis GuyenonGinny Holder
Like Tahj, Ginny tends to keep quiet about her life away from playing Darlene on the show.
The actress is a familiar face on our screens thanks to her previous TV roles in Holby City, Doctors and DCI Banks. While we don’t know much about her life behind the cameras, find out what Ginny said about Marlon’s future in an exclusive interview with HELLO!.
© Jonathan Hordle/ShutterstockBen Miller
Ben delighted viewers when he made a return as DI Richard Poole for the tenth-anniversary special in 2021. Since leaving the show in 2013, the actor has been busy doing many other projects as well as growing his family.
He shares one son with his ex-wife Belinda Stewart-Wilson who was born in 2006, but the couple parted ways in 2011. In late 2011, the actor welcomed another son with his second wife, film producer Jessica Parker, and in 2015 the couple welcomed a daughter.
While Ben and his family have settled down in Gloucestershire, where they live in a former chauffeur’s cottage, the actor is originally from Cheshire.
His parents, Michael and Marion, are both retired teachers. Opening up about his upbringing in an interview with The Guardian, he said: “My father was always clowning around. It was a huge influence on me. In my family, everything is turned into a joke. TV comedies brought us together: we were allowed to watch those. My two sisters, both younger than me, are also funny. Bronwen is very laconic, and Leah is quite a sniper.”
© Photo: Getty ImagesKris Marshall
Kris played the bumbling but loveable Humphrey Goodman in the show following Ben Miller’s departure in 2013 until 2017. He later reprised the role in the spin-off series, Beyond Paradise, which is returning to screens with a second season this spring.
Away from the show, Kris can be found at home in Bath with his wife Hannah Dodkin, who he married in a wintery wedding in February 2012 in his hometown of Wells, Somerset.
The couple have two children together, a son, Thomas, and a daughter, Elsie.
© Phillip Massey/Getty ImagesArdal O’Hanlon
Ardal joined as Jack Mooney soon after Kris’s departure and remained on the show for two years before leaving in 2019.
In real life, the Irish actor is married to his childhood sweetheart Melanie O’Hanlon and they have three children: Emily, Rebecca and Red. The family live between Dublin and London.
Ardal’s not the only famous face in his family, however. His father is former Fianna Fáil politician Rory O’Hanlon.
Speaking about his childhood during an interview with The Guardian, Ardal opened up about the impact of The Troubles on his family. “Dragged out of your bed at the age of seven, my mother screaming, six kids under the age of 12,” he said. “I’m not equating my experience with the people who lived in Northern Ireland. But my dad was always out and about late at night, and I could not go to sleep until I knew he was in. There were assassinations, for one reason or another. And I could not relax until I heard his footsteps on the garden path.”
