Death in Paradise star Ginny Holder joined HELLO! for the latest episode of Under The Palms, and she reflected on the heartbreaking moment that cast and crew members first learned of Queen Elizabeth II's passing. Revealing that filming in Guadeloupe came to a complete standstill, the actress – who stars as Darlene Curtis on the hit BBC show – explained that she was the first to learn of the news, after receiving a text from her son.
"We were filming, I remember we were filming at Catherine's bar and I was just sat in our green room area," she said.
WATCH: Death in Paradise star Ginny Holder joins HELLO! for an episode of Under The Palms
"And I remember my son sent me a text message and he said 'Mummy the Queen has passed away' and I said to everybody, 'Oh my gosh the Queen has passed away,' and they all said 'no, no, no don't be silly Ginny, no she hasn't.'"
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Ginny recalled, "At that time my son had probably got the information quite early, so no one believed me that she had passed because it wasn't even on Twitter at the time. It wasn't on any social media. So, when they found out we had a bit of a one minute silence just to take it in because it was a shock. It marked the moment, it marked the time."
© Photo: BBCGinny revealed that she learned the sad news after her son sent her a text message
Ginny also spoke about how "odd" it was not to be in England following the monarch's death on September 8 2022. "I would have loved to have just experienced what England in mourning was like – what was going on in London at the time," she added.
© Photo: BBCThe cast stopped filming and held a one minute silence for the Queen
Death In Paradise is typically filmed across a six-month period in Guadeloupe, so the cast spends half of their time abroad each year. "It's crazy, a lot happens when you're away," said Ginny.
The Queen's passing wasn't the only major news event that happened during filming. "Whilst we were away, we'd had two Prime Ministers by that time," explained Ginny, "By the time we came back, we were on the second." Despite missing the UK, the actress does love spending time in Guadeloupe, however, telling HELLO!: "We go back in April, and I'm counting those days."
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