Death in Paradise is celebrating the return to season 13 - and its 100th episode - in style with the return of one of the first characters on the show, played by none other than Once Upon a Time star Sean Maguire!
MORE: Meet Death in Paradise star Ralf Little's famous fiancée
The actor, who has also starred in shows including Scott and Bailey, The 7.39 and The 100, initially portrayed local nuisance Marlon Collins in the first-ever episode of the show - and is the first actor to be invited back to the drama - except for Ralf Little, of course!
“I think Ralf [Little] told me that,” Sean told HELLO! from his home in Los Angeles. “I'm honoured and flattered.”
The producer called me via my agent and said, ‘Look, we're starting a new BBC drama, I know you're living in America and you're working, but any chance you might want to come and do the show, we think it's going to be great. He said, ‘Look it's not a big part but it's the pilot and we want to draw people and you're a little bit of a name and that might help.’ And then he goes, ‘It shoots in the Caribbean.’
“‘You'll be out there for about two or three weeks and we've got a great cast. It'll be really fun. We won't work you too hard and you can have a bit of a holiday. I’d not long met and fallen in love with my girlfriend. And I said, ‘Can I bring my girlfriend too?’ And he was like, ‘Yes!’ I was like, ‘Great, let's go! Iit was a good move.”
Speaking about returning to the show, he continued: “Funnily enough, the girl that I fallen in love with is now my wife and we have three children. I was like, ‘Can I bring my wife and three children?’ And they were like, ‘Yes, of course.’ [...] If I'm being really honest, that was the draw. But obviously, Death in Paradise has turned into a bit of an institution and a big hit. And it's just lovely. It's lovely to be part of something that the public enjoy. And I totally get it.
“Who doesn't love a whodunit and who doesn't love looking at gorgeous Caribbean beaches? It's a really, really nice thing to kind of bookend it by being in the first and the 100th,it's a bit of a rarity, so I'm really thrilled about it.”
Warning, spoiler alert going forward for season 13, episode one! In the episode, Commissioner Selwyn survives a murder attempt, and it transpires that Marlon is behind the shocking attack. Speaking about being the big baddie on the new episode, he said: “I was delighted that they wanted me to come back and they did say when they put the offer out, they were like, ‘Look, you're not going to be just sitting in a jail cell for three scenes. It's a really significant part. You're very, very important in the episode.’ But I was like, ‘You had me at Caribbean!’ But when I read it, I was like, ‘Great! I get to do something fun.’”