As the longest-serving Death in Paradise cast member, Elizabeth Bourgine’s character Catherine has dealt with some drama over the years, but this time it is personal as she revealed details about her character’s upcoming storyline for season 13.
Chatting to HELLO!, she explained: “In season 13, Catherine will see one of her best friends from when she was a young woman. She will be embroiled in a murder because her friend will be a suspect. They will both have to share their past. “It’s a lovely episode because we’ll see what happened to Catherine when she was young and we’ll understand what happened to her friend, too.
“It’s a very good episode for women because it speaks to women of Catherine’s age and for girls now. It’s an episode I love very, very much. I’m very proud of this episode.”
The star has played the character for over 13 years now and revealed that she occasionally speaks to the screenwriters if there is a moment that she isn’t too sure about. She said: “Sometimes they have to change things at the last minute and I’ll say: ‘Well, she wouldn’t say that.’ But usually, the dialogue is really good.
“Catherine is a strong character so she imposes things. She has a way of speaking her words, a way of thinking, so the writers usually have fun writing for her… I’ve loved Catherine since day one. I love that woman and she gets stronger because, through the series, it’s like she’s getting proud of her age, proud of her maturity, proud of being what she is in Death in Paradise, because I think she’s very important.”
She continued: “Catherine is a dream of a woman. We say she’s the Queen of Saint Marie because she’s the one everybody is related to. We all need her. She is always wise to everybody, but she also has humour and style. And in this series, you’re going to discover a bit more of her past.”
The opening episode of season 13 already introduced a fair share of drama after Commissioner Selwyn was shot - with the team needing to find his attempted murderer. Chatting on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show, the show’s lead Ralf Little explained: “We don't know whether the Commissioner is going to make it or not.
“And, creatively speaking, it's nice for all of us actors to play. The characters always do their best. They're professional, they always do their best to solve the crime. But on this occasion, it's really personal. And there's always something really nice about that to play. So a lot is riding on it for the team.”