Return to Paradise star Anna Samson opens up about her personal link to her on-screen character DI Mackenzie Clarke.
Samson, who plays the Death in Paradise franchise's first female lead detective, reflected on this shared connection during an interview with Digital Spy and other journalists.
"There's a crossover with me and Mackenzie in that I was born in England and I moved to Australia in my early, early teens. I didn't find Australia easy for a long time," explained Samson.
She shared that her on-screen counterpart "doesn't see the charm in Australia at all," having made London her home.
Setting out why her character returns to Australia, Samson explained: "She's Australian but has moved to London to work with the Metropolitan Police, and then in a cloud of suspicion and possible wrongdoing, she runs back to her childhood home of Dolphin Cove, where she doesn't want to be.
"[Mackenzie] never felt like she had a place there. I think – like maybe a lot of us – she feels like an outsider in the world, like she doesn't belong."
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Samson opened up further about her experience as an expat, stating: "I felt out of place. I felt like a strange – often sunburnt – outsider in Australia and I didn't see what Australia had to offer for many years.
"So there's a bit of an overlap with Mackenzie and Anna in that way."
She added: "I think that's a feeling that most of us can understand but [Mackenzie] also looks for evidence that she doesn't belong and if you look for that evidence in the world, you'll always find it.
"She can be quite blinkered and blind to the people that maybe have their arms open to her or what a small community has to offer."
The former Home and Away star admitted to being "pleased as punch" when she learned she'd be starring as Mackenzie on Return to Paradise.
"I'm a massive fan of the murder mystery genre, or the police procedural, in terms of literature, television, films," she explained.
"My whole life, I think there's a part of me that's always harboured a desire to be a detective on the BBC, so this was a very good turn of events for me.
"It was a surreal, wonderful experience knowing that this show was being made and that I would be playing Mackenzie Clarke."
Of her initial reaction, she added: "There were 24 hours after my agent called where it was just glee and then I went, 'Oh no, I actually have to do it' – because there's a bit of pressure involved with being in a big franchise, but mostly pride."
Return to Paradise debuts on Friday, November 22 on BBC One. Beyond Paradise and Death in Paradise both air on BBC One and stream on BBC iPlayer.
Read more Death in Paradise news on our dedicated homepage
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TV writer, Digital Spy Janet completed her Masters degree in Magazine Journalism in 2013 and has continued to grow professionally within the industry ever since. For six years she honed her analytical reviewing skills at the Good Housekeeping institute eventually becoming Acting Head of Food testing. She also freelanced in the field of film and TV journalism from 2013-2020, when she interviewed A-List stars such as Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. In 2021 she joined Digital Spy as TV writer where she gets to delve into more of what she loves, watching copious amounts of telly all in the name of work. Since taking on the role she has conducted red carpet interviews with the cast of Bridgerton, covered the BAFTAs and been interviewed by BBC Radio and London Live. In her spare time she also moonlights as a published author, the book Gothic Angel.
