Death in Paradise's new lead detective Don Gilet commented on Commissioner Selwyn's (Don Warrington) future on the show after the season 14 debut teased the character's possible exit.
When asked about the direction of Selwyn's story arc this season now that the role of Commissioner is set to be dissolved, Gilet – who plays DI Mervin Wilson – told Digital Spy: "I really can't give too much about Selwyn, because that's for Selwyn to say.
"In terms of his role there, [for the] audience and his role there as a character, profoundly, [it's asking] what would it mean for him to not be there anymore as an influence?"
Gilet elaborated further, expressing the importance of Warrington's role, saying: "It means a lot.
"His part on Saint Marie is as instrumental as any new detective or any detective leading something. They need to have that extra energy, that 'all knowing' energy, and I really don't want to say too much about that because it's not for me to answer, but his presence is very much needed, otherwise he wouldn't still be there, in whatever capacity."
Turning his attention back to the trajectory of his own character this season, Gilet reflected on how Mervin's "internal struggles" shape the character over the course of the upcoming episodes.
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"In spite of himself, each episode, he is being shaped, he's evolving because of this personal internal struggle that he's got," he explained, referring to Mervin's estrangement from his late mother and the mystery surrounding her death.
"We know that at the start of the Christmas special, he's had enough. He's out of there. He's gotten – he thinks – everything he needs to know as far as he wants to know [out of it], but there is something profound that's pulling him almost to an extent where these new and baffling crimes are almost a good excuse for him to stay.
"There's this tussle, you know, like The Clash 'Should I Stay or Should I go?' Something gets so under his skin that he can't deny it anymore."
Gilet went on to say: "By the end of it, the question that I'm still asking [is has] Saint Marie consumed him to the point where he is just going to have to accept that it's in his DNA?
"And I think that unfolding on a weekly basis. People are seeing to what extent he is accepting that there's something more here than just crimes to solve."
Death in Paradise and its spin-off, Beyond Paradise, both air on BBC One and stream on BBC iPlayer.
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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.
