Death in Paradise's Don Warrington teases he doesn't know Christmas 2025 special plot as Selwyn future remains unclear

This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine.

As we prepare to unwrap the eagerly anticipated festive instalment of Death in Paradise — Don Gilet’s second as DI Mervin Wilson following his debut this time last year — fans will be hoping that, by some Christmas miracle, it’s not the last we’ve seen of Commissioner Selwyn Patterson, played by series stalwart Don Warrington.

At the end of the last series, the long-serving commissioner was unceremoniously replaced, in a bid to cut costs, by an arrogant young upstart, causing major upset among Honoré’s police officers and locals, not to mention Death in Paradise viewers.

RT brought the two Dons together to mull over their time on screen together and their yuletide plans.

What were your first impressions of each other?

DON WARRINGTON: Well, I knew him before Death in Paradise.

DON GILET: Even though he denies remembering working with me.

WARRINGTON: I knew he’d bring this up!

GILET: He was the lead in a radio show [Deacon, Radio 4] and I was one of the guests. I was so happy at the Death in Paradise audition to say, “I know you – we’ve worked together.” Don said, “Did we?” and I thought, “OK, this is probably not going to go as well as I hoped!” But working with Don – there’s the writing, but there’s also the why. Why are these people together? How do they relate? We can all learn our lines and be good actors, but he pushes me to deep-dive into my character.

The Commissioner was a guiding force for Mervin. Did anyone inspire you to become an actor?

WARRINGTON: For me, it was Marlon Brando. As a kid living in Trinidad with my grandmother, there was an Asian family who used to put on movies. One day they put on On the Waterfront and I thought, “That’s what I want to do.”

The Christmas episode is a festive tradition. Will you be tuning in?

WARRINGTON: [with a smile] I’ll be watching to see what the story is…

GILET: It’s the payoff, for me, to go, “This is it. It’s the Christmas special and I’m in it.” Not from a vanity point of view, but just to see if all the things we hoped we were going to hit, hit right.

What are your festive plans?

GILET: Christmas is busy for me because I’ve got family in the Midlands and I’ve got my girlfriend’s family up north. So, there’s quite a bit of whistlestop travelling. Once I’ve done that, I just want to go back home and get under a duvet with my Baileys.

WARRINGTON: My partner makes plans and says, “You’re doing this…” and I go, “OK!” New Year is more important than Christmas in the Caribbean. On New Year’s Eve when I was small, in Newcastle in the 1960s, my family would get out the steel pan and play, marching through the streets, and all these Geordies would join in the dancing.

Finally, what gift would you buy each other?

GILET: I would buy Don one of those little music boxes where you turn the crank and it plays a tune.

WARRINGTON: Four guitar lessons.

GILET: I took my guitar over [to Guadeloupe] and he kept saying, “Have you played?” I like the idea of learning, but I didn’t have the time or the energy, so thank you!

WARRINGTON: If you can’t do something as well as you’d like, it’s work – but if you can do something as well as you like, it’s pleasure.

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The Death in Paradise 2025 Christmas special will air on 28th December at 8:30pm on BBC One and iPlayer.

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