Don Gilet on Death in Paradise: 'Watching Kris do the Poirot speech, I thought… how would I do that?'

Thankfully, there are other aspects of the coming holiday that the small-screen veteran is happier to enthuse about.

Christmas brings with it our first chance to see him as Detective Inspector Mervin Wilson in a special feature-length episode of Death in Paradise, taking over from Ralf Little as the new lead detective on Saint Marie, the Caribbean island where mysterious murders seem to arrive with the clockwork regularity of Japanese bullet trains.

It’s a massive deal and, to the former EastEnders and Holby City actor’s credit, he’s anything but coy about it. He says he would be lying if he said he hadn’t imagined himself as the show’s lead when he guest-starred alongside Kris Marshall in 2015.

Back then, he was Andre Morgan, an employee of a murdered rum distillery owner: “Oh, of course. You’re watching Kris do the Poirot speech, where [Marshall’s DI] Humphrey is piecing it all together, and you can’t help but wonder, ‘How would I do that?’

“I mean, that’s a huge amount of information and, as an actor, you have to get to that point where it stops being a memory test and you’re actually expressing yourself as a character.”

Given that even the knottiest cases in Saint Marie are never left unsolved, it’s no great spoiler to reveal that Gilet is nothing short of electric tackling his first case, as he finally figures out how expat celebrity songwriter Tony Hurst (Steven Hartley), a holidaymaker called Stuart (Marcus Brigstocke) and luckless local Tyrus (Michael Salami) could all have been shot by the same gun at the same time.

Yet, unlike the actor bringing him to life, Mervin Wilson doesn’t see much of a future for himself in Saint Marie. After a brief visit to the island for personal reasons, his plane is on the runway about to take him home for Christmas. But with a murder to solve, Saint Marie lacking a DI and strict instructions from his boss ringing in his ear, what ensues is a bumpy and, over time, emotional voyage of self-discovery.

One of the most fascinating aspects of Death in Paradise’s “changeover” episodes is the sense of watching both actor and character simultaneously adapt to the intense heat and pace of life in the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, where the show is filmed.

“I think you’re right,” says Gilet, “It’s what I call holiday heat – where you can choose to be in the shade or in the sun, you can choose to have a cocktail or a siesta. But of course, it’s a normal working day for me, as it is for Mervin.”

If there seems to be significant overlap between Gilet and his character, that’s not altogether accidental, as his audition with the drama’s executive producer, Tim Key, subsequently informed the writing of the coming series.

Also present at the audition was Don Warrington, aka Commissioner Selwyn Patterson, which, for Gilet, underscored just how special the moment was. “I thought, ‘If Don is taking the time to be in the room and read with me, I don’t want to be looking down at the script all the time. I’ve got to bring my A-game.’”

There’s a presumption that, by the nature of what they do, actors must have pretty big egos. But surely the audition process, with its risk of exposure and rejection, runs counter to that? Gilet isn’t so sure. “Egos exist,” he says, “and will take you so far. In the same way, great looks will, too. But they never got me anywhere, which is why I’ve still had to wait this long to get a massive lead role.”

Guarded as he tries to be, it’s at times like this that Gilet hints at undercurrents of frustration that a lead role commensurate to his experience has eluded him. It only takes one casting decision to vault you from acclaimed character actor to the lead in a ratings hit. But at a well-preserved 57, you sense Gilet had started to accept it might never happen. That suddenly he finds himself in this position informs the spirit in which his months on location were spent.

Although the coconut palms, golden sands and breathtaking blue waters of Guadeloupe’s Basse-Terre Island lay a two-minute walk from his apartment, Gilet didn’t go in the water once. “I was like, ‘No, this could be time you study the script so that you know it inside out.’”

Similarly, if any of his family – his dad and his sister, or his now grown-up son to his ex-wife, actor Tracy Whitwell – were expecting invitations to join him in the sunshine, none was forthcoming: “If people come out to stay with you, then some of your energy has to go towards looking after them. I thought, ‘I can’t do that this year. All I want to do is make sure that the execs and all the people who said yes, we’ll have him, don’t regret the choice they made.’”

Some critics have bemoaned Death in Paradise’s perpetuation of the “white saviour” trope. The allegation runs that it’s an unwelcome anachronism to have black supporting actors relying on a white male lead to solve crimes. In fact, earlier this year, Tim Key conceded that “the world has changed a lot since the show was first commissioned and the show will continue to move with the times”.

“There can be superficial ways one can be described and defined,” Gilet says. “If they were looking for the best actor to take on the mantle, a guy who can do a bit of comedy and a bit of serious, and fuse those together, then I’ll take that. The roles I go up for, they’re not black parts, they’re just parts, and when I don’t get them, it’s because that job wasn’t right for me.

“I have to say to myself, ‘It’s your job – own it.’ And if your efforts bear fruit, then you have to enjoy that.”

Come Christmas, that’s exactly what Gilet will be doing. Even the prospect of driving from London to Walsall, where he grew up, visibly calms him. The actor’s teenage years coincided with the breakdancing boom. He reveals that, had you been walking through the newly paved urban architecture of Caldmore Green, you might have happened upon the young Gilet and his pals – or, as they called themselves, the Rock Sonic Crew – finessing their top rocks, crab freezes and coffee grinders.

Alas, the Rock Sonic Crew have long dispersed, but Gilet’s father and sister are still there. Watching himself on screen is something he has avoided in the past, but some moments in life demand to be savoured. “Well, yes. And this is one I’m going to be sharing with so many people up and down the country. It makes me determined to make this Christmas even more relaxed than usual. The days of running around at the last minute because I haven’t got a present. I don’t have to buy for children any more. It’s just… Watch the telly. Enjoy.”

Finally, he seems to be loosening up. I take my chances. So, come on, who’s cooking the Christmas dinner? “Well, OK. If you really want to know, I’m in charge of sprouts, for which I copy a Gordon Ramsay recipe with bacon and chestnuts. People take sprouts for granted, but you’ve got to put a bit of thought into it. Christmas is their big moment and you can’t screw it up.”

The delivery is deadpan. As for the symbolism, it’s unclear whether it was intended. But either way, he’s got this.

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Death in Paradise will air at 8:30pm on Sunday 22nd December on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Season 1-13 are available to stream now on BBC iPlayer.

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