‘I worked on Death In Paradise and know why nobody sticks around for long’
With the new series of Death In Paradise hitting our screens, one former star of the BBC has revealed that many actors are unable to carry on in their roles due to one reason09:00, 12 Dec 2024Death In Paradise- Series 5 Trailer – BBC OneA star of Death In Paradise has explained why actors never stay on the show too long.It comes after an EastEnders legend joined the show to replace Ralf Little. Former DI Neville Parker star Ralf quit the show last year after five years.Comedian and actor Ardal O’Hanlon gave some more information on the production of the BBC favourite, which he was a part of from 2017 to 2020. Taking on the role of DI Jack Mooney, the Irish comic admitted that filming would be so “gruelling”, it would take up weeks of his schedule.READ MORE: Ralf Little emotional as he marks end of another chapter after Death In Paradise exitREAD MORE: Death in Paradise star dies ‘unexpectedly’ as tributes paid to ‘talented actor’The star, best known for his role as Dougal in Channel 4 comedy Father Ted, also said he was often jealous of guest stars who would only have short stints of filming. It also meant that he would be away from his loved ones for weeks on end as he jetted off to the Caribbean – but not to enjoy himself on the beach.Ardal O’Hanlon played the role of DI Jack Mooney from 2017 to 2020Speaking about the tough filming process, Ardal, 59, told the Mirror that often producers would warn him to prepare for mammoth recording sessions. He also confessed that due to the hot climate, he found it hard to concentrate, which only worsened his experiences.”God, that was tough,” he recalled. “Like, people don’t believe you when you tell them how tough it was.”He added: “I was so grateful for that part and everything else, and I look back on it now as a really great experience, kind of life changing experience, I would say, because it’s not just that you’re playing a lead in a popular BBC primetime drama. It’s more of a lifestyle thing.”He admitted that he would get jealous of guest stars who would not have to stay for too longArdal admitted that heading to the luxurious Caribbean island of Guadeloupe was a huge shock to the system, as he barely would leave the house in the UK. Instead he would be spending as much as six months away from home, all for the sake of filming the BBC show – often working 12-hour days.”You have so much to prepare every day, so you don’t have much downtime at all, you don’t have the chance to enjoy the attractions out there,” the comic confessed. “I used to be so jealous of the guest actors – the suspects and the victim, you know, there’d be five or six guest actors every couple of weeks, and they would come over and they’d have such an amazing time.”He also explained that there were other factors that were at play when he opted to leave the show behind in 2020. Looking back on his experiences, Ardal said that his family being unable to visit him on set was the final straw that led him to give up the job after four years.The actor revealed he opted to leave the show when his family stopped visiting him on setProducers for the show were also aware of the large slog that filming takes during the course of the year. In one interaction, Ardal recalled how a BBC boss was “painting a very bleak picture” to try and warn him of the timescale of filming.”He was basically trying to go, ‘You know, you can still get out of this, if you want!'” Ardal admitted, with the producer saying: “‘You know, like, it’s gonna be tough, there’s hurricanes to deal with. There’s people going crazy because, like, people go stir crazy in that environment, you know, you’re always dealing with something, like there’s creatures that want to kill you.”Article continues belowFor more of the latest showbiz and TV news from the Daily Star, make sure you sign up for one of our newsletters here. More
