A spin-off of Death in Paradise is set to air on the BBC very soon, featuring Anna Samson in the lead role.

Return to Paradise follows DI Mackenzie Clarke (Samson), an Australian expatriate who’s made a name for herself in London’s Metropolitan Police.

When she is accused of tampering with evidence, Mackenzie returns to her hometown of Dolphin Cove where she faces a few problems.

The synopsis on the Radio Times continues: "Having fled the town six years ago, infamously leaving her ex- fiancée Glenn (Tai Hara) at the altar, Mackenzie is not welcome here.

"But with no other job options, and a unique talent for solving a mystery, no matter how challenging, a reluctant Mack joins the team at Dolphin Cove Police Station."

It continues: "Once a case lands on her desk, she can’t rest until she’s figured it out, and the killer is in handcuffs. It’s that tenacity and work ethic that might just, over time, help Mackenzie win over her new colleagues, and the people of Dolphin Cove."

Speaking about the importance of differentiating it from the original Death in Paradise, co-creator James Hall said: "For me, and Red Planet Pictures, we knew very early on that we didn’t want the Australia spin-off to look and feel like a copy of Death in Paradise, in which our fish-out-of-water detective is another English police officer who finds themselves unexpectedly working abroad.

"That’s why we very quickly alighted upon the idea of the detective being someone who was born and raised in Australia and was returning there after a period away. And that’s when we knew straight away that it had to be called Return to Paradise."

He continued: "But it’s the fact that DI Mackenzie Clarke never really liked Dolphin Cove or felt at home there means she is still a fish-out-of-water, like all our detectives in Death in Paradise, even though she’s from that town.

"Plus, the way in which she left Dolphin Cove a number of years ago, means there’s a lot of people in town who aren’t happy she’s back.

"So, even though our lead detective is Australian and is essentially just going home, she’s essentially still just like Richard Poole in the first series of Death in Paradise, because she’s forced to solve murders in a place she desperately wants to leave."

BBC Return to Paradise full cast

  • Anna Samson as DI Mackenzie Clarke
  • Tai Hara as Glenn Strong
  • Lloyd Griffith as Detective S.C Colin Cartwright
  • Catherine McClements as Senior Sergeant Philomena Strong
  • Celia Ireland as Reggie Rocco
  • Andrea Demetriades as Daisy Dixon
  • Aaron McGrath as Constable Felix Wilkinson
  • Ron Smyck as Trevor Bongiovanni
  • Geneviève Lemon as Madge Woodburne

Guest stars will include:

  • Peter Phelps as Vince Ogden
  • Jeremy Lindsay Taylor as Stuart Granger
  • Naomi Sequeira as Jade McCready
  • Tara Morice as Helen Haddon
  • Airlie Dodds as Bianca Bailey
  • Harry Greenwood as Byron Jones
  • Jenni Baird as Susan Stirling
  • Hugo Johnstone-Burt as Henry Jones
  • Maggie Dence as Rita di Stefano
  • Nicole Nabout as Dot Ogden
  • Anni Finsterer as Donna Smithwick
  • Sarah Roberts as Priya Ogden
  • Callan Colley as Curtis Faleafa
  • Peter O'Brien as Artie O'Farrell

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When will Return to Paradise be on TV?

The first episode of Return to Paradise will air at 8pm on BBC One on Friday, November 22.

In total, there are six episodes which will air in the same timeslot across the following weeks.

Alternatively, if you don't want to wait all episodes will be available to watch on BBC iPlayer as a boxset from November 22.