‘It's A Very Clumsy Romance!'

Nina Wadia on landing her dream role in the Caribbean and why she couldn’t take Ardal O’ Hanlon seriously as a lover...

- Emma Bullimore

We can’t think of a better place to fall in love than the glorious (fictional) island of Saint Marie – apart from the high death rate of course!

Widower DI Jack Mooney (Ardal O’ Hanlon) had his head turned by tourist Anna (played by Nina Wadia, AKA EastEnders legend Zainab Masood) last week and it looks like romance is set to blossom. But will awkwardness stand in the way of happiness?

After returning from Guadeloupe, where the BBC1 crime drama is filmed, Nina, 51, tells TV Times all about her ‘dream’ experience filming the show, and the one downside of filming in paradise…

Were you excited to join Death in Paradise?

Yes! I don’t normally get cast in romantic roles, so it was a lovely opportunity to do something different. When the offer came through I thought my agent was joking because no matter what the exotic location, I will end up filming my scenes somewhere like Hackney. Even when I did [Disney’s 2019 live-action film] Aladdin I filmed in Reading. When I heard this was in the Caribbean I said, ‘Yes, I’ll do it whoever the character is!’