Everyone Needs A Bit Of Sunshine & Murder!

Car Share star Sian Gibson on swapping her trusty passenger seat for suspicion in the Caribbean…

- Emma Bullimore

DRAMA

Death in Paradise

THURSDAY / BBC1 / 9.00PM

Three years ago Sian Gibson was working in a call centre in Chester.

After a few small telly roles, and a string of frustrating auditions, she’d given up her dreams of acting. Then an old university friend emailed her a script and everything changed…

That friend was Peter Kay and the script was the bare bones of BBC1 comedy Car Share, originally conceived by Sian and Peter’s mutual friend Paul Coleman.

Together they reworked the script, redeveloped the characters and created one of the biggest sitcoms of the decade.

Now life is very different for Sian. Besides playing effervescent supermarket worker Kayleigh opposite Peter, she’s playing roles outside of the famous red Fiat.

The latest is a suspect in hit BBC1 crime drama Death in Paradise, in which Sian guests this week, playing a wannabe author whose mentor is murdered.

Here, Sian, 41, tells TV Times all about the episode and why she’s delighted to be reunited with Ardal O’Hanlon after a very awkward audition together…

So Sian, what can you tell us about your character and how she’s involved with the murder?