Death in Paradise spin-off star addresses future as lead detective

Return to Paradise star Anna Samson has opened up about her future as Detective Mackenzie Clarke in the Death in Paradise spin-off. Later this month, the series set in Australia will return to screens and will see Mack solving a string of mysterious murders in Dolphin Cove. While the detective tried to leave to go back to the UK, something or someone is clearly keeping her in her hometown. While another series is yet to be confirmed, actress Anna hopes there will be another instalment as she "has more left in her heart".

When speaking exclusively to Reach PLC and other press about a third series, she admitted: "It's a hard one to answer, because I don't know, basically, is the answer. Iknow what I would like, but I don't know the answer to that, and there's only so much you can say."

She continued, "You also don't want to sound like an idiot if it never happens. You know, there's all this stuff around, 'Will there be a future for a show that I love so much?'

"So, my honest answer to that is, I have more Detective Mackenzie Clark left in my heart and in the acting tank, but we have to see if the audiences want more.

"It's not up to me at all. It's actually up to how far this story resonates with an audience more than anything."

Anna went on to address the pressure she feels after being cast as the show's first female lead. She explained, "Of course, the success of the show, and that people love it and that it's watched in overwhelming numbers, yes, that has helped in not worrying if it'll work, or if people will like me, or if this show can hold with a female detective.

"I think I always knew it could. There's not something so masculine that putting a woman in the central role changes much."

She added, "It doesn't change much of the show, so that the pressure that I felt in season one has, in many ways, been lifted for season two, but the desire to create a season two that matches or surpasses season one.

"It's the want to do a good job because I now have loyal fans, so it's just a new pressure. So I don't feel that it's easier, it's just different."

The synopsis for series two of Return to Paradise teases, "Detective Sergeant Mackenzie Clarke finds herself trapped in her hometown of Dolphin Cove to solve more perplexing cases, while grappling with the end-of-series-one bombshell that her ex-fiancé, Glenn, still has feelings for her.

"The team contends with even more perplexing cases in this series, including the chemical poisoning of a man alone at sea, alongside having to deal with larger-than-life characters like a troublesome rock band who fall under suspicion when one of their members turns up dead.

"Beyond her detective duties, Mackenzie is forced to face Glenn's shocking confession that he still has feelings for her, despite his impending wedding to Daisy, complicating her own feelings toward him even further.

"Meanwhile, the unexpected arrival of Colin's old friends from back home starts to crack the mystery behind his decision to leave everything behind and build a new life in the tight-knit community of Dolphin Cove."

Return to Paradise is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.