Ardal O'Hanlon is here to stay! DI Jack Mooney and daughter Siobhan commit to Death in Paradise
DI Jack Mooney thought he was going on holiday, but ended up making Saint Marie his new home
A handshake and a glass of rum seals the deal: DI Jack Mooney and his daughter Siobhan will make Saint Marie their new home.
Of course, we knew this was coming – after all, Ardal O'Hanlon was announced as Death in Paradise's new resident top detective (replacing the beloved Kris Marshall's DI Humphrey Goodman) earlier this month.
But seeing as he has spent the last couple of episodes in limbo, it was a fitting moment when Mooney capped off the series finale by marching into the Commissioner's office and accepting the offer of a permanent job.
He and daughter Siobhan, played by newcomer Grace Stone, were originally tempted on to the island when Humphrey hatched a clever plan so that he could stay in London.
Widower Mooney thought he was just on a nice, relaxing holiday. "Humphrey's a great fella," he told the Commissioner, Dwayne, Florence and JP. "I was just saying how nice of him it was to offer us his house for a couple of weeks."
This holiday quickly became a working holiday when a murder case popped up in episode seven; by the series finale Mooney was really getting into his groove, solving an outrageously complex murder mystery involving a mayoral election, a stitch-up, a long-lost daughter, a broken heart and a cheating family man.
As the detective was settling in to life in the beach shack, the Commissioner gave him a formal job offer. But he was prepared to accept it on one condition: Siobhan's approval. After losing their wife and mother just weeks before, the two are clearly very close and come as a package deal.
When Death in Paradise returns in 2018, the duo will be living on Saint Marie permanently after Siobhan gave him her blessing.
"You know what this means? Like it or not, you are lumped with me," Mooney told his team at Catherine's bar, as the relieved landlady celebrated both being cleared of murder and being elected mayor.
"Well I for one am delighted sir," Florence told him as they all raised their glasses.
With that, Mooney hit the dance floor to celebrate his new Caribbean life: "Now if you don't mind, I think it's time for some world-class dad dancing."
